On the 5.7 , is it recommended to flush the transmission? Any issues after that?

I am at 90k now and ready for a trans fluid change as well. Not a good idea on the flush, I will go with Drain and refill when I have it done.

 

Sounds like we should start the next debate over what the best trans Fluid is

 

How many miles have you put on your truck since serviced or how long has it been since then? Of course if you don't mind me asking...

 

Do the drain and refill. I just changed mine on the Tacoma and the Tundra. They both have a little more than 90000 miles on them. I drained them cold into a gallon paint container from Lowes. I then added the exact same amount back in the transmission. I used a pump to put the fluid back in. I used Valvoline Maxlife full synthetic transmission fluid.

If you want you can drain refill then check the level after the transmission temperature reaches 110 degrees. You would pull the plug for the level and wait till it just trickles out. You can check temperature with infrared or jump the two pins with a paperclip.

 

How much fluid did you roughly drain? Was it like the fluid that was in the pan or all of it including the what was in the transfer case?

 

I late 3 quarts come out of the Tundra. That is what I had left of the gallon of Maxlife.

 

I really appreciate your help .

 

OP imo with 100k miles on it i would flush it and forget about it for another 100k, no way I'd keep draining and filling like an oil change.

 

I would think with the drain and fill you should be using Toyota fluids. I would nt think mixing different fluids is a good idea but thats just my opinion.

 

X2. Especially w only 3 qts.

Trannies seem like a topic that's harder to get a clear consensus compared to other topic areas. That's been my experience with various vehicles and forums

Maybe it's just because of my ignorance on topic but i personally use OEM fluids and then also do drain and fill a few times spread out over a few 1000 miles since you're getting less than half each time.

 

Actually, you're only getting about 25% changed each time. So, after four drain and fills and you've changed your fluid completely, right? No, probably closer to 2/3, because the old fluid contaminates the new, and maybe 1/3 of the dirt and contamination remains forever. Remember that old reasoning puzzle?...If a frog jumps halfway to a wall, will it ever get there? If you're going to only drain the pan and refill, and have any positive effect, you probably should have started sooner than 100K. bwdik.

 

Yep I know. Good call out so OP realizes. I do it more frequently than every 90,000 because of this. It ain't cheap or efficient especially using oem fluid. I could get more out in my other vehicles so the percentage didn't seem so horrible at least I told myself that

I've seen where some on the xterra forum I belonged would disconnect the inlet and outlet hoses at the radiator to connect to a drain bucket and fresh fluid and just let the car naturally pump in fresh. And then drain the pan too. Not saying to do that here but seemed more efficient anyway

 

That's what the youtube video shows. There is no danger of high pressure, because the technique uses the transmission pump to pump out the old fluid. But...you have to be reasonably handy to change your fluid by this process. If you remove and clean the pan, then you've got it completely changed. But, experience has shown that removing the pan bolts in some climates can be extremely hazardous because they tend to snap off. Therefore the Toyota believes the safest course for most owners is to just replace the transmission when it fails ($$$$).

 

Was told the EXACT same thing ( not the water pump thing but leaving the transmission alone ) from a trusted Toyota master mechanic who ran the service department for two Toyota dealerships for almost 30 years.

 

1st Gen’r here again.

At $14 a gallon, its so cheap to change the transmission fluid every time I do the oil change.

The 2002 Tundra holds about 3 gallons total. A ‘drain at the plug’ removes about a gallon.

Every 2500 miles the transmission is refreshed with 1/3 new DEXIII.

$42 a year for DEXIII = 10 years of drain/fills totaling $420 = almost the cost of 1 stealership flush.

 

Dump and refill the trans pan has a over fill plug did. my dump and refill 200000 miles no issues at all.

 

What did you end up doing?

 

Don't use Maxlife. Toyota's fluids are designed for their transmission. Either use Toyota OEM fluid or Aisin WS fluid. I used Aisin fluid WS fluid from Rock Auto. Much cheaper than Toyota OEM. Maxlife is not WS fluid. Its is a fluid Valoline claims is compatible with just about everything. No one can make such a claim.

