DIY: Full Flush for Automatic Transmission

Yes, the flow as I understand is: Transmission -> Radiator -> ATF Cooler -> Transmission

Here HolyHandgrenande did all the work for you including which parts to buy link.

Off topic but, In a few years I may bypass the radiator cooler with aux cooler like link above to avoid any potential risk with the pink milkshake of doom. Even though I've never heard of it occurring with our trucks, the design risks are there, AFAIK.

 

Awesome thanks a lot for the link. Google only got me so far. I did already purchase the

$59 Hayden 679 Universal 11” Rapid-Cool Add-On Transmission Cooler to Enhance Cooling (not for direct replacement of the factory unit)

Hayden 679 cooler. Have t checked out the link yet but from what I have read and the price shipped to me in Canada it worked.

I have also heard of the milkshake issue. Like you said I haven't read anything yet, but I am going to keep it as is for now. Don't want to mess anything up too bad well I'm under there haha.

 

^ Good luck with your install. Make a thread for it when your finished so we can all see.

 

I may do the install but have the dealer finish everything up (hook up lines and perform flush). Little unsure about my confidence in tackling this job. Issue is reaching the proper temp. Could check it on my scan guage but don't want to mess up. Done diffs and transfer case but the fill level on that isn't as complicated. See how she goes. Extra mula is always a motivating factor.

 

A simpler approach. No need to buy the drill kit or any other gadget to pump fluid back in. You simply pour it in the upper fill plug on the transmission. Nice work.

 

I called around to various transmission shops around and I got varying quotes on transmission fluid flush. One quote was as low as $150 vs the dealers price of $280. One dealer specifically asked if I do any towing. I don't care if I don't do any towing, this is my truck with 145k+ miles and I want to replace the old fluid with new because I have no service receipts from the previous owner that it was ever flushed. I've heard things like it never needs to be changed. That sounds like BS regardless of the kind of use your subjecting your vehicle to. End of the drivetrain warranty seems like a good time to get flushed and then a yearly drain and fill thereafter with a flush every 50k miles. Anyways, $150 sounds like a good deal but its a big difference from the dealer price, so I'm wary. It is a transmission shop so I assume they would have all the tools compared to a quick lube shop or mom and pop garage? Stopped by Firestone and they said they won't touch it because its a sealed transmission yet Pep Boys quoted me $200 to do it. Don't understand why one chain shop will do it but another won't. Has anyone had their transmission flushed from either type of shop? Do they really do a flush or just drain and fill? If they do a flush do they also take off the pan and clean/replace the filter?

 

Would they flush it if I brought 5 gallons of my own preferred ATF?

 

Addressing this question and a few others you have...

Many shops will not use customer-provided parts. They make money on parts as well as labor and some will says they refuse to warrant their labor against what you bring in. The old analogy comes into play...Do you bring your own eggs to the coffee shop?

And...why 5 gals? That's 20 qts. Your system holds 12.

DoorDings comment about what fluid they'll be using is also to be taken seriously. I'd ask, but would not preface with "are you going to use Toyota WS or its equivalent"? Let them tell you.

Your question about why one chain will do this task and another won't....

They see it as a risk. It's not a simple drain and refill with X number of qts. as it's been in the past. It's not rocket science, but again, they don't want to gamble with the liability. There are too many other vehicles out there that are much easier to service and have no special fluid considerations/specific fluid temp requirements.

 

I asked this of my local Firestone. They use Kendall VersaTrans LV ATF Made by Phillips 66 Lubricants. They have a 55-gallon drum to service automatic transmissions. It's good to go, and is a verified alternative to Toyota WS. The shop manager said they put in Toyota's all day long and no problems!

 

S

Finished installing the

$59 Hayden 679 Universal 11” Rapid-Cool Add-On Transmission Cooler to Enhance Cooling (not for direct replacement of the factory unit)

Hayden 679 teams cooler. Will be hooked up tomorrow. This thing is freaking huge but I didn't have to drill any holes except for relocating the horns. If I didn't have the winch I could have relocated using the satoshi methods, but no room. This cooler is not zip tied but bolted. Should be a lot stronger and have no chance of wearing out.

