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Transmission Fluid question

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by sbx22, Jul 20, 2010.

  1. Oct 13, 2010 at 3:36 PM
    #21
    FTB530

    FTB530 Well-Known Member

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    level kit,air raid intake,
    OK now im really confused,sbx22 i have a 2005 tacoma ,purchased it in chico.i called the dealer , iknow it has the sealed tranny,and i have 122k miles on it,the service guy there told me you have a sealed transmision and it has (certain kind of fluid)and it never had to bne changed,said toyota has no recomendation to ever change the fluid,BUT that can do it for $435, so i asked him what happens if my tranny fails due to following no change recomendation of toyota are they going to replace the tranny free? He didnt have an answer for me. P.S. Do any of you have anyinfo if you can swap the auto tranny for a 6 speed manual ? Is there kits available? Thanks for any info.
     
  2. Oct 13, 2010 at 4:07 PM
    #22
    buddywh1

    buddywh1 Well-Known Member

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    The answer to that question is real easy: they replace it free IF it's in-warranty. If it's not in warranty no they won't...but they wouldn't if you replaced fluid regularly either so that's not surprising.

    Hey, just because they don't recommend changing fluid doesn't mean you can't do it. Go ahead if you think it will give you peace of mind. I'd definitely shop around, though. You could almost deinitely find someone to do it cheaper than $435. There's a couple threads on TW about doing it yourself if you got the mind to.

    Swapping tranny question's off topic, you're better off starting your own thread IMO.
     
  3. Oct 13, 2010 at 5:34 PM
    #23
    FTB530

    FTB530 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks Buddy,yea i would like the peace of mind,and i think i will look into a do it your self change ,even thought two dealers told me it has to be filled using a computer. might be more then i can do my self though.
     
  4. Oct 13, 2010 at 5:44 PM
    #24
    zeroendless

    zeroendless Well-Known Member

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    Got quote the other from a Toyota dealer, $249. Man, I thought it's standard service fee all around, guess not.
     
  5. Oct 14, 2010 at 4:36 AM
    #25
    buddywh1

    buddywh1 Well-Known Member

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    The shop uses a tool to power-flush it, pumping clean fluid in to get the old fluid that hides in the torque converter. But you don't really need one... there's a how-to someplace in TW to do it by disconnecting the return line from the cooler and draining that into a jug in measured quantity and refilling. I used the same process with my Maxima and it worked great.

    Once you do that you get like 96% all-new fluid. From then on you can get away with only draining the pan, getting 3-4qts of the 11qts total capacity, every 20K or so to keep the fluid freshened.

    Be sure to use only Toyota ATF-WS fluid to make sure it shifts properly. It is more expensive but the thinking is it's synthetic and that's one reason Toyota can get away with the lifetime fill recommendation.
     
  6. Oct 14, 2010 at 6:37 AM
    #26
    VermonterLost

    VermonterLost Well-Known Member

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    This is more for the beginning of the thread when they were asking why it took 17 quarts of fluid...

    I've never used a Toyota machine but back in high school I was at my mechanic's with my old Ranger when BG delivered a brand new Automatic Transmission Flush Machine. I was friends with my mechanic so he asked "want a free flush? I gotta test this thing." The BG guy did it all and was explaining it to me too, the machine takes 16 quarts of fluid to run. Regardless how much the transmission actually holds the machine will run all 16 quarts through. After a while it was running pretty clean, they had me shift through all the gears (complete with a fresh shot of nasty old fluid with each gear) to get it all out of the valve body. Once they were done they had to top it off a little, and a little in the power steering, hence the 17th quart.

    Sorry if this is useless information, but read throught the whole thread and decided I was bored enough to write my experience.
     
  7. Oct 14, 2010 at 8:52 AM
    #27
    buddywh1

    buddywh1 Well-Known Member

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    Not useless at all. I think that was OK when ATF ran about $.50 a quart, but now that it's $7 a qt and up, my opinion they should get a more efficient machine. Or at least tell you up front they'll waste $35 worth of oil in addition to the other expenses so you can compare total cost when shopping the job.
     

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