Drain and refill fluid substitute for Toyota WS?

I’m not sure where that second quote attributed to me is leading. Wherever it goes and whomever is saying it needs to learn how to spell.
 
I’m not sure where that second quote attributed to me is leading. Wherever it goes and whomever is saying it needs to learn how to spell.
The expected typical caustic reply.. LOL. A simple mistake was made in quoting (sp?) So sorry LOL. But can you answer the fluid suspended clutch material question, not the english? You appear to have a bit of experience and know substantial "stuff"
 
I did D+F on our Venza's U660E last month. The dealer charged $48 for three quarts of WS. I could've gotten a jug of MaxLife from WM for $28 and saved a whopping $20.

I opted to go for the real stuff, just like I did on the coolant, oil cooler lines, and some various retainer clips. I did use generic Prestone dot 3 fluid for the brake flush because I'm a cheapskate. Same with getting Denso air and cabin filters from rock auto. Over the anticipated life of that car, $200 extra on dealer coolant, trans fluid, and brake pads isn't going to kill me.

I wish I could've changed more than 2.7 qts, but without dropping the pan and popping the filter loose, that's all she would give. I felt a little cheated for all the mess I made, weighing it out, weighting it back in, using a pump, etc.

I actually got five quarts but the dealer let me return two when I was picking up the third jug of $34 coolant because my drain and fill managed to get 8.2 quarts out.
 
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I’m new to the world of servicing automatic transmissions. I just bought a 2009 Scion with the U241E four-speed auto. It has 120k miles and I think it’s time for new fluid. The manual specs Toyota WS fluid, which is $$$. For the final fill I will likely use Valvoline Maxlife but I want to do several short interval drains before the final fill. Rural King sells a Dexron 3 equivalent fluid at $27 for a two gallon jug so I could potentially circle a whole bunch of fluid through cheaply. Walmart sells their Supertech Dexron 6 for $20 a gallon. Is either any better or worse for a short interval fill?

Or should I just spend the extra bucks and use Maxlife for the whole thing? Does it matter? Am I overthinking this?
I’ve e gone about 120k miles using valvoline maxlife atf in my gas sipper Toyota which specs Toyota WS. You can use Dexron VI as well.
 
It’s rather well known that fishes often remove too much material and debris with the fluid. This then creates slippage issues, terminally damaging the clutches.

Research it…….its not that “dumb”
There are those in the media (like YouTube) that promote this kind of misinformation. Just because someone has "been a technician for ## years" doesn't mean you know what you're saying. Ignorance is the default but talking confidently can help you feel better and is much easier for some, certainly it's quicker than learning. Unsubscribing or blocking is always an option.

Is there something like Snopes for technicians / engineers?
 
The expected typical caustic reply.. LOL. A simple mistake was made in quoting (sp?) So sorry LOL. But can you answer the fluid suspended clutch material question, not the english? You appear to have a bit of experience and know substantial "stuff"
There is an edit link in your posts for a reason.
 
There are those in the media (like YouTube) that promote this kind of misinformation. Just because someone has "been a technician for ## years" doesn't mean you know what you're saying. Ignorance is the default but talking confidently can help you feel better and is much easier for some, certainly it's quicker than learning. Unsubscribing or blocking is always an option.

Is there something like Snopes for technicians / engineers?
Personal experience…….but you will believe what you will.
 
Personal experience…….but you will believe what you will.
True and I doubt you'll find an accomplished lubrication or power transmission engineer who would agree with his assertions.

Media Influencers will do all sorts of things to engage and manage their audience. An engineer has a professional responsibility and liability.
 
Assuming Maxlife ATF is $8-9/qt and OEM WS is $12-13/qt - the difference is $5/qt approx.
If you use a gallon for a drain and fill every 2 yrs (or 25,000 miles) then the cost difference is about $25 amortized over 2 yr period = is $13 per year.
Why, why not just use the OEM fluid. I think it's worth the peace of mind for 13 bucks a year.

Believe me, I know because I had a pay partially for a Honda transmission rebuild - because a "stupid" mechanic put in the non-OEM fluid (when I had specifically asked for DW-1) in my Odyssey. Paying $1500 was not fun.
What fluid did he put in?

I think a lot of Honda V6 had bad transmission even if OEM fluid is used, but that's hard to prove if you use aftermarket and can't prove it is not the fluid's fault.
 
True and I doubt you'll find an accomplished lubrication or power transmission engineer who would agree with his assertions.

Media Influencers will do all sorts of things to engage and manage their audience. An engineer has a professional responsibility and liability.
A crap load of transmission mechanics would strongly disagree.
 
I am guessing this is the video that keeps being referenced



Funny enough, it came up on my YouTubes
 
A few previous threads which may be of interest. For what it's worth I have been using Maxlife in my son-in-laws's Toyota which lists WS and it has been fine. No shudder or any other weird actions.

Yeah, I'd reco OP take his time and read some of these. I went down a similar rabbit hole awhile back, but just searched the board and found a plethora of information as shown above.

I've since done Maxlife spill 'n fills on two AB60Fs in two Tundras with no ill effects of which I have been informed. One guy immediately drove it from Colo to Mexico for 40 days, then back to Colo. I asked how the vehicle did and he just said "great."

My clif notes from too much research were:
1) Maxlife is fine, and clearly approved for use here by Valvoline
2) WS is sometimes argued to be an adequate fluid but actually nothing special, and semi-synthetic
3) there's a solid chance Dex VI is virtually the same based upon specs, but I won't risk that in a vehicle that isn't mine!!
4) many, many people have run Maxlife with no problems. The mention of potential shudder in this very thread was the first I'd heard, so maybe I should retract #4

NOTE this is what I took away from my research. I encourage @Elkins45 to do his own reading and draw his own conclusions. Two people can see the same data and come to different conclusions.

As for snopes.....nah. Sorry, but the hard hat really was backwards, so I've written them off.
 
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