Transmission fluid @ 175k never done

So, I've been shoring up my maintenance on this newly acquired 2014 Tundra with 175k miles on it.

Oil, diff, transfer case fluids are all completed and fresh. I was going to do a simple drain and fill on the transmission with Toyota WS fluid, but I looked at the check plug and it's badly rusted. I know the 1st owner towed a lot with this truck and put about 110k miles on it. 2nd owner used it as a daily driver and kept up with oil changes. I'm not going to PB blast it and take care of it myself, so my question is:

1. Leave this and just run the fluid as is knowing the ATF is likely brown and old?

2. Have the dealer/shop do the ATF service?

 

Soak it for a few days or weeks and try to crack it. I'd only take it to a shop if you fuck it up first and have no means to fix it, because they will guarantee fuck it up regardless and then most likely do some janky fix. If you try it then best case it comes out, worst case it's as screwed up as the shop makes it.

And make sure the fill plug comes off nicely too. In reality if you only drain and fill the same amount, you don't strictly need the check plug.

 

I thought about blasting it with PB multiple times/days. Here are photos of the issue at hand. The fill plug seemed fine. The check plug has no way for me to get a solid grip on it. It even looks like it'd crumble with vice grips.




Nice macro close up of the offending rusted check plug.

 

That is quite nasty, I forgot it's straight down. Do you have a welder? Weld a nut to it.

 

Are new pans available?

 

He'd shear most or all the 10mm pan bolts given how crusty the check plug is. Unless you're prepared to drill and heli coil the transmission case it's best to leave the pan alone.

 

I'm not sure, but those bolts look sus as well. This is why I didn't want to touch it myself. Seems like something worth the $300 and change the dealer charges. If it weren't subjected to so much towing in its past life I'd leave well enough alone.

 

Get Vacuum oil change pot meant to suck oil out of boats, suck out a measured amount. Put same amount back in.

ETA: I'm very curious how that fluid looks. I have 167,000 miles and a 50/50 chance it's not been changed. Toyota website shows a 120,000 mile " Premium Service" but I don't really know for sure.
Good luck

 

I think a drain and fill would be okay, but honestly, I would take it to a shop to have done. Any good smaller shop should be able to do a quick drain and fill along with a level check. Don't take it to a chain; find a good rep Mom and Pop shop, or just the dealer.

I normally say do it all yourself, but a shop will have a plethora of tool options to take out the level check bolt. Just give them a heads up before hand, and supply them with both new bolts from the dealer. Then in another 10-15k miles you can do another drain and fill yourself. And as somebody self mentioned, I 100% would not try to take those pan bolts off lol.

 

I'm going to let the dealer do this one. I'm a diy guy, but I also am not going to mess with this level of corrosion sealing Pandora's box.

Do Lexus dealers charge more than Toyota? It's more convenient for me.

I'll try to ask them to get me a sample of the old fluid for reference.

 

Just call them ask their prices.

 

In my experience dealers won't touch a trans over the rec service time, especially one rusted out like this one.

If they do, they are crazy.

I'd be surprised if ANY shop is willing to touch this, it's way more trouble than it's worth to them, with liability issues on trans working right afterwards, or damage to the pan etc if it goes south.

Why would you buy a truck this rusted?
Not a good buy imo buddy.

Rust is the WORST thing on a any vehicle imo.

I'd sell this thing asap and start another search.

 

You're kidding right? Sell the truck because it has some rusty bolts? That crossmember looks half decent so I'd venture a bet that truck is in perfectly fine condition given the mileage. Anything in the rust belt looks like this unless it's routinely treated. Any competent mechanic can remove that bolt. If the dealer won't do it just find a local small shop.

OP I don't know where you live but I wouldn't be scared of that. A good pair of vice grips can remove that, and worst case a welder. That bolt is only torqued to 15 ft/lbs. Even mangled it shouldn't take much effort to remove that. I've removed O2 sensor bolts (on my old Tundra) that I had to use one size down for an extractor socket it was so rusted away. It'll be fine.

