DIY: Full Flush for Automatic Transmission

Did the flush this weekend on my 13 which has approx. 78k, I did it slightly different than others in this thread have.

I know it's been explained but I will reiterate - the cooler circuit goes: transmission -> radiator -> transmission cooler -> transmission.

I drained and dropped the pan to clean the magnets. I got 4.5 qts out of mine, I wonder if people who are getting less don't have a transmission cooler?

Where I differ from others is how I filled the transmission, I did it sort of like the sprayer method but I disconnected the line on the engine side so I didn't have to remove the grill. There is a section of hardline that goes through the radiator support. There are two lines - the bottom line goes from the radiator to the transmission cooler, the top line is the return from the transmission cooler back to the transmission. I disconnected the top line, to the hardline I attached 3/8 hose which goes to the drain jug, into the rubber hose I inserted a narrow funnel. I used this funnel to re-fill the transmission using gravity.

You can see the drain line in this photo, its the rubber line without a clamp to the left of the funnel.



I refilled with 5 qts then started the engine and let 4 pump out, refilled 4 pumped 4+ (jug overflowed slightly), refilled 5. The fluid doesn't gravity feed very fast, it is probably a little bit slower than pumping it in but a hell of a lot less painful. I got around a qt that drained when I pulled the overflow.

My thoughts on doing it this way are that you are draining after the radiator and cooler so both of these items get rinsed out as well, and feeding the fluid back through the return line should flush the bearings and planetarys - I dont know if that is how the A750 works but most auto transmissions use the return fluid to supply the bearings and gears since that fluid is the coolest.

Here are the part numbers for the pan gasket and crush washers for reference:



Some of the goofy stuff that people have done in this thread

 

I have the Ultra Gauge also but it shows one "Toyota Gauge" for the tranny. It reads on the Ultra Gauge list as Truck/SUV12 Trans Temp. So how do I know whether it's reading the pan or torque converter?

 

Do you have the ultragauge blue? I'd guess it's reading the TC temp, my mx was only reading the TC temp when I got it. The two temps are really close. If I were you I'd get it to about 100°F and pull the check plug if you're wanting to use it for checking the fluid level. Can you put up a pic of the codes/parameters?

 

Hello all, this is my first post. I've read the entire thread, great info. I'm still on the fence to do a flush as my truck has 205,000 miles on it with no proof it has ever Been flushed, the trans shifts perfectly. I drained and filled the pan last weekend, very dark, doesn't smell burnt.

 

I'd go for it. If what came out looked and smelled ok it should be fine.

 

@cjorg
I would do 2-3 drain/refills first. This can mostly help whereas a full flush with that many miles can be risky.

In the first drain/refill, I would definitely remove the pan, clean it out, and the magnets, and replace/clean the metal mesh ATF filter.

 

I did a pan drain and refill last weekend, I think I'll order the gasket and filter and drop it this time. Are there any tell tell signs of eminent failure that I should be looking for in the pan?

 

@cjorg
Metal shavings and/or chunks of material.

see http://www.freeasestudyguides.com/transmission-oil-pan-inspection.html

 

Thanks for the reply, I will be on the lookout for those types of particles. Hopefully it's just the blackish film on the magnets.

 

I just finished my flush in a little more than 2 hours taking my time. I used the "Walmart sprayer" to transfer the fluid and an IR Temp gun to check the temperature. I waited until the transmission pan reached 115 degrees and then opened the overflow plug. At that point the fluid was 122 degrees. All and all it was a painless project.

A big thanks to Mountain Lion for posting the excellent write up!

 

Your temps pretty much matched what I saw as well, oil about 7-8 degrees hotter than the pan. Need to have someone with a scan guage or with trans temp light on shoot the pan with an IR gun and compare.

 

Thanks for the thorough write-up I've only had my Tacoma for a couple of months got to do this

 

Just broke 60k miles on my 2013. Used this guide made it easy as pie to do the trans. Got 13 quarts of Toyota ws fluid for 6.50 a quart from a local toyota dealer (Thousand Oaks toyota). Measured out and marked an empty gallon water jug with 1/4 quart markings. Drained 2.75 quarts initially, Filled with 3. Then pushed right around 2 quarts at a time till I did 12 total quarts used of the 13 (last push was only 1 quart) which i filled with 1.5 quarts to try and overfill slightly. Put her in at temp check and still needed some more. Said fuck it and and poured the rest of the 13th quart in (like 6/10's of a quart). Let her cool and did the process again and got like 1/3 of a quart out. So all in all. Win.


I will say. Do yourself a favor. FORGET ABOUT the hand pump.... seriously, i used one to do my tcase n front diff recently.... and pumping 4ccs at a time for all of 3 quarts was a god damn pain..... So i came up with this. I already had purchased 10 freaking feat of 3/8ths ID clear vinyl tube for the drain to the front catch for this process (all of like 3 bucks at Home depot).... so i used about 4 or 5 feet to run a tube down from the engine bay along the top / side of the trans to the fill port. Made it to where i could fill the trans by simply pouring the quart down the tube (once the other end was placed in the hole on the side of the trans)

 

You are a genius. I used a hand pump to do all 13 quarts and hated life the whole time. Oh and talk about the mess i had on the driveway...

 

I am glad i pained through the front diff n tcase (2.5 quarts worth) with the hand pump to realize... FUUUUCK THAT, for 13 quarts and took a step back to figure out that simple solution haha.

 

Did mine this weekend, including new filter and gasket (only $22, might as well) using the pump sprayer method, going through the lines behind the grill. Worked like a charm. Oh, and did my diffs and transfer case using a hand pump. That does kinda suck.

 

Just finished mine with max life. I did a drain and refill around 40k but this flush was at 123k. I used the hose routed up in the engine bay method. Fluid still looked good. Next up is coolant flush.

Thanks!

 

Mine is coming up on 185k. Don't know if it has ever been changed. I know I didn't do it during the 90k I drove it. Should have sooner I guess but that's water under the bridge. I'm thinking about a flush. Sometimes, not often, when I come to a stop it feels like a small car bumped my rear bumper just as I stop completely. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Happens few and far between.

 

I bet it's just the slip yoke on the driveshaft clunking.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-tacoma-slip-yoke-grease-fitting.263428/

 

In the same boat