Trans flush - Too late?

I do all my own work, but this trans fluid swap with jumping pins, getting fluid to right temp, etc seems a bit wonky, and I am considering having the dealer do a full fluid swap without a cleaner and flush. If I can't find one to do that, I'll do a drain and fill every 20-30K. I think I may want to swap out the pan bolts for SS for a future filter change.

 

Drain, measure, fill in the same quantity. I was experimenting with fluid levels on a twice smaller Aisin transmission, it started to see first signs of problems 1/2 quart underfilled or 1 full quart overfilled. On Tundra I did two d&f, never checked the temperature.

 

This as well. It seems like quite the ordeal, unless you have your own shop.

 

If you get an OBD tool like the OBDLink MX+ you can see the transmission pan temp and not have to do the jumping pins/shift method and makes the process much easier. It sounds complicated but its really not. Drain the pan, pump in 4 quarts, start the truck, watch the transmission pan temp while laying under the truck on your phone, when it gets to 99°-111°F, open the check bolt, let it slow to a trickle. Put check bolt in, now your done, if nothing came out the check bolt, pump some more in and do the procedure again. Once you do it a couple times its not hard at all.

 

I disconnected the return line and drained 3 qts at a time.

 

Agreed. This is a pretty easy procedure, anyone who can change their oil can do this. Cycle through the gears to get it to warm up. I break loose the fill and check plug before draining/starting and have my tools laid out ahead of time, as it does heat up rather quickly. I used the OBDFusion app for the temperature check. I used a paint measuring cup from ACE to see how much I drained to better know how much to add back, but that isn't necessary.

Also, the style of pump that attaches straight to the ATF bottles is kind of a pain to use and you'll get a bit fatigued using it after a couple of quarts. I recommend one of those fluid transfer style pumps or an ATF specific pump if you don't mind paying the extra cost.