After some extensive research I went ahead and switched from T-IV ATF in my 2003 Toyota Echo to Red Line D4 fluid today. My main reason to do this was to get rid of the light transmission whine between 35 and 50 mph. I had this whine since I bought this car 2 years ago, it does not get better or worse. Some members here were able to get rid of their transmission whine with Red Line D4 ATF so I decided to try it also. Did drain and fill twice with about 10 miles of intense driving in-between, hopefully it helped to get most of the old fluid out. I did not notice any difference in transmission operation – it was shifting great before the fluid change and it was still shifting the same way with D4. The whine unfortunately did not go away although it was not as loud as with T-IV fluid. The difference is very minor but noticeable. I believe Red Line D4 has more viscosity at higher temperatures than T-IV, that is why I was hoping to get rid of the whine. Overall I am happy with D4 although not at 100% as I still have this annoying whine. Perhaps I will try Redline high temp ATF that has even higher viscousity. Did anybody try this fluid in place of T-IV?
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T-IV to Redline D4 ATF swap report
- Thread starter dkrivosheyev
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Did you change the filter also? I am thinking of doing a drain and refill plus filter change on my 94 Prizm. I hope the transmission does not die on me. The car has 139K miles on it, I had a drain&refill done 2 years ago at a shop.This time I hope to be able to di it myself with synthetic ATF.
dkrivosheyev
Thread starter
I changed the filter 20,000 miles ago, my toyota has 117,000 miles on it. The filter was relatively clean. It is very easy to change the filter.
I'm purchasing some D4 to use in my 1996 Honda Accord. I was originally going to just use the Honda Z1 but after researching the issue and reading some of the Honda forums have decided to give it a try (the car only has 55,000 miles and shifts OK but is sometimes a little harsh as these transmissions are known to be...hoping the D4 will smooth it out and get me a longer drain interval). I'm intending to do 3 drain and fills...will let everyone know how it goes.
dkrivosheyev
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3 drain and fills will be rather expensive - I think D4 is like $10.00 a quart...
If you do a cooler line flush, you can get all the old fluid out without wasting so much expensive fluid on drain and fills. I might waste a quart or two more than the listed capacity during a flush to get a complete changeout. You won't know if the new fluid is gonna fix your whine unless you get out all the old fluid.
Originally Posted By: dkrivosheyev
The whine unfortunately did not go away although it was not as loud as with T-IV fluid.
Which tells you the noise is mechanical and wear-related.
The whine unfortunately did not go away although it was not as loud as with T-IV fluid.
Which tells you the noise is mechanical and wear-related.
dkrivosheyev
Thread starter
Originally Posted By: Wilhelm_D
Originally Posted By: dkrivosheyev
The whine unfortunately did not go away although it was not as loud as with T-IV fluid.
Which tells you the noise is mechanical and wear-related.
Yes, I know where the noise is coming from - this is a known issue with some of the Aisin Warner transmission. Final drive is making this light whine, some of Echos had this whine since new. I don't know if this one had the whine from the beginning or not since I bought it used, however, the noise is not getting any worse so to me it is just annoying and nothing esle. I had UOA done and it did not reveal ant excessive iron in the oil that means the gears are not wearing prematurely. I think this noise is due to tolerances being too large on the assembly line. There was one member on this forum with an Acura with the same whine and switching to D4 made the whine go away.
Originally Posted By: dkrivosheyev
The whine unfortunately did not go away although it was not as loud as with T-IV fluid.
Which tells you the noise is mechanical and wear-related.
Yes, I know where the noise is coming from - this is a known issue with some of the Aisin Warner transmission. Final drive is making this light whine, some of Echos had this whine since new. I don't know if this one had the whine from the beginning or not since I bought it used, however, the noise is not getting any worse so to me it is just annoying and nothing esle. I had UOA done and it did not reveal ant excessive iron in the oil that means the gears are not wearing prematurely. I think this noise is due to tolerances being too large on the assembly line. There was one member on this forum with an Acura with the same whine and switching to D4 made the whine go away.
dkrivosheyev
Thread starter
Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
If you do a cooler line flush, you can get all the old fluid out without wasting so much expensive fluid on drain and fills. I might waste a quart or two more than the listed capacity during a flush to get a complete changeout. You won't know if the new fluid is gonna fix your whine unless you get out all the old fluid.
the total capacity of this tranny is 6qt and I can get 4 qt out each time I drain the fluid. With 2 drains and fills I think I got over 90% of the old fluid out which should make a difference if the whine is to go away with D4
If you do a cooler line flush, you can get all the old fluid out without wasting so much expensive fluid on drain and fills. I might waste a quart or two more than the listed capacity during a flush to get a complete changeout. You won't know if the new fluid is gonna fix your whine unless you get out all the old fluid.
the total capacity of this tranny is 6qt and I can get 4 qt out each time I drain the fluid. With 2 drains and fills I think I got over 90% of the old fluid out which should make a difference if the whine is to go away with D4
Call and talk to Dave at Red Line, maybe he can give you some insight about this whine and whether or not the racing fluid would work/help it. I'm using the Amsoil ATF in place of T-IV and like it very much, not sure if it would help with a noise like your's.
I have been using Amsoil ATF from the beginning, last year for some reason I used RP maxATF, I do yearly ATF change, just drain and fill...
Last time I changed the gasket and the filter was little over two years ago...
