Trans Fluid Change at 180K?

I have a 2008 Tundra that was my Dad's, and is now mine. I've been doing the maintenance on it for the past 5 years. There's just one problem, the transmission fluid has never been changed, touched, or otherwise discussed. So, now I have to make a decision, change the fluid and hope, or leave it. I love the truck, and have already done shocks, plugs, the water pump, etc. What are your thoughts?

 

Can't say this is related but I changed mine at 16xxxx and replaced the transmission at 181xxx.

 

Did changing the fluid cause any problems, or did it fail because of the lack of new fluid?

 

I don't know if it was serviced before I purchased the truck, but I had the dealer drain what could be drained from the transmission and replace that with new fluid. This was done around 270k, and I am at a little over 285k without a problem.

 

I bought my truck with 160,xxx. As far as I knew the transmission was fine. I felt it was the right thing to change the fluid. It ran fine until about 180k.

Then I started having issues.

After replacing the transmission with an 80k unit from LKQ I became aware the transmission was never right. (new transmission has faster shifts, hunts gears much less etc)

If I had it to do over, I would not have changed it. It's a 2k lesson.

 

Some on here do a drain and fill, DIY which replaces 3-4 quarts. Lets you see condition of fluid and freshens about 25% of it.

YouTube vids on it and several threads on here about it.
Many discourage a Flush.

 

If unsure what to do:

1) Do a drain and fill. Gets about 25-30% out.

2) Drive it for a few hundred/thousand miles and then do another.

3) Repeat as necessary.

Personally, I do a drain and fill every 2500-3k miles at the same time as engine oil change. DEXIII only costs about $14 for a gallon which is what a drain and fill takes on the 2002. Key is. Measuring and replacing the exact amount.

My fluid always looks like this.

 

Are you planning on doing the change yourself or having it done? I'm assuming you are going to do it yourself. You can do a simple drain the pan (which doesn't even drain all the fluid in the pan) or you can do a change where you disconnect the transmission line at the output of the cooler and open up the thermostat (easy to do) and drain about 3 gallons doing it this way. There's a fill bolt on the driver's side of the transmission and some clear vinyl tube can easily be put into the hole and ran so it comes out next to the front tire so you can easily fill it. Those are the two options I would recommend. If your father babied the truck and never towed you could leave it alone.

 

I take it towing three snowmobiles half way across the country rules that out. I'll probably drain, drop the pan, and refill. If it's bad enough to where I get problems from changing the fluid, then it's bound to fail soon regardless. Guess I'll just have to bite the bullet. Thanks guys!

 

When I read "snowmachine" I picture rust. Maybe not a lot but the screws that hold the oil pan on are steel. The gasket is very thick (and can most likely be reused) but it has metal standoffs in it. The transmission is aluminum but some of the screws go all the way through while others are in blind holes. They are 6mm so the odds on snapping them off is pretty good. If you do it you'll want to be careful. I replaced mine with stainless steel screws.

 

Do you warm it first or do you just drain it as is, measure it and put back the same? Is it not important if it’s warm/cold, just put back the same?

 

Probably best cold, or ambient, refill with ambient. If warm it may appear to be more than actual or what you refill with.

 

Drain cold (ambient) and fill the same. I have a jug with a measured mark from the first time I did a drain and fill and the mark is the same every time at about 3.5 quarts. Its drained until the fluid comes to a drip and then plugged and filled.

 

Well, I drained what was in the pan today. 4 quarts came out, and 4 went back in. Checked the level, and all looks good. Took it for a ride and saw that it would shift down sooner and hunted less. I guess this has been a success so far.

 

Yeah buddy! Do it again in about another 1k miles, then again at another 1k after that. Repeat at every oil change and you’ll be good to go.

 

So, what did the fluid look like?

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/on-...y-issues-after-that.46398/page-4#post-1223883

 

Toyota dealer told me not to change the fluid until the truck hits 100k miles.

 

Fresh fluid never hurts. Old fluid does.

The more you keep your fluids refreshed, then the less likelihood of ‘shock’ to the system replacing older fluids.

 

The fluid was dark, but right on the edge between burnt and brown. The only downside I can see so far is the smell in the garage.

 

The Vavoline Maxlife smells to high heaven and it's new, lol. I would keep doing swaps like you did until the color gets close to what the new stuff looks like. Also when you are done I would go through the proper procedure to make sure the level is correct. It's not terribly hard but it's worth making sure you have it set right in the end.

 

Without the techstream, the best I can do is use a temp probe stuffed through the fill port, but it works. I put the whole 4 quart jug in to replace the 3.8 I took out, and I had a small amount of excess pour out during the check.

 

There's a video that show how to do a full transmission oil change (but not a flush). At the end it shows how to jumper out two pins and a light (or something) on the dash will let you know when the temp range is in spec. I don't remember the specifics but it's pretty easy to do.

 

Hi Brad how’s the tundra transmission running After the fluid change ?
Glad you had a success with transmission work.

I have 130k in on
2009 tundra 4.0. V6
And feeling difference in gear shifting especially at take offs .

 

As far as I can tell, the truck will shift out of first smoother. I don't notice any slippage from the clutch. I can't say much for improvement yet, but it certainly isn't any worse than before.

 

If it ain’t broke........

 

I had mine drained and refilled did that twice 190000 miles no issues it was all highway miles.

 

I’m in the same boat. 165k on it and never changed the fluid. I’ve done plenty towing. *facepalm*

I plan on dropping the pan, swapping the filter and replacing the same amount of fluid that came out. Then I’ll do drain and fills with the next couple oil changes.

Anyone have a specific YouTube video they like that details how to properly jump the pins and confirm the proper level?

The only issue I’ve noticed with my transmission is kinda rough disengages. For example, if I’m on the freeway and traffic is slowing down and I let off the gas/start to brake, there is sometimes a rougher disengage. Any idea what that is? I greased the driveline and still feel it. Possibly related to bad fluid?

 

Checking the fluid is pretty easy just take a paper clip and put it in pin 4 and 13. Start the truck shift from p to s6 than back to p and than shift from d to n quickly no longer than 1 second each shift. You should see the drive light come on for 2 seconds and than put it park and wait till the d light stays on for right temp. If its blinking its to hot and if its not on its to cold. The right temp is 115 to 133. Toyota optimal temperature is at 115 to check fuild.