5.7 w/240k...to drain & refill trans fluid or drop pan and change filter and 1/3 fluid ??

I bought this truck used at 234k have no clue if any trany fluid has ever been changed. For the purpose of preventative maintenance id like to replace the transmission fluid.
I'm thinking the only time high mileage tranys gets ruined when high pressure vacuum units are used is debris gets clogged in the valve body and quickly ruins the transmission.
So I'm on the fence on wether draining the fluid out the cooler line behind the grill as shown on many YouTube videos using the transmission pump to extract the old fluid making room for new fluid nice & slow.
Or should I be extra cautious and do a pan drop & filter / fluid replacement then another fluid replacement maybe 200 miles later idk ??
My goal is to get as much new shiny red fluid in the transmission as I safely can.
Anyone here done this without catastrophic damage with more than 220k on the transmission ?

 

Don't drop the pan. Likely to break the bolts. The "filter" is just a screen. You are best served using the drain and fill method a few times.

 

I'm in the low 300's drain and fill is your friend... dropping the pan may break bolts. No need for a filter change, when I asked I was told there was no need, but I had already bought, so I replaced it anyway. Pan holds 6 quarts but you'll only be able to drain 3 quarts

 

I dropped the pan on my 2008 5.7 at around 12 years and 180k after having had the trans fluid swapped out by the dealer a couple of times over the years. I broke a pan bolt doing it. Do NOT drop the pan. I can say that confidently because when I pulled the filter out to replace it, it looked pretty much brand new and the entire excercise was totally unnecessary. Just drain and fill through the regular drain and fill points and you are good.

 

The Car Care Nut dude says he doesn't recommend any fluid exchanges past 100k if one hasn't been done yet.

 

Another vote for drain and fill. I'm at 21x,000 miles with regular towing and hauling and have drain and fills every 30k miles. Fluid looks better than what came out of my pampered sequoia with half the miles that only tows a handful of times a year.

 

I respectfully disagree with that. I wouldn't flush it entirely after 100k miles, but I wouldn't flush it entirely in most circumstances and mileage. The fluid is only going to continue to deteriorate and accelerate wear; doing a drain and fill will replenish the fluid and the additive, as well as purge a part of the contaminants trapped in the fluid. IMO, it won't hurt, but will help in 99% of the circumstances.

 

I won't argue his point, but you can see for yourself as to why he says it. Around 5:10.

 

in context, I believe AMD is getting at transmissions with issues.

I would perform a drain and fill without hesitation. If you want to do some shorter interval exchanges, do a drain and fill with the next couple engine oil changes.

Dropping the pan might open
a can of worms with broken fasteners and you’re not getting any more fluid out.

 

Are bolts breaking a up north thing or is that across the board I live in TX.
When I had my Tacoma I removed the transmission pan a few times & never broke anything.
Thinking this mite have to do with road salt & corrosion. The truck is a local truck.

 

definitely will be more prevalent in salt belt areas. In any case, you’re removing steel bolts from an aluminum case. Galvanic corrosion is a thing regardless of location.

Assuming no broken
Fasteners, you’ll need to clean and re-seal the pan which is a minor PITA…. To me the juice isn’t worth the squeeze to perform a drain & fill for transmission fluid.

 

Edit: @WhiteSR5 beat me to it!

Corrosion from road salts and grime are contributing factors for sure. But the dissimilar metals of the bolts and pan also contribute. If you are careful and don't use the ugga-dugga-gun on them, you should have a decent chance of getting them out - if only breaking a few.

Personally, I haven't removed the pan. But I plan on upgrading the valve body at some point, so it will have to come down.

 

I see. I never considered the dissimilar metals aspect. Looks like that rascals gonna stay where it's at.
It sure looks eazy on YouTube though..lol

 

Multiple Drain & refills looks like the new direction.
So how many miles between drain & refills is ideal ? Hundreds - Thousands. ??

 

I believe 40-50k

 

Edit: Geez, beat again! This time by @texasrho83 ! I need to up my game..


I've been told 20-30k depending on the source. I believe the manual actually says 30k for severe duty, which is what I've followed. I had Blackstone Labs do a UOA on the transmission fluid and they recommended a few extra flushes, then back to 30k miles. A transmission builder recommended 20-28k miles depending on usage, 20k if towing like I do.

 

I think the consensus is first dump and fill 60-100k, then every 30-50k after that.

FWIW, I just replaced wave plates on my 160k mi Saturn Outlook with dump & fill at 60k then 30k intervals and transmission looked like new inside… clutches were perfect no debris.

 

37 horsepowers will do that...

 

We did an actual flush on our 2015 Sequoia at 120k miles without a single issue. Pretty sure the transmission was never serviced.