 

The frame is actually well intact, protected with fluid film for years. Engine is solid, smooth, and suspension is solid aside from wear items like ball joints. I did a simple spark plug change on it yesterday and that was simple as ever. Oil change, diff, transfer case... simple again. No rusted bolts. I'm swapping out the tie rods since I'll be in there anyway and bang out 1 alignment afterwards for another long service interval. Truck cost me what 2007-2010 owners are asking on theirs with higher mileage. I'm supposed to disregard a solid deal due to a trans check plug that is notoriously soft anyway?

Lexus dealer says to leave well enough alone. Toyota dealership about 20 minutes further away says it'll need the full flush (just using WS ATF, no conditioners). 15 ft/lbs isn't much, but I don't know how deep into the threads the rust goes. If it's fused I might snap that head and be SOL with a partial open fluid check opening.

 

Yeah that Lexus dealership just doesn't want to touch your bargain brand lol. However I wouldn't do a full flush with that mileage. I don't think you'll find the rust goes deep into the threads to be honest. Even so, any mechanic should be able to get that out quickly. Even if it breaks off, it's not hard to drill out and install a helicoil if needed. Hell, even the pan can be full replaced which isn't impossible, just more challenging since those bolts holding on the pan are known to break.

 

First off, have you checked the fill plug. Make sure that one comes off before you do anything. The drain plug looks good and shouldn't have an issue coming off. The level check plug, the rusted out one, leave it alone. Go by the 4 quart rule. 4 quarts out, 4 quarts in. Dont over think it and dont mess with any other plugs or bolts other than the fill and drain. Get a new drain plug while you are at it.

 

I have thought about just doing the # of qts out = # of qts in method. Just figured I'd want to do it the right way. Fill plug looks clean, I just didn't take a photo of it. If I can open that I may do a simple 1 for 1 drain and fill w/o actually running the temp check method.

 

That's what I do. A few oz's here or there isn't going to do any damage to the trans. To be honest, I have done the level check and you really dont know when to replace the plug because it never stops trickling out. So on the recommendation of another member, it's pretty much 4 quarts. I did my wife's Lexus the same way and it was 2 quarts.

 

So, get the car up to temp; engine off (no need to pin the thermostat open), drain (roughly 4 qts), fill, call it a day?

You happen to have the part number for the drain plug?

 

Some of those pan bolts look pretty rusted also. I’d be concerned of rust eating through the pan and bolts. I’d consider replacing the pan and bolts. Replace ATF filter while you are at it.

 

To each their own buddy.

With one bolt that looks like that, there will very likely be many more, which is more headaches down the road.

My 1 owner 2014 came from VA beach, then to me 3.5 years ago.
It did not look like that when I bought it, nor does it now.

I sold a rusted out 2011 4runner Limited I bought and drove 1 year, to buy my Tundra.
Had about 110k miles.
The frame and everything under it was all rusted but truck was in great condition otherwise.
4runner came from upper PA near NJ.

If the OP got a good enough deal on it, maybe it's worth it, idk, but I wouldn't own that truck if I had a choice.
I only buy used and try to be picky, and rust is a big issue on these trucks to look out for.

As a former mechanic, service writer, assistant manager/service manager, and manager in a couple nationwide chain shops and a few dealerships, I would never agree to touch that trans fluid or bolt and have turned many vehicles away for similar issues.
Lack of proper Maintenace is a big issue.
The liabilities, and chances of the job costing way more then we make on it are way too high for a smart shop.

Heck my local dealer just turned me away on a brake fluid flush because I told them I had a weird brake pedal issue, and they claim they found my master cylinder seeping slightly
They don't want to be on a hook for a master cylinder failing after I drive away with new fluid, so no brake fluid replacement unless I spend $900 on a new master cylinder that's on national back order so they want me to use aftermarket

I took the risk of telling them after being recommended to this dealer by someone I had faith in, due to my phantom brake issue requiring dealer tools beyond my current circumstances to handle myself.

