Tranny Service?

[Daryll]

So with this type of maintenance, how long do you think your vehicle will last? Truthfully, around here there are going to be rust/cosmetic/crud issues before there are drivetrain issues with merely "normal" maintenance. I see you are in Eastern PA, which gets winter more mildly than here in the mountains of Western PA. That being said, you're still in the snow/rust/salt belt.

 

[lexus114]

I like keeping on top of things with my vehicles (mine really) I dont touch hers. that is our Mercedes mechanic only! The bright side of that is; I cant get blamed for anything.

 

[Ken2]

Daryll,
Does that car use Toyota T-IV ATF or Toyota WS ATF? The WS is a longer life fluid (they are not interchangeable). If T-IV, I'd do a complete flush now and a drain & refill every 30,000 miles. With the WS, I'd probably do the same, but feel better about the longevity of the transmission. I'd also put a Magnefine or SPX Filtran in-line filter ($25) in the fluid hose to the cooler and change that every 30k. By the way, my '01 Tundra transmission (different transmission model from your car, but...) is now rolling over 115,000 miles and still pulls like new.

Regarding the fluids, you need to use either the specified fluid or one that is specifically "recommended" by the fluid maker to substitute for that fluid. The T-IV fluid is used by several car makers under different labels, so any label that says it is T-IV or 3309 is the right stuff. Many indie shops will use a Dexron/Mercon fluid and add a high friction modified supplement like Lubegard Black or Platinum to the fluid. That probably won't hurt the transmission, but I'm not sure it will feel like the right fluid. I like Lubegard products, but I'm not certain that their products are always suitable for modifying the fluid to other usages.

For the life of the components of your car, do renew all the fluids periodically. Flush and renew the brake fluid. Remove, refill, drive, remove, refill, drive the power steering fluid until you've used a quart (I use syn ATF). Flush and renew the coolant on schedule, and I stick with the Toyota brand or Zerex Asian formula to be sure the chemistry is right with all the metals inside the system.

 

[johnachak]

See the post directly above yours. Same thing. There is a machine that supposedly pumps fresh fluid in the reverse flow direction. This supposedly cleans the filter as well as gets all the old fluid out. As I said, supposedly.

 

[RF Overlord]

With all the check-balls and one-way do-dads in a transmission, I'm not sure a reverse flush is even possible. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to try it on MY car.

I have no problem with a complete fluid exchange; in fact, that is the procedure recommended by Ford for my vehicles.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Last year in response to all the hubub about so called "flush" machines I stopped in over 30 different indie shops and dealerships and actually looked at their trans service machines.

Not a single one was active or a "flusher"! All were simple passive bladders and reservoirs, your own trans pump did all the work.

I have yet to see any kind of reverse or active flushing machine anywhere for an auto trans.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
With all the check-balls and one-way do-dads in a transmission, I'm not sure a reverse flush is even possible. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to try it on MY car.



Right on, because there is no way to push ATF backwards through a hydraulic system.

This is a common misconception with these "services" and is probably worded that way to make it sound good from a sales standpoint.

A simple fluid exchange is all that's going on.

Joel

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
With all the check-balls and one-way do-dads in a transmission, I'm not sure a reverse flush is even possible. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to try it on MY car.



Right on, because there is no way to push ATF backwards through a hydraulic system.

This is a common misconception with these "services" and is probably worded that way to make it sound good from a sales standpoint.

A simple fluid exchange is all that's going on.

Joel


And at the end of the hydraulic system is the pump. If its running its going the wrong way for a reverse flush, if its stopped you have to be able to push ATF through rotating parts of a pump that are not rotating.

 

[wiswind]

The pan drop gets at most 1/2 of the fluid.
They don't put drain plugs in Torque converters on most vehicles now.
So, the only way to change all the fluid is to do a fluid exchange.
Many shops have the machine to do this......as your transmission pumps the old fluid out through the cooler line, the machine simply replaces that old fluid with NEW fluid INTO the transmission at the same rate.

If they say that they are running the fluid through backwards.....find another shop!
Also, you do NOT want any "cleaning" chemicals added.....you want ONLY the fluid exchanged.

Dropping the pan gives you the chance to change the filter and clean the in-pan magnets, as well as look for signs of problems.
It is normal for the magnets to have a grey fuzz on them which is normal clutch material wear.

I have done the fluid exchange on several vehicles myself by running the cooler line into a container....running the engine at idle until the flow of fluid slows or I see air bubbles in it (I slide a clear hose over the cooler line so that I can see the fluid flow)....then I stop the engine, measure the amount of fluid that came out....and replace it with the same amount of new fluid.
Several cycles of this gives me a transmission full of new fluid.

I drop the pan and service the filter FIRST, then I fill it back up and do the exchange.
I use a Magnefine filter in the cooler line, which filters out smaller particles than the in-pan filter does, also there is a big magnet inside the Magnefine which all the fluid flows over, so it catches more ferris particles.
On my old FORD Windstar, I dropped the pan and changed the filter every OTHER time....it had a felt filter that actually filtered.
My TOYOTA has a nylon screen inside the cartridge, so I will not change it as often, since it is not really filtering much.
Some TOYOTA vehicles have the nylon screen type filter and others have the better "felt" type filter.
NOTE: My 2001 Toyota Sienna has a much better transmission reliability reputation than my '96 FORD Windstar's transmission did.

Others drain and fill the transmission more often.....keeping the fluid fresh.
You drain the fluid using the drain plug on the transmission pan (TOYOTA puts one on most of their vehicles, which makes this easy)....then put the drain plug back in (very important) and then measure the amount of fluid you drained out.....and pour in the same amount of new fluid.

As mentioned, Make SURE to use the correct fluid for your vehicle, which will be either T-IV or WS.
CAREFULLY read the label to make sure that you are using the correct fluid.
As mentioned, many shops use a "universal" fluid and add a additive to it to "make" it meet the specifications for particular vehicles.
This can be good or bad.......I tend to not trust them as they are trying to meet a price point that people will come to them and that they can still make a profit.
Of course, you can take your own fluid in and have them use that....making sure that the actually put it into your vehicle.

In other words....if you don't trust your local dealerships, but have a independant shop that you do trust, you can take your choice of fluid to them and have them do the service.

 

[Kira]

Hello, I love the detail and truth of this thread. The one thing I want to ad is: In machines as complex as automatic transmissions which are subject to varying conditions (Pittsburgh hills and cold vs. Florida flats and heat etc.), the only way to assure that you've gotten it clean is to "over maintain" it a bit. It's much cheaper to over maintain a transmission than accurately measure the dirt accumulation over time. Kira PS I wish all autos had external transmission filters like my friend's Saturn. K