What tranny fluid is recommended for a 99 taco? v6 4x4 automatic.

Transmission fluid is quite low, I was finally able to get an accurate reading as my dipstick is all bent to heck from the previous owner (the dipstick pipe design is faulty and requires the dipstick to be bent in unnatural directions). Anyway, pretty sure its reading low, and I'd rather drain and fill than just top off considering the fluid is pretty dark and I've been noticing shifting issues. My truck has 200,600 miles.

A few questions:

1. Anyone know where I can get a new dipstick for an automatic 99 taco v6 4x4?

2. What Automatic Transmission Fluid is the recommended fluid?

3. Is it simply drain and fill? Its pretty low and pretty dark, but not horribly dark.

4. Is there a drain plug like on most vehicles? I assume there is.

5. Is there a fill plug, or do I fill it in through the dipstick pipe?

6. How many qts do I fill it back up with?

Any other advice would be highly appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

Zayne

 

My dipstick is all jacked up too. I refilled the tranny using the dipstick pipe. I'd also suggest if your doing work on it to just drop the pan and replace the filter. Likely its never been done. If you don't want to go that route than yes there is a plug. Should be located right behind your engine. It will be on a pan with about 14 bolts holding it in on the outside edge (pans located in the middle in case that sounds confusing). I used Castrol transmax import multi vehicle synthetic. I've had zero issues so far. I don't know how many qts, wait long enough and someone else will answer that one. It will truly depend on how low it is and how much you take out.

 

1, dealer only most likely

2, dexron 3

3, you may as well change the filter while youre at it. youll already be draining the oil.

4, yes there should be a drain plug. if not, you can drain it by removing the pan. some vehicles do it that way........ idiotic, yes i know.

5, not sure, i hope toyota thought about that......

6, mitchells is saying you only need 2.5 quarts for a drain and refil. if you want to get as clean as possible, buy a case of fluid, drain and refill with 2 quarts, drive a bit, drain and refill again, and do this til you see clean fluid being drained out. reason being is torque converters hold 5-7 quarts on their own. and if it's draining dark, it's in your torque converter dark. do this method to get as much bad fluid out as possible.

 

new thought. you don't have to drive anywhere. the TC is bolted to the engine and is always spinning/pumping with the engine running. just turn it in and let it circulate. then do the refills.

 

mine(v6 auto 4x4) takes 3.5 qts to do a drain and fill so I buy 4 qts- and yes there is a drain plug. it is a 9/16'' bolt in the back of the pan by the t-case and transmission cross member...
you will need a long thin funnel for the dipstick tube as the tube is pretty small... transmission fluid smells terrible spilled on the exhaust BTW.
i believe that first gen. transmission fluid spec. is dex II for tacoma's pre '02 and post '02-'04 is t-IV... i hear people have good luck with are valvoline's MAX life -and I've used royal purple's MAX ATF for years with great results -although it is rather $$$...

also yes if you do a drain and fill it is best to wait at least 2000 miles before the next one or you are just changing the same new fluid you put in. it doesn't circulate in and out of the pan and TQ converter as quick as one would think... also letting it run awhile gets the dirt stirred up and allows you to remove a higher percentage of the dirt than a quick idle and D&F does.
transmission fluid looses it's cleaning capacity over time and use and the new fluid will work stuff loose that the used fluid wasn't.
thats why it is a bad idea to do a full flush at once on a high mileage transmission with original fluid; because of the gunk that is worked loose by the new fluid and has nowhere to go now that it is loose.

draining and filling a few times over a period of few thousand miles gets around this by not loosening stuck stuff as suddenly and also by draining most of the gunk that it works loose thus not allowing a huge amount of it to build up up in the fluid at any one time.

edit ;sorry about the epistle. didn't realize it was that long!

 

Mine took closer to 4-4.5 qts of atf. I use valvoline maxlife in my 02 tacoma. Walmart has the best price on it. 4qt jugs for $16. The atf in my truck was REALLY dark. It took 4 of those jugs (16qts total) to get fresh atf draining out with the drain and fill procedure.

 

Don't be sorry. I am the type of person that wants the most thorough knowledge/instructions so I can do the most thorough job (in pretty much everything I do). Thank you so much. EXACTLY the response I was looking for.

I'm glad you mentioned changing the fluid every couple thousand miles. Extremely solid logic in my personal opinion. I have always been taught to steer clear of a full on transmission flush (with a machine at a shop, I'm assuming) for the fear of gunk getting dislodged and binding something up, and causing serious (usually catastrophic) issues. It does seem more logical to wait longer in between draining/filling for the reasons you've stated above. Again, thanks. This is not to knock those of you who have mentioned doing otherwise. I'm just stating that hopefully everyone gains some more insight because of this mans advice.