If you saw what I saw when I did mine, you'd change it every 60,000 miles. No need to drop the pan. Just change it. Too many bolts get broke trying to drop the pan. The magnet does it job in the pan.

 

I did a Toyota-completed "flush" mine on my '15 at 55k miles (recommended at 60k for my Gen 3). I was troubleshooting an issue and seeing if new fluid would help it. Their method was to completely flush the transmission without forced fluid, they just did a complete fluid replacement.

 

Seems like where youre from dictates what Toyota says for change interval for the tranny fluid. In upstate NY they recommend every 60K miles, and the "filter" never needs to be replaced (according to Toyota) because it isnt truly a filter but rather a metal strainer. Learned both of these things the hard way...

 

The Valvoline Maxlife has been out for quite some time and is and a excellent choice for the transmission fluid. Toyota doesn't make a magic fluid like some try to portray here. The Maxlife is compatible with existing fluid so a drain and fill should be sufficient to prop up the additive pack in the transmission. If you don't want to listen to me just review some tests on the oil after certain miles. There are used oil analysis that have been completed and you can send your own in to confirm it if you wanted.

The drain and fill is what I would recommend. I have three trucks I take care of now and all have had drain and refills. I have a 2003 Tacoma that has had a drain and refill and has over 200,000 miles on it. Runs great! We keep our vehicles so maintenance is important. All three of my trucks were bought new with less than 5 miles on the odometer and run and drive better than new.

 

WS fluid is manufactured Toyota specs and LICENSED.

No. Its not magic. However, it is made for their transmissions. Valovline does not have access to their formula or the necessary information to manufacture to Toyotas specfication.

So your appeal to "magic" doesn't match the situation.

When was your Tacoma filled and drain?

I can point you to others that have used Maxlife and had transmission failures.

There is no reason whatsover to use Maxlife. Aisin WS fluid is the better choice IF... you don't want to pay for Toyota Branded WS fluid.

 

Good luck with your quest @Unique Black Beast.
(Note to Self: Add automatic transmission maintenance to the "Wasted Time"/"Read Only" list.)

 

Nothing left it alone, he told me if the tranny is running well leave it alone a high mileage flush can do more harm than good.

 

Draining the fluid is not a flush and will not hurt your truck. It can only help. I changed mine at 60,000 miles and the first 4 quarts were very very dirty.

Draining and refilling creates no more pressure in the transmission than what it sees from daily use.

 

I believe it was somewhere near 105k

 

Could you point me to these Maxlife failures?

I use the Valvoline DEXIII (spec’d for 1st Gen 2002) and could use the more expensive Maxlife but choose not to do so as its not spec’d. Others I know use the Maxlife and no problems.

Drain and refills are so easy guys! Its cheap and good for the transmission.

Why wait till a magic number of miles like 100k? Because Toyota says? Does their warranty last that long? Whats their motivation? To make it seem the vehicle is low maintenance free?

 

My 2007 Tundra 5.7 with factory tow package has 60,000 miles. I went to dealer this week to get an oil change ( I bummed my shoulder can't change oil) and the service tech advised me to get a transmission flush since I had been towing a trailer. I told him just a drain would be OK and he said the flush was the way to go in my situation. This was at the largest Toyota dealership in SC. FYI.

 

Here is the ExxonMobil MSDS for "Toyota Auto Fluid WS"

Here is a link to a post on Tacoma-World that is about Verified Toyota WS Alternatives

 

Is the OEM fluid crazy expensive or something? At 100k intervals I wouldn't use a diffrent fluid just to save money. Only use something else if you have solid evidence to suggest it's going to perform better.

Speaking of which, do you guys agree with the 100k or do it more often? I'm thinking more around 60k. I don't do a ton of towing with the 5.7, but when I do it's maybe 3k lbs enclosed trailer. But I do a lot of stop-and-go driving in the summer heat in GA