Trans Flush 2001 1st Gen Question

Sorry to be asking this, but I can't find what I'm looking for (I searched)...I've found lots of folks asking "should I just change my trans. fluid or take it to a shop and get it drained?" I know that I need to have mine flushed b/c I'm at 130,000 miles and had it flushed when I bought it at 90,000 miles. Let me start by saying that I'm not a guru in the transmission area. I've got a 2001 Automatic. Rather than dropping another $125 at the shop for a flush, I want to try to tackle this myself. I think the older Toyota trucks have a drain plug in the torque converter, but I'm not sure about mine. I'm pretty sure the pan has a drain plug that can be easily accessed...if so, changing the filter won't be a problem either. What I'm wondering is, if mine does have a drain plug in the torque converter, what steps do I take to flush it? (like I said, I'm a novice in the transmissional arts lol)

 

I haven't had a flush on my truck but I have drain and refilled it and its super simple. I would just advise only drain and refilling because I'm always hearing some horror story from flushing. But if you want to flush it here is a thread for a 2nd gen but its should work for our trucks.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/68462-diy-full-flush-automatic-transmission.html

 

The only reason I want to do a full flush is b/c my father-in-law said that the torque converter holds a lot of fluid that won't get drained, which allows dirty fluid to recycle back through the transmission (kinda like draining and replacing your oil without replacing the filter)

 

Yeah that is true but I guess I just live with that lol. I say if you had yours flushed only like 40k miles ago I would just do the drain and refill because toyota suggest a drain and refill every 30k miles. But you could go for the flush man if you want all the fluid removed.

 

Well, I'm definitely not going to, unless I have a step-by-step to follow lol...b/c I know I'll be one of those horror stories you're talking about!

 

Did you check out that 2nd gen diy flush? It would be my luck to run the torque converter dry and ruin the transmission doing that lol

 

Same here. The more I read into this, the more I want to take it to the shop...although, I always prefer the DIY method. If I do take it in, I'm hoping my "buddy" will let me sit in and watch, so I can see how it's done, but I doubt it...he's got to make a living too lol

 

Yeah that's true man. I like the diy method too but honestly I would love to pay someone so I don't have to mess with some things lol. Kinda like those steering rack bushings I replaced tonight lol

 

Haha heard that. If I find a way to do this myself, I'll be sure to make a thread and update this one about it. I'm prob just gonna end up taking it in though lol

 

bump. Anybody know anything about this?

 

If it was me I would drop the pan, clean the magnets and replace filter. This should get out about 6 quarts. IIRC the trans holds 10.8 quarts. Then next service pull the trans plug. 4 quarts should come out, replace the 4 quarts with new. This should yield you 65-70% new fluid, enough to make me say good enough. Of course you could keep doing this but with diminishing returns.

 

I like the sound of this, but I'm wanting to flush out all the bad fluid at once

 

I've searched for this same thing and couldn't find much info. I drained and changed the filter. Then ran it for a week and drained and refilled a second time. Finally, I ran it another week and did one more drain and fill. It's as close to a flush as I'm gonna get.

 

Heard that. I wonder how much more beneficial a flush at a shop is, compared to that. I really don't wanna pay an unnecessary $125

 

I have had same question. I am at 93k and it has never been flushed. Will getting a flush done at dealership cause problems?

 

Your best bet would be to go with that link provided for the 2nd gens. drain whats in the trans. pan then whats in the oil cooler. as for torque converter from my knowledge, there is no drain plugs on the 2001-2004 so if you want to drain the torque converter you would have to remove it. that means practically removing the trans.

 

Doubt it, but I'm sure it will be cheaper if you take it to a local shop...I'm not a fan of the dealer doing anything to my truck after the 'Great EGR Crisis of 2012' haha. Assholes told me I needed a new EGR valve ($150)...I took it home and cleaned it out and it worked perfectly. I wrote the dealership off after that haha.

I might try that b/c I'm definitely not removing the trans haha

 

I worked for a, company that "loaned" the flush (real flush, not a suck/fill) machines to dealerships, and IIRC, 100k was the do/don't flush marker.
Sears policy was no go if vehicle did not have a flush before and had mileage over 100k. The Sears in my area use a suck/fill machine that works through the trans dipstick tube.

 

I just took it and got it flushed yesterday, so I'm probably gonna drain and refill after 40k and 80k and get it flushed again after 100k. I wish I had one of those damn machines! I hate paying for stuff I could do!

 

X2 what xcmtb83 posted

After that you get diminished returns. In other words, it will be good enough.

that's how I do it.

And consider using synthetic transmission fluid. It will take more heat before going bad. Cheap insurance for your transmission.