Now I have to drive over an hour away to another unrelated dealer and hope they will do a random full brake fluid flush and refill without giving me any grief.

 

That's good to hear about the overall condition, and if the deal was too good to pass up so be it.
Makes me wonder even more why that bolt is almost totally degraded....

I would be concerned that other important bolts may be just as bad as you repair things over time.
Or inside the frame you can't see.
Was the truck ever in a flood or stuck in a river crossing?
Rust is a huge issue on Toyota trucks.

My 1 owner 2014 came from VA beach, then to me 3.5 years ago.
It did not look like that when I bought it, nor does it now, and we have snow and salt in Northern VA, plus my many vacations onto the sand on the beach in OBX NC.

I hope it works out for you, good luck finding a shop willing to do it, and for a reasonable price.
Hell I would go ahead and pay to remove the whole pan and get new bolts for all of it if I was going to deal with the fluid at all.

 

The transmission fluid was left as is due to the thinking that it doesn't need any drain/fill or replacing. First owner sold at 110k miles, and 2nd owner said the dealer they took truck to didn't advise any flushing or changing of ATF as long as it had no shifting issues. I know the transmission fluid debate is a big one between drain and fill, flushing, leave it be until x number of miles.

Oddly enough, they were on top of the diff and transfer case fluid to the point of swapping it out after 20k-30k miles of heavy use.

 

No.Engine cold. On level ground, drain the pan, 4+/- quarts should come out. Then just put back 4 quarts. No need to do the temp thing or pin the t-stat. Dont have the part # for plug.

 

I’ve posted this a couple of times.

Here is an anecdotal story about changing transmission fluid in a Toyota.

A guy I work with has a 2007 Sequoia that has 330,000 on it. They bought it new. He has done one drain and fill on the transmission at 150,000. I’ve driven it recently and it shifts fine…Always has.

 

OP why not just open the fill plug and suck out what u can through there with a long hose and replace the same amount? See how it goes then do it again at some point later. Why mess with that rusted bolt....

 

Because it lacks a dipstick, it is to be assumed the tundra trans operates on voodoo magic alone. Thats why previous service mechanics didnt touch it.

if that trans has 175k on it, with a lot of it being towing with no fluid change. What marginal improvement is OP going to see by risking that bolt? How long is the trans gonna last if he leaves it alone vs changes 4 quarts?

Before cat sheilds, i did 2 back to back drains to try and get half the fluid replaced. If you get that bolt out, you’re only fixing 25% of the fluid I believe.

worst case that bolt breaks all the threads out. You can just weld it back in shut tight like it was before right?

 

+1, I have done drain and fills on Tacomas and Tundra. That is what I do. You want the temp of the fluid you drain to be the same as what you put in. Does it really matter? Maybe not.

 

I know that's the train of thought with a lot of folks, but it's a sacrificial fluid. It's meant to be changed out. At your mileage yeah I wouldn't flush it. I did a full flush at around 90k miles and it was fine, but the fluid also didn't look that bad.

There has been way too much concern over a single bolt honestly lol. A good tech can get that out with vice grips in 30 seconds. Like I said, find a local mechanic that has a good reputation and just do a simple drain and fill. You'll be just fine. Or do the drain and refill with the equal amount that came out (approx 4 quarts). I saw your other post and that truck looks good (rust wise) for the mileage. That's good the frame has been treated with fluid film before. If you're interested, look up Krown undercoating. It's a similar product but it's a more comprehensive treatment. It's fairly cheap and quite effective. I live in PA and it's been holding up great for over 4 years with yearly treatments.

 

I know of Krown, but we don't have any near me. I can take a trek to NERD in MA or just continue fluid filming it myself every fall.