2008 Tundra SR5 Base 4.0L V6 (No towing Package) - Tranny drain and Fill Question

Hello Masters,

I recently realized that my transmission has minor leak under the pan, so I am planning to do a full drain and fill while changing the gasket and the filter.

Question 1, having done my researches, I noticed that I have to by-pass the thermostat value on the tranny... If I am correct, because my truck does not have an optional towing package, I can safely skip this step?

Question 2, since there is a slight leak, what I will drain from the pan will certainly be lesser than a typical 3 qts. How do I compensate for this when I am doing the drain and fill? Anything I should look out for?

Question 3, according to the youtube videos I have seen, picture one shows that I should drain it off the hose under the truck, and picture two shows that I could do it through the front. Which one is correct? Any pros and cons?

IF not please help,

 

I did this procedure a few times on my 4.0 4Runner. First things first, can you confirm that you have a transmission dipstick? It would likely be close to the firewall on the passenger side. If so, get a pump extractor and suck all the fluid out through the dipstick hole before pulling the pan to reduce the mess.

My 2004 4Runner transmission pan didn't have a gasket, just red RTV. If you find that the gasket/filter kit that you get doesn't fit your pan, you might also notice that you didn't have a gasket in the first place. I also remember not being able to get the filter, but the dealership said they would just clean what was in there and put it back.

 

No Dip stick.. it is a sealed transmission.

 

OK, then drain out the fluid from the drain plug, pull the pan, then put the pan back and fill it till it comes out the overflow. There's a procedure where you can jumper some pins on the OBD jack to get the dash the flash when the transmission is up to temp, then you open the overflow again and let the fluid drip out. Be sure the truck is level for that part.