Is it too late- transmission flush

The DIY flush thread isn't the same as a transmission shop flush. So you'll be fine doing it.

 

weclome to the wonderful world of toyota transmissions!! I have a 2005dclb 4x4. It has 116k on it. When i hit the 100k mark, i figured it was time for a trans. flush (not a drain and refill, thats only like 3 qts.) You'll will get alot of mixed reviews about this issue on here, especially people saying that if it has over 100k, dont mess with. Heres the deal, there are probably tons and tons of people (including myself) that get it FLUSHED at the dealer around 100k since thats when toyota recommended be done on these "sealed transmissions." I had mine done at 102k, even though it shifted fine beforehand. It shifts exactly like it did before the flush. I've heard horror stories of people flushing tranmissions with high mileage, but have u heard a bad one lately from a toyota tacoma owner? i havn't--and there are lots of people with tacomas that get the flush done everyday. I know there still seems to be risks with high mileage flushes but then again, this isnt a 1985 chevy with a turbo350 with 100k getting flushed either...bottom line..id get it done.

 

Flush it.

 

Steve...How many miles was on that?

 

Sorry, I lifted the pic off the web but clearly if the oil looks anything like on the left....get it out.

 

still torn on what to do...

 

thanks for all the input here just keep it coming... the more opinions the better

 

I was a Toyota mech for about 10 years and been working on them for about 25 years. The rule of thumb I always went by was, If you have a problem with your trans then changing the fluid will not help. I have changed the fluid and filter on very many cars and never had a problem from just changing the fluid. Some of the vehicles had over 150000 on them and never had it changed before I changed it. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I doubt it,my lucks not that goood.......

 

If you talk to a transmission guy. A bad trans is a bad trans, flushing the fluid will just bring the problem more to light. If it is a bad trans, don't change the fluid either, get it rebuilt. I had a GM 4L60E trans that was shifting rough and I did a drain n fill on it and then it was almost undrivable. The problem was already there, the new fluid swelled the seals and clutches and long story short, shifting into third gear, I thought the trans dropped. If you do the trans yourself, if the fluid has a dictinct burned smell, don't put new fluid in. Put the old burnt fluid back in and go have your trans rebuilt or get a new one. If you take it to toyota, anything that happens to your trans will be on them, same with trans shop. If anything is wrong, they'll be able to tell you right away.

 

Not 2nd Gen but interesting read...
http://www.gadgetonline.com/TransFlush.htm

 

I just had a flush done yesterday on my 2005 V6 with 103,000 miles on it. The reason I did was because I was getting a "shudder" between the 3-4 and 4-5 shifts at low RPM's.

I drove it all around today and so far everything is golden, no shudder or other issues.

I hope I'm good for another 100,000 miles

 

Thanks, that was a good read and it taught me more about this topic!

 

Well I got the balls to do it today even after being a little sketched out by this thread. Everything went perfectly smooth and exactly as described in the tutorial. Took me about 3.5 hours with me being super anal and careful about everything. After getting the truck into temp check mode I idled for about 15 minutes and the light came on. Crawled under and removed the overfill plug and there was moderate flow but it only took about 20 seconds to get it to a small trickle. Sealed it up with a new crush washer and checked for leaks. I took her for a spin and it shifts just the same, but its all about the preventative maintenance. Im gonna take a picture of my old fluid and post it. To anyone who is sketched out...Read read and read some more until you are exactly sure on what to do. I went out and made sure I had all the supplies I needed so I wouldnt be stopped in my tracks with the tank empty. All in all I used 11.75 quarts of 12 purchased from the dealer. The parts guy gave me a super deal since I bought a case and sold it to me for $65. Win.

 

I just flushed my AFT at 60K ... I had everything I needed to do it, and I was at my brothers shop, so we just said what the hell, why not. Everything went fine (just a little messy ) and shifting is like butter now.

 

A mechanic at a specialty import shop once told me that some shops, that do a flush. Connect there machine to the drain plug & force trans oil into the transmission. Then drain it. He said this is the wrong approach. What it does is loosen any particles that settled on the bottom of the transmission. The particles will float up & adhere to the moving parts causing damage. The way he flushed the transmission is pull the plug(or drop the pan, depending on transmission), remove fluid. Replaced plug(or pan) added fluid & a detergent. Would crank vehicle & run for 10 minutes or so. Drain trans, refill with trans fluid, run 10 minutes, drain & refill again. This is why that shop charged alot for the transmission flush.

I never had my 05 tacoma transmission flushed & traded it at 173,500 miles with no issues.

 

Heres the used fluid @ 113k miles. Very dark maroon (BLACK) but it smelled fine. Pretty sure it has never been changed before...I didn't see any signs of wear on the outside of the pan bolts.

 

That's not a flush, that's just two sequential "drain and refills"... the same thing we should be doing every 60k.
I wouldn't normally have an issue with what he did (the 2nd change is better), except that he added detergent to the first change.
ATF is a VERY highly detergent hydraulic fluid in and of itself. I'd be concerned about compatibility between his detergents and the Toyota WS ATF, and of course, that detergent circulated through the entire trans, but his 2nd fluid change only replaced about 4 quarts of the 16 or so in the trans, so that detergent is still in there.

BTW: 2nd Gen Tacomas use ONLY Toyota WS fluid, dealer item, you can't buy it at Pep Boys. If your "trans guy" did not use it, get thee to a dealership and have them do a complete fluid exchange with the proper machine and fluid.

 

Likely not.

Transmission service is the 2nd most neglected service item after chassis lube. Manufacturers haven't helped by selling vehicles without zerk fittings or trans dipsticks.

Another generally ignored item is a coolant drain and refill every couple of years.

100k, it's likely time to take care of all of these items, even if the coolant doesn't look bad.

 

Some people have problems after a flush, some not. On my 4Runner with about 70k miles I did a trans pan drop and refilled it just to be on the safe side.

From what I've learned, the problem with flushes is that it stirs up gunk and whatnot in the transmission and this allows the stuff to flow into passages, etc. which eventually leads to problems. That's why more problems happen with higher mileage transmissions than a lower mileage trans.

 

for me, better safe then sorry. drain and refill is how i do mine.