High Mileage Transmission Drain&Fill

I was thinking of doing the next drain and fill in about 6-7 months. I'm going to ask around and also look online to find out what the best option would be. 5-10k miles does sound reasonable though. Thanks for replying.

 

I have a Chevy Tahoe with 375,000 miles on it. I have the oil changed every 100,000.
I had a transmission flush at 300,000 and after that the transmission started to slip.
Sometimes it was really bad and other times just a small slip.

I added Lucas transmission slip conditioner and the slipping went away.
That was 75,000 miles ago.

The Lucas conditioner thickens the oil up and fixed my issues.

It’s worth a try if the transmission is slipping a little and you have been taking care of
the transmission before with oil changes.

 

I bought my truck with about 200k and the fluid was a dark shade of red, no clue if it was changed or not. Like you I just did 2 drain and refill. I prob got 4 quarts total out of old fluid. I did see the normal tiny specks of glitter when the sun hit the old fluid in the pan but nothing unusual.
Still shifts fine so I’m not gonna do another till a year or so. From my understanding the trans flush is what you wanna stay away from, simply draining a few quarts and refilling isn’t gonna clean out the trans but it can’t hurt getting some fresh fluid in there. This is just all my opinion. Everyone has different experiences.

 

Update: Truck is running well and no problems at all. No hard-shifts or anything of the sort have been noticed.

 

I changed mine shortly after buying my 03. It had ~115k miles on it and the fluid was VERY dark. Changed 2 more times with a few months and several thousand miles between changes. I think the transmission shifts better now but it could be in my head..no adverse effects though.

I also added a cooler since then and Scangauge showed a good 15-25 degree drop in temps overall. I’m hoping this will prolong the life of my transmission.

I have to agree OP did it right and should do what I have done and others have said. Change the fluid a few more times after driving to get fresh stuff in there.

Ps. I have towed a fee cars with a dolly, heavy loads on my trailer, and added lots of weight (arb bumper, RTT) and big tires to my truck and trans seems fine!

 

I would have to agree with most on here. I changed my fluid not long after buying the truck. Mainly because it was very dark nothing like fresh atf. This was at about 195k miles. I did the filter as well. I have had no problems from mine.

 

i change at 196k.

 

I am a fan of removing the transmission pan regardless of mileage . Basing this decision on 4000 vehiicles , not a couple trucks .
No flushing allowed until the pan and filter get inspected .
Not a big beleiver of contamination holding clutch packs together . Change the fluid regardless of mileage
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...sions-write-up-your-4-speed-automatic.325531/

 

Damn dude, almost 400k?

 

I always lucked out changing the trans fluid. For some reason every vehicle I've gotten were poorly maintained trans fluid wise and were burnt in smell and color (except my latest taco thankfully). But, never had any issues after switching out the atf fluid on at least the 4runners, tacos, and corolla Ive had.

Im sure for some it would lead to unraveling issues, but for me its more worth it to go ahead and change it and deal with the problem as they come or not rather than the constant worry of thinking the transmission will go out eventually keeping the old fluid.

Also get the feel that toyota's transmissions tend to be more resilient to poor maint than other brands, but thats just my biase/luck tooling haha.

 

@Pervy

I agree with your bias hahaha

I also know from the Jeep XJs that I’ve had (which have a very similar Aisin transmission to our Taco’s A340) that these transmissions are known for taking abuse. The XJ forums are littered with same type of discussions that are in this thread.

 

Hey OP, @crazytacoman ! Wonder if you've followed up with drr's advice (post #19) and have done drain and fill at 5-10k intervals. If not, how is it so far, your transmission? I have a high mileage truck, 218,XXX miles, and and considering doing a drain and fill. I'm 99% sure the transmission fluid hasn't been serviced because there is no service record stating it got one (the two previous owners took very well of the truck and kept all paper works).

 

I did it to a high mileage gx470 and sienna. Do a drain and fill, then at your next oil change drop the pan and change the filter. You will likely notice your transmission will shift quicker and better. Nothing wrong with changing the fluid, the detergents in the fluid will slowly clean things if there is build up and that’s key. Changing the fluid high mileage gets a bad rep because a lot of shops and even dealers will use “cleaners” and “conditioners” which can cause issues.

 

Thank you sir, this was my exact process I was planning on doing. I'm glad you mentioned different vehicles because I stupidly responded on a 1st gen tacoma thread and not a 2nd gen. But am noticing similar pattern of displacing high mileage trans fluid. Do you rec going OEM tran fluid? I was thinking of picking up Valvoline ATF Maxlife.

 

Ive used valvoline with great results and currently use it on my mothers 2016 Camry as well.

 

I changed mine twice a year for ten years. I was shocked when my tranny died at 245k/Still clean but trans. guy said bands were worn out.

 

It's pretty good right now at 275k miles. I regularly abuse the trans when I like to accelerate hard-ish from a stop. I've done a drain/fill 2 times already and have also added some Lubegard in the process of doing so. I'll post a picture of how the transfluid looks like tomorrow. I'm also thinking about changing the transmission filter later on this year, but am also on the fence about it because I'm not too sure it really matters with these trucks at this point.

 

Did a drain and fill 2 weeks ago with valvoline max, previous owner never did much maintenance. Fluid was dark redish brown but didn't smell burnt. No difference in performance before or after, just peace of mind.

 

When I got my truck, the transmission was never done after 205k miles. I didn't do a flush but rather a drain and fill about 4 times within 500 miles. The fluid is now pink and I plan to do it every other oil change. It's cheap insurance and the truck definitely shifts smoother.

 

I should have added, mine probably isnt consider high mileage ( 178 miles ) considering the mileage some have.