How to Drain/Refill Automatic Transmission

Drain a fill a tacoma transmission with WS, is not as simple as look. YOu must have a scanner connected and read the temp. of the transmission fluid, is better do it in the dealer. better do a flush and is every 100.000 miles

 

Not true, if you do not have the scanner you can put the truck on temp check mode very easily. Works fine. Also, it is now 60,000 miles.

 

It is not as simple as you think it should be, but that's the whole point of this thread - to show you how to do it. You don't need the scanner, that's what the jumping of the pins, shifting, waiting for lights to come on and hopping around on one leg is for. Read the first post, man!

 

What are you guy's thought on using Amsoil's Low Viscosity Synthetic ATF (ATLQT) fluid as per their recommendation?..or should I just stick to Toyota's ATF fluid? Thanks in advance..

 

that's what I'm using now, I flushed the tranny 14k ago at 60K, and it shifts like new... but I took it to a shop and used their flush machine at 11-12 quarts, not 3 qts for drain & refill.

I'm not dogging anyone here, everyone has his preference, but I cannot do the drain & refill, maybe I'm OCD or ADD OR ADDS, I just feel that "what's the point?" just do the entire fluid ( well, 99% atleast)

 

Did the drain and fill as mentioned on this thread. Drained 2.5 qts and filled it with Amsoil low viscosity ATF 3.5 qts. The taco runs and shifts much more smoother. Even though the truck never saw off roads nor did it ever tow anything, the fluids was pretty dark. Also drained the differential fluid with Amsoil 75w90 Gear oil. My dad never did the 30k or the 60k. The spark plugs were Ngk on one side and then Denso's on the other side of the engine...is this normal? Both the cabin and air filter were DIRTY. The recirculation air button didn't even work anymore until after I switched the cabin filter. Put in Mobil 1 synthetic 5w-20 and toyota filter..after all was said and done..the truck ran way better.

 

I just did this procedure on my '06 2WD Pre Runner with the Automatic 5-speed. When I did the shift thing to get it into AT TEMP mode the light came on after about 4 shifts and stayed on. I shifted to Park and it went off briefly and came back on and stayed on. I checked the fluid level and none came out. I pumped another quart in and went back to AT TEMP mode. When I checked the level the second time about 1/2 qt drained out before I got the trickle. When I initially drained the transmission I only got about 2 qts of fluid. I think I've been a little low since it came from the factory. The truck has 60K on the ODO and I do all of my own maintenance. My manuel says the capacity for the transmission is 3.2 qts. It also says that it's not necessary to change the transmission fluid. I beg to differ. The stuff that came out was pretty darn dirty. I'm going to do this again at 90K. Thanks for this post. You guys saved me $$$ and to borrow a phrase from another poster the truck is running smoother than buttered tits.

 

Want to change the tranny filter? Beware

I just bought my '05 with only 33,000 miles. It is very clean but was used over 5 summers (and New England winters - salt) to tow the original owners camper. I wanted to clean out the tranny pan of all it's impurities and then get a flush.

I got a good price from a reputable shop to drop/clean the pan/filter and then flush the system. I didn't want to do a flush without cleaning the pan and magnets as it seemed like a simple enough job. I was going to do it myself but considered the age of the vehicle and decided to have a pro drop the pan the first time.

I drove the truck to the shop and they took it right away (it was still warm.

The first two tranny pan bolts they tried to remove, broke.

Good thing I didn't try it myself. Or, maybe I would have (should have?) sprayed some liquid wrench on it the night before.

Now I have 2 helicoils for my tranny pan.

Here's a very detailed technical doc on the A750F
<url>http://www.toyotatundraforum.com/pdf/A750E.pdf<url>

Anyone have input on how to remove tranny pan bolts without snapping them other than a warm engine and soak them the night before with penetrating oil?

 

nice, thanks

 

I just opened an account on Tacoma World this morning to say thanks to Fortech and Mountain Lion on helping me with my transmission fluid change. I went ahead and did the full flush (mountain lions method) and everything was fine and straight forward.

I do want to say however that at first, I thought that my truck did not have the AT temp light since I tried so many times to engage into temp check mode and wouldnt work. I would always wait 1-1.5 secs between shifts and it never engaged. I finally tried shifting quickly between shifts. about .5 secs and on the 8th shift it finally engaged. So if someone else wants to try this, maybe that is how to get it to work.

After doing this, I have the check icon lit up on the dashboard. Does anyone know what it could be or how to reset it?

Thanks,

Alex

 

Thanks for the kind words.

Can't help you with the check engine light however. I did a drain and fill just last week (and didn't notice I lost the crush washer on the drain plug). Had to run the temp check mode again just last night when I installed the new crush washer due to ATF weeping around the plug.

Maybe get the truck scanned to reveal the code?

 

Its not the check engine light. It is the other icon, the check malfunction one. I wonder if i disconnect the battery for a while if that will do anything.

 

Not following you on this one. If it is a light that looks something like (!) , then its the tire pressure monitoring system.

What color is the light, and can you describe exactly what it says, what icon, etc.

Never really heard of the check malfunction light before.

 

The icon says "check" and it looks like a transmission. When i looked at the manual it states it is called "check malfunction" icon

 

That's what is referred to as the check engine light. Take the truck to the dealer, Autozone, independent garage, etc and have the system scanned to reveal what code is tripping the light.

 

Excellent write-up. I did this job today and the only hickup was getting the wire in the OBD2 connector. I have a 2007 4.0 2wd Pre-Runner and I had the A/T OIL light.

 

Just found this thread last week. have 100k on my 09. (yep, I drive a lot.)
I had asked he dealer several times to change it. All I ever got back was, sealed unit, no need for 100K, etc...
After I read this, I went right in.. They did it, and flush, 8 qts..
I asked the tech, what the old fluid looked like, he said one word. Black..
I asked him if he thought the tranny was cooked. He said no, that the synthetic fluid he's replaced in the past gets that dark, but is still ok..
I hope so. I got 250K out of my 4Runner without a problem, I was hoping for the same with the Tacoma..
Wish I'd have had it done earlier..

 

As I said before ,...Great Write Up. However,....

According to Toyota Specs as posted on this topic the transmission requires 5.3 L to change all the transmission fluid. So if we are removing and replacing about 3 L, we are not totally changing the ATO fluid only part of it.

That being said, the Dealership here told me that you do not have to change it. Then later they offered to flush my transmission for $289.00. (Good Grief!)
Then later they told me change at 100k miles, then later 60k. This is absurd!

I will do the procedure listed. However, Toyota needs to step up and get this issue clarified to both the customers and the dealers. Charging $289.00 for a flush is nothing short of robbery.
Arrrggghhh!

 

Not sure how much I paid, but it was close to $200.. Was worth it to me.
Still wish I'd have done it sooner. Now Toyota is recommending to do it at 60K..
I can only imagine what a new tranny would cost..

 

Anyone drain a little over 3 put in 4 and still not get the trickle?