2 weeks ago i noticed the gear when going into 4th from 3rd, whines....so i thought it is time for ATF fluid change in my 04 Corolla, so went and grabbed Red Line D4 as it is doing extremely well in my BMW...
although the shifting has smoothed a lot but the whine is still there...it continue to whines from 3rd to 4th...
I am not sure what can I do, do i need to do drop the pan, clean it and change the filter as well? which I have not done in over 2 years (mostly city 40K miles)? if yes how long should i wait to do this?
or this is what I will have to live with?
Last time I changed the gasket and the filter was little over two years ago...
2 weeks ago i noticed the gear when going into 4th from 3rd, whines....so i thought it is time for ATF fluid change in my 04 Corolla, so went and grabbed Red Line D4 as it is doing extremely well in my BMW...
although the shifting has smoothed a lot but the whine is still there...it continue to whines from 3rd to 4th...
I am not sure what can I do, do i need to do drop the pan, clean it and change the filter as well? which I have not done in over 2 years (mostly city 40K miles)? if yes how long should i wait to do this?
or this is what I will have to live with?
dkrivosheyev
Thread starter
Originally Posted By: Ibrahim
I have been using Amsoil ATF from the beginning, last year for some reason I used RP maxATF, I do yearly ATF change, just drain and fill...
Last time I changed the gasket and the filter was little over two years ago...
2 weeks ago i noticed the gear when going into 4th from 3rd, whines....so i thought it is time for ATF fluid change in my 04 Corolla, so went and grabbed Red Line D4 as it is doing extremely well in my BMW...
although the shifting has smoothed a lot but the whine is still there...it continue to whines from 3rd to 4th...
I am not sure what can I do, do i need to do drop the pan, clean it and change the filter as well? which I have not done in over 2 years (mostly city 40K miles)? if yes how long should i wait to do this?
or this is what I will have to live with?
Is the whine continuous under the load or is it only at the time of the shift?
I have been using Amsoil ATF from the beginning, last year for some reason I used RP maxATF, I do yearly ATF change, just drain and fill...
Last time I changed the gasket and the filter was little over two years ago...
2 weeks ago i noticed the gear when going into 4th from 3rd, whines....so i thought it is time for ATF fluid change in my 04 Corolla, so went and grabbed Red Line D4 as it is doing extremely well in my BMW...
although the shifting has smoothed a lot but the whine is still there...it continue to whines from 3rd to 4th...
I am not sure what can I do, do i need to do drop the pan, clean it and change the filter as well? which I have not done in over 2 years (mostly city 40K miles)? if yes how long should i wait to do this?
or this is what I will have to live with?
Is the whine continuous under the load or is it only at the time of the shift?
Only at the time of final shift, when "shifting up", I must admit the process has become buttery soft with D4 ATF but it whines, and this is a recent phenomenon....
Does the transmission whine when cold? That is when the fluid is at its highest viscosity. If it whines when cold too, then a thicker fluid will probably not be the solution.
dkrivosheyev
Thread starter
Originally Posted By: Ibrahim
Only at the time of final shift, when "shifting up", I must admit the process has become buttery soft with D4 ATF but it whines, and this is a recent phenomenon....
This looks like a clogged tranny filter
Only at the time of final shift, when "shifting up", I must admit the process has become buttery soft with D4 ATF but it whines, and this is a recent phenomenon....
This looks like a clogged tranny filter
dkrivosheyev
Thread starter
Originally Posted By: chrome
Does the transmission whine when cold? That is when the fluid is at its highest viscosity. If it whines when cold too, then a thicker fluid will probably not be the solution.
My transmission whine only when hot. No noise at all when it is cold. I have done lots of experiments and pretty much confirmed that this is a final drive whine which apparently a known problem with some of the Aisin-Warner transmission. I think the heavier fluid will solve the whine issue.
Does the transmission whine when cold? That is when the fluid is at its highest viscosity. If it whines when cold too, then a thicker fluid will probably not be the solution.
My transmission whine only when hot. No noise at all when it is cold. I have done lots of experiments and pretty much confirmed that this is a final drive whine which apparently a known problem with some of the Aisin-Warner transmission. I think the heavier fluid will solve the whine issue.
Chrome: it whines little more aggressively when cold
Dkrivosheyev: What do you suggest I do? my ATF is only week old....
Dkrivosheyev: What do you suggest I do? my ATF is only week old....
I have this whine in my V6 RAV4. A lot of people complain about it on the RAV4world forum.
I went from WS ATF to Redline D4 (drain and fill) and no difference whatsoever. I will do another one in a while (that stuff is expensive). One person supposedly did a Mobil 1 flush and whine was improved. I'm not convinced as this is highly subjective. Other people tried D6 with no results.
Interestingly, when people got trannies replaced (USA) or repaired (Australia) under warranty, the noise invariably came back. Some kind of design problem.
I went from WS ATF to Redline D4 (drain and fill) and no difference whatsoever. I will do another one in a while (that stuff is expensive). One person supposedly did a Mobil 1 flush and whine was improved. I'm not convinced as this is highly subjective. Other people tried D6 with no results.
Interestingly, when people got trannies replaced (USA) or repaired (Australia) under warranty, the noise invariably came back. Some kind of design problem.
I am thinking of dropping the pan, changing the filter and gasket next year, and clean it well...anyone thinks that will help?
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