Okay, so that's been addressed. I have a potentially more complicated question no one, not even the toyota dealerships in my area, have been able to answer:

What is the difference between the pre '02 Toyota brand ATF (see attached pictures. Part No. 00718-ATF00), and the Castrol Transmax Import/Multi-vehicle ATF (see attached) that you can find at the various parts stores?

I was told by one of the guys at the parts counter of one of the toyota dealerships in my area that the pre '02 toyota brand atf is the same exact thing as dexron III (3). I then read the back of the Toyota brand stuff and it says verbatim: "Formulated to replace Dexron II or Dexron III in applicable Toyota models."

So, being that it says "Formulated to replace..." I would assume that there is something different in the Toyota brand stuff compared to Dexron II or Dexron III. Does anyone have any information to dispute this? I asked a guy at another dealership and he had no idea. I also asked a guy at Autozone and at O'reilley's and they had no idea either, and I haven't been able to find any information on the internet.

Basically, I bought three quarts of the Toyota brand stuff at $10+ a quart, and the guy at the dealership mentioned that its the same as Dexron III and it's probably a lot cheaper to go that route (because I need to purchase more qts to do the drain/fill multiple times). I just don't want to mix them together unless I know for sure it is the same thing, or if it would hurt if I did mix them. I'd prefer to use the best stuff in the end, so even if that means spending an extra couple of bucks per quart, I'm fine with that.

I also don't know what type of fluid is currently in my Tacoma considering I don't know what the previous owner put in it, or if it was done at the dealership a long time ago. So I don't know what kind of ATF cocktail is going on at the moment, or what potential problems it might cause.

Oh, I guess I should mention that I bought a new dipstick thinking that would solve my unruly dipstick situation. It made no difference, haha. I've never had such difficulty with such a thing with any other vehicle, oh well.

 

Good advice. I bought the gasket and filter, and will be doing that when I get done with cycling out my old fluid. Thanks!

 

I use Napa DEX III in mine and it has 275,000+ miles. YMMV.

 

Can I use Valvoline Max life atf anybody have any experience with it

 

so long as it says dexron 3 on it. yes.

 

It says it's pretty much for everything I mostly wanna use it because it's a full synthetic

 

then go with dexron 6. thats a synthetic dexron 3 but without any additives. unless you want the max life additives. your choice.

 

Just did the flush quick tip count the number of bolts on your pan before you buy a new gasket and filter. Their are actually 2 versions a 14 bolt and a 19 bolt version which is what I have. Bought a gallon jug of Valvoline Max life since its a full synthetic filter ATF funnel and can cleaner for about 50 buks better than paying the 200 for the flush. I was only able to get 2.5 quarts out and I put back in 2.75 to compensate for all the ATF I spilled. Getting that old gasket rubber stuff off was a huge pain. Also anybody know of a trick to get the dip stick in and out easier in not sure if I'm getting accurate readings.

 

Had no idea about the 19 bolt pans. But from what I hear from everyone the dipsticks are just and on going pain in the ass. After about 20 checks you get the feel for how it works.

 

So, given the above, my best bet is to do at least a couple drain and fills with some cheaper max ATF before having a flush and filter change and starting to flush fill with RP max ATF. Then there is the separate tranny cooler option too.

 

Yes I'm going through the process myself and it seems to be working. Everyone tells me not to do it but I decided to take the risk .The most I've gotten out of mine with a drain and fill is 2.5 quarts. I been using Valvoline Max life since its like 17 buks a gallon at Walmart and works well. I changed the filter first though which was a pain. The ATF was black shit shake which is when people usually say it's too late but I continued. The first drain diddent notice a difference but the truck didn't run any worse. I waited two weeks and a little over 200 miles to make sure it mixed in well I don't drive allot of miles but I do idle for about 2 hours a day due to having to sit in my truck for my job. The second drain the liquid was still dark but allot clearer I could partly see through it and it had the red tinge of ATF . Now I never believed to much in miracle oils and all that crap but after the second change and a couple of days in the transmission is shifting smooth it no longer pulls when going from park to drive it's definitely doing allot better. Honestly with how well it's doing I wouldn't spend the extra money on RP.

 

So you could see a color change, which makes sense cause your 2.5 qts were mixing with the remaining. I assume you are going to keep changing until you get clean red fluid?

 

yep im gonna do the 3rd and hopefully last change next Friday.