 

120k isn’t terrible; if no problems like flaring or chatter presented before changing fluid you were pretty much in the clear.

the problem with neglected fluid is the potential for damage is exponential the longer you neglect maintenance.

Degraded base oil, depleted additives causes varnish deposits and increased wear of metal parts and friction plates… spools in the valve bodies stick/wear, clutches slip causing more debris, you get the picture.

 

I'm not not by any means a mechanic.
This is very interesting...by doing a complete drain and refill on a trany with 240k with an unknown service history
(The transmission works 100% awesome by the way) Is the risk a chemical make up difference old going out new going in ?
I always thought the big risk was old metal debris getting pushed into a passage way causing crazy damage when removed by high pressure or vacuum.
Asked another way..at 240k can a complete drain & refill be done safely or better to take the high ground and remove a pan at a time I believe it's 5 or so qts.
I'm fine with either I wish it had 100k though that way I could evac 90-95% of it and refill with fresh WS fluid.
Reminds me of that Raymond fellow hotshot driver that got something like
1.2 million miles on his 4.7 V8.
Id heard this story for years then I read all the story....in the time he drove that truck he made 37
Dealer service visits and that's ok but it changes the thought of "mine can too"
Not because it can't... Cause let's be real the reason we have Truck Forums among many other reasons...is to share experiences & ideas on past work that We have done ourselves to our Tundras so that the first time guy can have better understanding of what he's gonna work on.
Point is If all of us made 37 trips for
Toyota Service thru out the trucks life span
Hell we all should get 700k - 1 mill miles out of our trucks or have a better chance at it anyway.....at 140$/hour plus parts it better make a million miles.
But really, short of catastrophic destruction IMO you buy a new Chevy V8 after deleting the dod or Ford 5.0 V8
And have them serviced 37 times pretty sure their gonna make it at least 500-600k
Miles with excellent maintenance.
Wich is outstanding for an American* truck Why wouldn't they.
Summary: before I found out about all those service trips Wich to be fair some had to be warranty / recall stuff...I saw that truck in a different light similar to "any of our trucks 4.7- 4.7- 5.7 can make a million miles* with reg maintenance & oil changes".
But after I thought... wooooah to my knowledge the average working man can't afford that many Dealer visits that I know of. What wasn't mentioned was if the visits
were payed outa his pocket or was part of the Hotshot companys benefit plan.
Very unlikely but you never know.
I think drivers fill out a wear & tear parts and labor mileage tax form ? Idk
Rant Over....

 

Order up yourself a Blackstone Labs oil sample kit. When you do your first D&F, take an ATF sample according to the instructions included in the sample kit. Wait about a month and you will get expert advice on what you should do next.

 

the risk with flushing is in the pressure/reverse flush process dislodging debris and relocating it to where it is a problem… like shift solenoids.

There is generally no risk for replacing old fluid for new fluid. New fluid will not repair any damage caused by neglected maintenance, but can, in some cases, restore shift quality issues caused by degraded fluid.

If your 240k mi Tundra lived an easy life, like most do, chances are fair than your transmission has ‘normal’ wear.

If it had 240k mi of hard use and no maintenance, I would expect you’d have issues and fluid change is likely not going to fix them.

 

Well said.

 

What about a transmission flush? I jist got mine... its a 2012 with 175k miles. I kinda wanna get a flush done...

 

I drained and filled my 07 CM at 213,000. Just be aware that following the D&F, for the next few days, the truck shifted somewhat harshly. By that I mean, you could really "Feel" each shift both up and down. It smoothed out after a couple days but for those few days I wondered if I had done something wrong. Truck runs like a top now with 251,000+ on it and the tranny feels like it just rolled off the showroom.

 

Did a Pan drain and refill today. Displaced
5 qts out & 5 new qts in.
The bottle on the left was what came out summer of 23 when I bought it before replacing 5 qts back then Aug 23
The bottle on the right is what came out today before doing anything.
This fluid is filthy black and I know it's got to get changed out.
Five qts at a time haaa.
I hope to show y'all a some shiny red colored fluid soon.

 

I'm almost done doing what I call a "long" drain & fill. Drain pan, replace what you drained with the high-dollar WS fluid. Drive it normally for a couple of days...repeat. Wait about a week instead of a couple of days on the last D&Refill. What chapped my arse is the dealer getting $16 per quart/liter for the WS fluid...that's KY jelly prices IMHO...all without a kiss!

 

Buy when dealers have a sale.

 

They're not familiar with that word, unfortunately. A year and a half ago it was $11-something per quart/liter. And the nearest other dealer is an hour away. Love my truck, but "stealership" is right in some ways, IMO.