tranny flush?

[Dawgz]

Is it a pain to do it yourself? Thats why I took it to the dealership in the first place. I just didn't feel like messing with it.

theres a plug underneath, i believe its a 10mm hex bit.


undo the bolt a bit, itll leak out, let it leak out till it stops, then fully take out the bolt, itll drain out a bit more....let it sit and drip for a bit till nothing else comeso out. Tighten the nut back on...if u have a torque wrench, torque it to 36inch pounds.

then to refill, u refill 4 quarts in the dip stick tube....check to see on the bottom that it isnt leaking, then drive it around the block, and check the level...if u need more, just add a bit more, no more than 1 more quarts for a total of 5.

[crispone]

And Crisp it would be hard for anybody to tell the difference if they drove your car because they wouldn't know what it felt like before you did your work. So I guess everyone will have to take your butt's advise

Yes... and no...


...because, even though, as you say... you may not know the "before" performance, the comparison is with your expectation and past experience with YOUR 'laras or some other cars... simply to assess my vehicles general performance character on it's own merits.


heh heh heh...





And NO... I don't use "CRISPOXIDE INJECTION" to achieve my results...


-crisp

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

I flush my 'lara every 30K miles (has been since it was new) and thus far...i'm good. I do it at the stealerships cus I know other shops may/maynot use our recommended fluids and I don't trust other shops

[Solorange]

Is it a pain to do it yourself? Thats why I took it to the dealership in the first place. I just didn't feel like messing with it.

theres a plug underneath, i believe its a 10mm hex bit.


undo the bolt a bit, itll leak out, let it leak out till it stops, then fully take out the bolt, itll drain out a bit more....let it sit and drip for a bit till nothing else comeso out. Tighten the nut back on...if u have a torque wrench, torque it to 36inch pounds.

then to refill, u refill 4 quarts in the dip stick tube....check to see on the bottom that it isnt leaking, then drive it around the block, and check the level...if u need more, just add a bit more, no more than 1 more quarts for a total of 5.

Im about ready to do this, but does the transmission have a a dipstick tube? I thought there is just a port on the side of the tranny you fill until oil pours out of it. Also is the trans fluid Crisp mentioned what Toyota puts in the car from the start? Or is there other recommended fluids you can use?

[steffknee]

Would you not change your oil for fear of cleaning gunk out and causing things to leak? No. You just wouldn't use any kind of engine cleaner for that reason, some people don't switch to synthetic for that reason since it's a cleaner oil.

Transmission fluid is like engine oil but for the transmission. You don't have to change it as often because it is thicker and doesn't tend to burn off like engine oil does.

Here's what I have to say about this topic...
- first of all your transmission fluid should not be old enough to cause gunk build-up at the seals, if that is the case your synchros are already junk and your transmission will fail whether you flush the fluid or not.
- if you have a manual transmission and your fluid is bad most likely you will grind some gears very often.
- with a manual trans it will only really leak from 2 places, the axle seals. Those seals are rubber and if they are still good, no kind of buildup or cleaning of buildup will cause them to leak.
- if you have an automatic transmission there are more places it can leak from. Axle seals and the front pump seal are pretty much the same as I said for the previous. Then there is the trans pan gasket which is either a cork gasket or just sealed with FIPG (form in place gasket) I can't remember which, but either way that can leak whether the fluid is thick or not and if it does leak it's very very simple to replace.


Toyota recommends you flush your transmission fluid every 30k miles.
Realistically that isn't really necessary most of the time, usually the fluid will get pretty bad between 60-90k miles if it has not been changed before. You can check the fluid in an auto trans with the orange dipstick, in general it should be fairly clean, like engine oil, and somewhat thicker. With a manual it's a little harder to tell, you have to just take the top fill plug out and stick your finger in, it should be level with that hole.

[Solorange]

My rule of thumb is to change the trans fluid about every 60k. I know its not a hard task. Its just a pain in the ass on a manual. I would like to know how much of a pain it really is.

[steffknee]

Oh and recommended fluids,

for an auto trans, Toyota ATF
for a manual trans, Pennzoil Synchromech

[gnegroni]

General idea with cars... do not forget (ever) to change the ATF and filter as per the preventive maintenance calls. If you don't, expect some heavy problems down the road, but don't think by using new ATF will save you (will most likely slip and not work as it should). After a while, the automatic transmissions get used to thicker used up ATF (why sometimes is better not to change if you have neglected proper maintenance).

After having problems with auto transmissions on my past vehicles all I can say is change it when its supposed to be changed. Add a cooler if you don't have one to extend transmission life.

[Solorange]

LOL does anybody have a pictures or a diagram where the drain plug and fill plug are on a V6 manual transmission. I think I found them, but I want to be sure before I start cracking bolts loose.

Thanks