Transmission Service Thoughts

There have been a few failures reported on here, including mine in my 2010 at just under 60k miles. I never changed the fluid before it failed.

 

Drain pan, fill pan with 4 qts, pin the thermostat open, drain 2 qts from cooler line, turn off truck, fill with 2 qts, repeat till fluid is clear. It can take 12-16 quarts total to accomplish this, took me 16qts last time to get the fluid looking exactly the same as the fluid that went in. Having someone help with cranking the truck is a huge help while you drain the 2 qts from the cooler line.

Some people drain 4 qts from the cooler line, I don't recommend this because that's how much your sump holds. I'd rather not take the chance on running my sump dry, so I take the few extra minutes doing it 2qts at a time. 232k and she shifts like butter. Also, no need to ever drop your pan or change the filter, I have a thread disproving that myth on these transmissions, with pictures to prove it. I'll link if you're interested.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/2014-transmission-maintenance-question.57617/page-3#post-1530072

The whole thread is worth a read, and has alot of good info pertaining to checking the fluid, etc.

What's funny is that UOA I posted was with the wrong spec fluid, it's slightly thicker in viscosity than what I was supposed to use. But it worked well and held up great, these transmissions aren't picky. I've since switched to Schaeffers 205A, which is the correct spec. Once this fluid runs its course I'll be switching to HPL fluids, so that I can have the same brand fluid front to back.

 

I got a case of Eneos T-W (24 quarts) through Walmart for just over $100 lol. Supposed to be spec’d for Toyota WS. Not sure if it’s full synthetic or not but has a higher flash point. 428 vs 363 degrees, and a whole lot cheaper than WS. That will be going in on and next fluid exchange, and the rest I will be using in the wife car.

 

So just to update this thread, after the dealership basically refused to do a trans service for me I went to a popular local independent transmission shop and talked to the owner in person. He seems very knowledgeable. He said he only uses Toyota fluid. Said Toyota considers the fluid "lifetime" because it's designed to last the lifetime of the transmission, and that the fluid will determine the lifetime of the transmission. Makes perfect sense. He'll replace all the fluid using a machine that cycles it through without power flushing it. He will also drop the pan, clean it in the parts washer, install a new filter, and button it all back up with a new gasket. Quoted me $250 for all of it. Sounded good to me...that's exactly what I had in mind. A new filter and 90% of the fluid changed at once. I booked an appointment for next Friday. I forgot to ask him about pinning the thermostat open but he said he's done Tundras before (and has even repaired some broken pan bolts) so I'm sure he's aware.

Thanks guys.

 

Do want you want as far as fluid intervals but I would only use Toyota fluid. Crazy to take a chance with someone elses universal fluid.

 

So I had the trans fluid all replaced with a machine that uses the trans pump to cycle the fluid through. No power flush. Got 12 quarts of fresh fluid. When I left the shop I noticed an immediate difference in shift quality. It's as smooth as silk now. Shifts VERY nice! Amazing what a difference simply putting fresh fluid in the system does.

I'm anal so I might check the fluid level at proper temp myself in my garage at home just to verify that they got it set correctly, but I think all is well now.

 

So I did end up trying to verify the correct fluid level myself. I'm OCD like that. Haha.

Anyway I warmed the trans to proper temp using a OBD gauge. Cycled slowly through all the transmission gear ranges, then pulled the inspection plug. No fluid is coming out. So even as I let it sit there running and watched the fluid temp climb on up to 125F, still no fluid was coming out. That means it's underfilled right? Or is that "test mode" procedure a 100% must?

 

yes that means under-filled. What are you using to check the temp? I would use the OBD jump method with pins 4 and 13 if I recall correctly, as that uses the onboard computer/sensor. I have a trans temp reader but every time I always use the vehicles temperature check mode.

 

I went through this fluid check procedure after adding an external cooler. I read that the pan needs to be level for the check. My truck has a bit of rake, and my driveway slopes a bit, so I used jacks and a level on the pan to make sure it was dead on before checking. Not saying this is throwing off your reading, but it may help.

 

I'm using a Scan Gauge because it pulls info via OBD so it's using the same temp sensor for readings. I assume it's pretty accurate.

 

I understand it uses the same sensor, what I meant was with the scan gauge, you can make it read whatever temperature you want by adjusting the PIDs. My reads 7 degrees hotter than what my snap on scanner says, I would like to check the temperature with tech stream but I dont have that capability. My point being, the ecu temp check mode is always going to be 100% correct.

 

UOA speaks volumes.

 

So im gonna go back on something i thought previously. When i first did a drain and fill (before owning a scan guage) i measured out the amount that drained out and it seemed like a lot came out compared to what most got. So i replaced it with the same, I then pulled the check plug when it was running cold and fluid was gushing out (shouldn’t happen when cold if filled properly). I thought, strange was it overfilled from the factory?

fast forward to recent change, i got it to the listed check temp and did the check plug perfect to book specs. It just didn’t feel like it was shifting right. I know im not an OE engineer, but after 11.5 years i know how my truck feels.

i added a half quart above the “full” measurement in the manual. It shifts much better. I truly do not think there is a definitive trans fluid level, but rather an acceptable range, just like our oil dipsticks. Also, toyota has 2 different cooler designs. Pre 2010 and 2011-2019 have the other kind. They have to have different capacities

 

I just got a 2014 with 203k. This technique is what I have used, did a drain and fill, drove around the hood, drain and fill, drove around the hood, drain and fill. Yes, it is a bit more wasteful than pulling the pan and draining everything but I really didn't want to snap a bolt or cause any other issues. I saved a little of the old oil from each drain in glass jars so I could check the clarity with each drain and fill. Now I am confident to go the next 20k or so miles before I do another drain and fill. I have no idea about the maintenance of the tranny before I got it and the miles are already so high that I really wanted to do it several times right off the bat to get it as clean as possible.
I also did the diffs, transfer, brake flush, power steering, cabin and air filter. The only things left to do is the coolant and grease the drive shaft.

 

Did you bleed the brakes a few times to get the old continuously heated fluid out of the calipers?

 

I had my transmission flushed, but more of a fluid exchange with all new Toyota WS at 55k. I know the manual states “lifetime” but any mechanic will tell you that there is no such thing. Fluid changes are cheap and transmissions are not. I don’t tow but will still change it at maximum 60k intervals from now on so it can actually last a lifetime.

 

This transmission has a breather on the top of it that would get rid of any air pockets that was being talked about before.

 

The only issue with doing this is:

- You'd have to pin the thermostat open each time you drive the truck around the hood to make sure that ALL of the fluid is circulating. Otherwise you could just end up mainly draining and filling the trans pan alone each time which would be a waste. And pinning that thermostat multiple times with a hot catalytic converter right there trying to burn a guy would be a PITA.

- Each time you put fresh fluid in, it gets mixed with 2/3rds old fluid. And, it's impossible to say what % concentration of old fluid is what's coming out each time you drain. So doing it this way would take a lot more quarts of fresh fluid and more cycles in order to fully clean the system.

I thought about doing this exact same thing myself, but I finally elected to spend $225 and have a trusted shop cycle out all the fluid at once with a machine that relies on the vehicle trans pump. That way it saved me money AND hassle. All I had to do after that was start the truck up while cold, put it into "temp check mode", and verify the fluid level was correct.

 

I should have clarified, I definitely put a few miles on it and get it up to temp.
Not up the street and back.

 

nope, once is good.

 

I believe the cooler lines/cooler itself only holds about a quart, so you wouldn’t be missing much