Auto Transmission Fluid Level

Ok, I did a search and couldn't really find exactly what I am looking for.

2012 4.0L V6 Auto

I have been noticing a shutter/slow vibration ever since I bought the truck only on accelerations and decelerations. Mostly the shift between first and second and second and third. Also, if I let off the gas just coasting and ease back into, the tranny acts as if it is searching for the right gear and when it finds it, it seems rougher than it should be.
I have read on here that some trucks were delievered and some Toyota techs actually leave the tranny fluid low for whatever reason.

Yesterday, since my warranty is up, I take it to get the oil changed at a local place and ask the tech to pull the fill plug and stick a finger in to see how much fluid is in there.

Assuming he was checking the right hole......Truck not running; he is unable to get any fluid on his finger. Grabs about a 4" piece of wire and sticks it in, still nothing. They say maybe it is a running check (I have seen the thread about heating the tranny up, tranny was warm at the time ~30 min of driving), check it running, and barely gets anything on the end of the wire.

So my question is, is my tranny low? I know the shutter I am feeling in the seat of my pants on the shifts isn't normal. And, can I buy a quart or so of WS tranny fluid and just add it in? What is the proper way to check the fluid level?

Spank you berry mooch.

 

don't just add a quart without knowing the correct level beforehand. it could cause
issues if overfilled

the correct procedures are posted here somewhere in a pdf, u can search for them

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...fluid-directly-factory.html?highlight=factory


google found this

 

Sounds like your fluid is low, but he is checking the wrong hole...
You should flush the fluid and set to the proper level.
here are some links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdq30go2V7w

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/63851-how-drain-refill-automatic-transmission.html

 

Thanks. I posted in those threads and watched the video. Hopefully everything is ok, but I want to be sure.

 

TRY these from Toyota

Page 18 of this PDF file shows how to change/check the fluid using Toyota,s guidelines
http://www.toyotatundraforum.com/pdf/A750E.pdf

And then read here http://www.purefjcruiser.com/docs/20...d/01600210.pdf

 

I checked mine a month or so ago and it went real well. Prior to this I had no idea what I was doing but I did a lot of reading and watched a few youtube vids on the process. It ended up taking a few hours because I went real slow and checked everything 4 times. Gearcruncher's links are very helpful in that regard. My main recommendation is to get 10 or 12 quarts, then shove the leftovers on the back of a shelf somewhere until you repeat this process in 30-50k miles. 1 or 2 quarts should get you by if you do everything perfectly, but why risk it? Mine was less than a quart low but I needed 2 quarts to do the whole thing because I didn't catch the overflow that came out in a clean container so I could reuse it.

Since yours is a few years old now, you might as well do the drain-and-fill instead of just checking the overflow. From what I can recall, you'll get about 1/3 of the old fluid out if you drain from the pan. You'll still ensure the proper level is in there while getting a bunch of fresh fluid in and extending the transmission's lifespan. It's way easier than doing a full flush, and if you do it every 30-40k miles I don't see any reason to flush it all out at 100k.

I used this pump from Amazon for the fluid. It worked fine but doesn't fit the threads on the bottle so it was a little messy.

$9 Lubrimatic 55-001 4CC Fluid Pump for Quart Size Bottles

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQW5LK/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think the fill plug is 24mm. I found a 3/8" drive 24mm socket on Amazon that should come in handy next time. The 1/2" drive torque wrench fit in there but it would have been easier with a 3/8" one:

$12 Wera - 5003568001 Zyklop 8790 HMB 3/8" Socket, Hex head 24mm x Length 29mm

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GDIRLC/ref=oh_details_o01_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also picked up one of these after the fact, I can't remember if it's for the oil drain plug or the transmission one though.

$8 Lisle 33880 5mm Hex Bit

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P0ZJ7E/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

SUB

 

sub...

 

pshh at least use a good guy sub

 

Have you greased your driveshaft ujoints? Same issues as you and I had the mechanic greased the ujoints which solved the issues. Now it's back after 4,000 miles, so I think I need new ujoints or just continue to have it greased.