Won't shift into 6th gear after ATF flush..

While changing my motor oil I decided to do a flush of my atf as well since my odometer just hit 150,000. After draining I found that my 5mm overfill plug is corroded to the point of being stuck and I don't want to break it off. So I just replaced the amount of fluid that I took out of the transmission... problem is before I could get the full amount back into the fill port ATF started to come out of the fill plug.. indicating to me it's overfill.. two days later it won't shift into 6th gear.. in S or D mode.. is this because I have more fluid than I need in the transmission?

 

You need to fill it while it is running and at a specific operating temp. Otherwise you'll end up with too little fluid in there.

 

Work on that overfill plug... Hose it down with PB Plaster everyday for a week if you have to. Take a propane torch to it; foil around everything else so you don't burn the pan or anything else important. Mine was pretty tough to get undone last week, and I'm the only one that has touched it via drain and fills every 30k or so starting at 50k miles.

Exactly how much fluid did you put back in? You can try to do another drain and fill, keeping track of the amount of fluid that came out this time as well. Typically, I've pulled out right around 3.5-3.75 quarts if memory serves. This last time I had the vehicle a little nose high to purposefully drain out some extra fluid and got more than 4 quarts out. I then lowered it and leveled it out of the overfill plug procedure and it's running smoother than before (kind of expected with the fluid exchange).

 

Transmission fluid change/add/flush is not something that you should do on a Tundra without any research.
Tundras require a special machine to change/flush fluid. The transmission has to be at an exact temp (there is a thermostat in the transmission) and the machine takes fluid out as it puts fluid in. Tundras also work best with Toyota WS transmission fluid.

I would not drive the truck anymore until it is full of fluid. May be too late as it is it sounds like you repeatedly kept trying to get a low on fluid transmission to operate normally.

Your Truck is low on fluid. The more you drive it the worse it will be. Transmissions are very VERY expensive to replace.

There are several good threads on this site and youtube videos on doing a transmission "drain and fill". Each of these stress that you have to measure the amount of fluid you take out and replace with the exact amount. A drain and fill only replaces a small portion of the fluid. You have to do it several times to replace most of the fluid.

You did a drain and fill but did not replace all of the fluid that you took out. So you are operating your truck with low transmission fluid.

Now that you have driven it for several days, the thermostat has opened and it has allowed a void/air bubble to develop in your transmission. It worked fine the first couple trips because the thermostat probably did not open, you did not get up to a speed that required 6th gear, it got into 6th gear while the thermostat was closed, etc and that section of the transmission remained full of fluid. But once the thermostat opened your problems began. So now there is no way for you to add enough fluid at the overflow port to fill the entire transmission. Without the proper machine you will not get past the thermostat to fill the entire transmission. It will always be low on fluid. You are going to have to take it to a shop that has the proper machine to replace the fluid once it gets up to temp.

Only going to get worse the more you drive it.

 

Some of that information is erroneous. No special machine is needed to change the fluid if you are doing a drain and fill. You also do not need to measure the exact amount of fluid that came out; just use it as a rough gauge as to how much fluid needs to go back in. The refill procedure does stress achieving the correct temperature before opening the overfill plug. Those two parts are the most important. And, as noted, if you have the tow package, the transmission cooler thermostat needs to be pinned open to perform the procedure. This can be done easily with the smallest hex key that you have and a screwdriver. A straightened Bobby pin will work in a pinch.

It is not difficult or complex, just somewhat tedious. You really do need to open up then overfill plug, even if you need to use an extractor to do so. Then simply replace the plug. Perhaps pick one up from the dealership before hand.

 

Follow this advice and you will definitely be buying a new transmission. GL

 

A half dozen drain and fills on my transmission and the truck gets worked. Trans runs tight and strong. Just read the actual refill procedure.

 

Fluid level is the most important aspect of the drain and fill procedure. If you only put in EXACTLY the same amount of fluid you pulled out, then you perform the overfill procedure, you drain out some of that fluid. Now you are low on fluid.

if you put in more fluid than you drained out, then the vehicle will expel the excess when you remove the fill level plug. You then end up with the same amount of fluid as you had before performing the drain and fill. The procedure details this part as being necessary to check the level correctly.

If you read through the transmission fluid level check procedure from Toyota ( TSB TC009-07 will suffice) the only special hardware called out is a techstream and fluid pump - which is functionally the same as a pump up garden sprayer. You can get around the techstream a couple of ways as it’s only needed to read/verify fluid temp, but I use my OBDII equipped scanner dongle and phone app. As for the souped up garden sprayer, I use a length of 3/8 tubing strung up in the engine compartment. Works a charm.

