Confused about fluids? ATF, Coolant, transfer case fluid, etc.

A full flush at 30K is overkill. Toyota recommends a full flush at 60K for severe service usage. The general rule of thumb for regular usage is a drain/refill every 30-50K, or a flush every 60-90K. I'm going the flush route and have done two, including the ATF filter change at the second flush. Because our trannys do not have dip sticks, there is a somewhat complicated procedure to fill them up properly. Simply replacing what you take out is not recommended because many ATF trannys come under-filled from the factory. An IR gun comes in handy for checking the temp. Follow the procedures from the drain/refill link:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-drain-refill-automatic-transmission.63851/

You need brakes/rotor at 30K?! I guess I shouldn't be too surprise with the stop/go traffic in LA. Your rotors are likely resurface-able. I had mine resurfaced at OReilly's - I think $15 each. Then get O'Reilly's Select Ceramic pads; they are lifetime and have worked well for me. You don't need fancy rotor/pads unless you're doing serious off-roading and/or racing. And I off-road plenty with mine.

I use Valvoline full synthetic gear oil for the rear and SuperTech synthetic blend for the transfer case and front diff.

 

Thank you for this first hand experience! I think I will go full flush route you described as well! Seems much more sensible and flush definitely seems the way to go given the fluid levels and difficulty of opening trans.

I think the previous owner drove the truck like a racecar, lol. I am definitely going to check out O'Reilly's. Do your resurfaced rotors begin to cause vibrations on your vehicle at all? I have heard some people experience rattling and they end up switching them out anyway

 

No vibrations for me after about 15K on the re-surfaced rotors. Also re-surfaced OEM rotors on wife's Lexus ES350; they went about 50K the 2nd time around and it currently has re-surfaced Wagner rotors. I ran dimpled EBC rotors from about 73K to 145K, then installed the re-surfaced OEM rotors about 15K ago. When they start vibrating, I will get the EBC rotors re-surfaced.

If you think your Taco's previous owner had a heavy foot, it is not a bad idea to do a full flush now, or do a drain/refill to check on the condition of the ATF.

 

Awesome thanks!

Yeah I was considering checking the fluids but I am going to take my spark plugs out and check them first