DIY: Full Flush for Automatic Transmission

That is your decision my friend .
Unfortunately it is difficult to test drive over a keyboard .
We cant feel what you are feeling when you drive the truck .
If a spool valve is partially stuck , 2 things will happen . The valve may correct itself . Whatever is stuck in the valve may work its way out and the transmission will start functioning as it should OR the valve remains stuck causing a clutch pack in the transmission to stay partially applied . The clutch pack will overheat and burn up . Dont want to see that happen $$$$$$$$$

Does your base idle increase when you select neutral ?

 

Yes the idle does increase in nuetral or in Park. It’s the lowest while in gear for sure.

In gear its about 300 and pretty much shakes the truck

 

The transmission actually was making a little sound from the bellhousing area, but to me it sounded like the pump or something

 

And you had the battery disconnected ?
How dirty is your throttle body ?
If you did a battery pull to clear the transmission short term memory , you will have to give the truck some time to re-learn the idle position .
It could be this is all you are feeling .
It also takes the transmission a little time to re-learn
Considering you are indicating the truck shifts ok or so-so , I would give it a little time .
Keep an eye on the trans temp . If it goes to red line quickly , dont drive it

 

It will make noise from cavitation as you are re-filling

 

The noise was after everything was done and I was waiting for it to idle up to temp

 

I did have the battery removed. I had accidentally shorted the positive cable. I was hoping it was a fuse or something but the tranny is def dragging hard. Feels like the brake is engaged or something. Also it rolling forward a ton while in reverse. It did shift fine though.temps never even went above 100

 

OK , judging from your explanation , you have yourself a stuck valve . This can be pricey in a shop . I suggest calling around for a quote .
Might as well install that shift kit you were thinking about . Now is the time hehehehe
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...th-pics-for-second-gen-4-liter-trucks.289913/

 

How much should I expect to spend?
I do have a garage but I’m pretty over working on this.

 

Off the top of my head , I will say 4 to 5 hours at a transmission shop plus oil and whatever parts they use .
This is not something your average mom and pop garage can do and offer a warranty .
I highly suggest a trans shop

I know the video I posted looks a little overwhelming , but its not actually that bad . I have all the manuals and a bunch of write ups with pictures if you want to tackle this and save some money . All you need is a warm shop and some time

 

Well consider me EXTREMELY LUCKY. This morning I added two more quarts and did a fluid check as best as I could. Truck was running terrible and would stall and shake at a stop. On hills the tranny wouldn’t “catch” at all and would just roll backwards and stall. The tranny would shift great though!

Well @gearcruncher told me to get the truck up to hwy speeds to get the tq converter locked, so as insane as this sounds I hopped on the fwy and it zeemed to get a tad better but still couldn’t idle in any gear and would still roll backwards and stall. A couple more pulls on the fwy and some gear shifting and reverse and BOOM everything back to normal. Performed a fluid check and got the correct level in there. Will be adding some lube gard Black next week.

If you have high miles remove the pan and CLEAN the magnets !!!

 

Glad to hear that it worked out for you. Did you drop the pan? Now that you've got fresh fluid in there I'd just do an annual drain and fill, or every 15-20k, depending on how many miles you put per year. Let me know how the lubegard affects the shifts, I'm thinking about adding some to mine as well. I just couldn't decide which one to go with since I'm using Maxlife, most people go with the platinum from what I've been reading. How much did your extra cooler drop the temps?

 

He is going to need a valve body rebuild in 30k . Drop the pan , filter and valve body and do a Sonnax update .
https://www.sonnax.com/parts/3477-zip-kit
After 4 pages of private messages , he got very very lucky .
I beleive his trans is full of contaminates and his valve body has a lot of miles on it without proper fluid change intervals
194 k now and last service at 100k
I beleive he ordered the black lubeguard as it is best known to free sticking valves but it doesnt really matter what Lubeguard you put in the trans as long as you put it in . Its the best additive on the planet . Thats stuff works very very well
I wouldnt push it on you guys unless it worked . Highly suggested to add some during your regular fluid services .
http://www.lubegard.com/~/C-110/Transmission

 

The truck is driving very well, better than before. It’s shifting perfect and a little firmer than before which I like. In 30k I will drop the pan and see how much contaminant is truly inside there!

The valve body scares me so I might have someone else do that if it needs to be done, but for right now the truck is driving better than I could have imagined.

I would say that the trans runs 20 degrees cooler at least

 

Excellent news !!
You plowed your way through a tuff issue and the truck is working good now . You lucked out lol
Dont let that valve body scare you . You have 30k to prep
read through this post https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...th-pics-for-second-gen-4-liter-trucks.289913/

I will guarantee if I test drive your truck , I will find issues with your trans . That Sonnax kit will fix them up and keep you going

Valve bodies are made of alluminum now to save weight . When your fluid gets dirty it acts like sand paper in your valve body . Those tiny spool valves stroke a thousand times per day and they wear out quickly creating huge hydraulic leaks . Keep your fluid clean or pay the price .
Years ago it wasnt soooo bad because the valve bodies were made of cast iron .Cast iron does not wear the same as alluminum

 

30k will be years for me. I hardly drive my truck. Haha work and school are about a block away! Yeah a new valve body would be no e expecially with the 35s.

 

Glad Anthony is on the road again, hope things continue to work out.

I just did 90K maintenance on my truck and changed my transmission fluid and filter, cleaning out the pan and magnets. Used the garden sprayer method from the cooler lines, worked like a charm.

The maintenance schedule only mentions changing the fluid at 60K under special operating conditions, no other mention. I rarely off road (and when I do it is relatively tame) and have only towed with this truck once, and it was a relatively short trip with not a lot of elevation change. I wouldn't consider that special operating conditions. That said, the fluid was darker and had a smell to it, although not what I would consider a burnt smell. Max temp I have seen is 210F, crossing a mountain pass in CO with a full load of camping gear. The towing trip maxed at 205 on the one long climb. There was a thin, dark film coating the filter and pan, kind of reminded me of graphite powder. I hope that is normal and not a bad sign.

Anyway, I think I am going to say that changing fluid every 60K miles is wise for everyone, regardless of operating conditions. And swapping in a new filter is cheap and easy, why not?

That Sonnax kit looks pretty cool and relatively inexpensive and easy to do. Good instructions and packaging it seems. I'll file that one away just in case.

Oh, and I just realized that I thought lubing the driveshaft was a 30K maintenance thing. WRONG, DOH! It's every 15K. How'd I miss that? Oh well, they don't appear to be in bad shape and universal joints are not expensive.

 

Plumb in a remote filter mount and run a spin-on filter to help clean up the fluid as debris washes out of the TC and valve body. I'm running one. I used a 3/4-16 base so I can use the same filter as my engine later on if I can't get the 1269 for whatever reason. The 1269 is a 10 (2/20=5/17) micron nominal hydraulic filter with an 8 psi bypass, which should ensure that fluid can flow in case the filter ever clogged.
Even an engine oil filter will be far superior filtration compared to the pickup screen.
https://www.fleetfilter.com/filter/24764.html
https://www.fleetfilter.com/filter/51269.html

 

That would be a good idea. Does that make a mess when changing the filter ??

 

Where mine sits it will drain into a pan under the truck. I have accidentally splashed a little onto the inside of the front bumper cover on accident. If you're careful you won't make a mess. You can mount them anywhere you want, but there are two holes already there that fit the base perfectly and it's up where it won't get caught on anything off road. You shouldn't have to change it very often. This was mine after 4 years/20k miles. https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4570398/Napa_1269_/_Wix_51269