Per the procedure you must wait for fluid to flow out of the overfill plug until it trickles out. Thus, you must overfill the transmission by a small amount in order to drain fluid out without running the transmission fluid too low. Per my description of my latest fluid exchange, I drained out just over 4 quarts, then refilled with about 4.5 quarts. At temperature, I removed the plug and fluid poured out for a few seconds then started to trickle showing that I had sufficient fluid in the transmission to start, expelling the excess until the proper fluid level was reached. In the end, I replaced same volume of fluid that was drained, but was required to fill with more fluid than came out originally. This is why it is not necessary to measure the exact amount of fluid and refill as much, but rather a close approximation is sufficient. You have to add more fluid than came out or your fluid level is low.

 

I don't have the computer to read the temp ..a few guys at the dealership said to run the truck for about 2 miles up and down the road then check the level through the plug.. the transmission will be close if not in the correct temp range to check it..as for getting the plug out I'm going to try three wd40 and time method.. I'm driving my 05 Cummins for now until that breaks loose... thank you all

 

You don't need to drive it anywhere. The transmission fluid will heat up in a few minutes idling in your driveway. I think the temp range is 115 to 130 or something like that. I just shoot my laser thermometer at the pan at once it hits 115 I start adding fluid. Is it perfect? Nope. But it's worked fine on two different 5.7's that I've owned since new, one for 15 years and 217k miles and the other for 10 years and 230k miles that I've been draining and refilling every 50k miles or so.

 

I have been using the paperclip in the OBD port as a jumper to put the truck into a mode which will tell you thru blinking gear indicator lights when the trans fluid is at the proper temp for opening the overflow.

Seems to work great and I don't need techstream, or to drive the truck around with too much fluid.

 

Let'n yall know I borrowed a guys computer got her in the temp range and checked my overfill plug.. was about 1.75 qts over full.. seems to be shifting fine again.. thanks y'all..

 

This is excellent to hear.

Glad you got the level corrected along with the symptoms!

 

When you don’t work on your truck - maybe don’t comment in the “how to work on your truck” threads.

“take it to the dealer” isn’t always the right answer.

 

For anyone looking for capacities in the future, 2007 5.7L w/ trans cooler. I use 6.5-7 qts total to drain, fill, cycle, drain, refill and set level. Last time I had the pan off to replace a shift solenoid, replaced the filter, and it took 6 qts to full.

 

That’s crazy because I only get about 4-4.5 out of my 2017. I believe the type of cooler is the only difference.

 

Very interesting. I checked my work log spreadsheet, and 6.5 for a double drain was done twice, and 7 for the last one. Then 6 qts with filter and S4 solenoid after a 2 day drip/drain waiting on parts.

 

Oh god here we go again.

 

Why doesn't Toyota pull their heads out of their ass and make it more fool proof..idk.. maybe a dip stick under the hood..

 

Gee.... if only I could unlike without first liking.....

 

The CDC could use a few more fear mongers if you're interested.

 

I always wished the tundra had a spin on filter like the Allison. Genius. Still has the pan filter, obviously, but that spin on filter relieves a lot of the load on the pan filter.

I’m just glad Toyota put a drain plug on the transmission (and diffs, too). I always hated the atf shower that was mandatory whenever I dropped the pan on my other vehicles and fought the last two bolts as the pan dropped an inch and sloshed waves of burnt squirrel droppings gravy down my armpits, into my ear drums. and all over my person while trying to resist the urge to leap from my creeper and smash my forehead ACME-style in to an offending crossmember or frame rail. Then, after swimming through the pool of fluid all over my garage floor that is now seeing up in to my shirt and britches, fighting to replace the filter, straighten to new pan gasket and hooks a new pan in place while turn the threads of greased pig bolts enough to stem the constant drip of atf in to my eyes and armpits - which I just cleaned out from the last shower…

 

Lol....

I worked at AAMCO transmission as a tech and builder for 5 years and have seen this play out in various ways.
Nothing beats laying on the creeper on a 100F day dropping the pan from 50 foot motor home with 250°F fluid pouring down your arms... Ya, very few have drain plugs.


Something not mentioned in this thread is fluid expands with temperature and pouring out hot fluid and replacing it with room temperature fluid is a recipe for failure.

For less than $35 a Bluetooth OBDII Elm327 dongle and OBD Fusion App with Toyota PID pack and walla, you can read the temperature while under the truck.

And ya, it takes very little idle time to shoot past 130°F.

Here is a screenshot of app...

 

When I change mine, I let it sit in the garage overnight with the replacement fluid next to the truck. I then drain the fluid in to a large measuring container then fill an identical container with the exact same amount plus 1/2 ounce figuring that’s what left in the hose. So far it has worked great and only takes about 15 minutes.