 

May not be an elaborate write since I didn't take any pictures. But there will be something

 

Anyone use the Lubegard products for flushing and additive in their transmissions? Do they really help or is it snake oil?

 

This is quoted from my build. It's not detailed but it shows a little bit how to mount a

$59 Hayden 679 Universal 11” Rapid-Cool Add-On Transmission Cooler to Enhance Cooling (not for direct replacement of the factory unit)

Hayden 679 cooler on a second gen without using zip ties

 

Did a flush today and here was the results

First drained it and took off pan and filter. Soaked transmission bolts in pb blaster night before and right before removal to prevent breaking any bolts. Cleaned pan and magnets and replaced filter with new.

$27 FRAM FT1237 Automatic Transmission Filter

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00G3Z5Y3E/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Quality gasket and filter. After seeing the color of the fluid I wasn't risking anything. Got about 4 quarts from draining and dropping pan and filter out.
Reinstalled pan and torqued to spec. Replaced with 4 quarts of new Valvoline Maxlife
I had bought a roll of 3/8" ID plastic tubing from Home Depot for about $6, and two of the cheapest fluid pumps from Autozone and Harbor Freight (I learned the hard way why you buy good hand pumps, probably added 30 minutes to the job of fiddling with the crappy pumps to piece together one functional pump. Also bought a foot of 20 ga wire at Home Depot for $0.25.

$51 Valvoline Multi-Vehicle (ATF) Full Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid 1 GA, Case of 3

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007VWRUQC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00
I found out Walmart had Maxlife ATF for around $18/gallon instead of the $23 I paid but still cheaper than the auto parts stores. Bought a couple more quarts at Walmart just in case. It was needed due to the spillage of the s##t pumps I had. Also added a bottle of this at the end.

$15 Lubegard 63010 Platinum Automatic Transmission Fluid Protectant, 10 oz.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MB57UI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00 Not sure when it should be added but I felt it was best at the end so I didn't flush it out because the stuff is pricey. I guess it's like sperm whale oil and a liquid wax ester. Not sure how our trannys respond to it but it says right on it that it is OE approved. Since I used synthetic ATF anyway its probably redundant but I'm sure Maxlife doesn't have the same additives that are in Lubegard. Seeing the condition of the fluid in it and how it felt shifting I felt it was worth it. I wanted to flush all the lines from the transmission out to the transmission in with this

$18 Lubegard 19001 Kooler Kleen Transmission Cooler Flush, 13.25 oz.

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DKNH8I?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s03 but I didn't know exactly which one to start at and which one to disconnect before going into tranny. Also needed to adapt the adapter to fit into lines and was unsure whether it would have enough pressure.

Doesn't clunk into gear now when moving from P to R or D. It also shifts so much smoother, without the hesitation. So glad I did it and couldn't have done it without the info from this thread and Fortech's thread.

Fluid before and after (toilet paper doesn't do it justice, you couldn't see through the fluid that was draining):


14 quarts added plus 10 oz of lubegard

 

It might just be the tapatalk app, but I can't see the pictures.
Edit: I can see the pictures in safari, it is an app issue.

 

For some reason I can't upload my jpeg's onto the site, unsure why. Hope you can get to computer to check it out.

 

Glad you got it done.
How many miles?

 

It has almost 146k miles

 

I really appreciated this thread.

I was thinking about doing this flush but with the drill powered transfer pump and not dropping the pan.

How about draining the fluid into a 5 gallon bucket and drawing the fresh fluid from another 5 gallon bucket. The pump would be connected to the other end of the trans hose I would disconnect for draining. I could maybe adjust the drill speed to match the output flow. When the fresh fluid bucket was empty and the used fluid bucket was full (hopefully about the same time) the engine would be shut off.

 

How many miles? If over 100K, I would drop the pan to clean it out and possibly change out the filter if it's too dirty. You can still collect the used ATF in the bucket. The assumption you'll be making using this method is that the current ATF level is correct. If you are comfortable with that, do it. I wasn't. I used the infrared meter method to check ATF level at specified temp levels. It's been proven to be quite accurate.