THSCC Forums

The Tundra is due for an auto tranny fluid change. Anyone every flush an auto at home? Maybe remove the lines from the cooler, stick one into the "fresh flid bucke, and another in the "bad fluid" bucket and fire it up?

If so, how much fluid does it take (I've seen reports of about 15 quarts for the Tundra).

Should I pay Jiffy-lube to do this (doubtful).

Thanks for the pointers.

Scott

PS: The Tundra has:

Tranny fluid
Rear diff fluid
Front diff fluid
Transfer case fluid
Motor oil
Power steering fluid

Also multiple grease varieties called for in the driveshaft/u-joints.

Scott,

What about a filter change?

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

I did the auto tranny on my truck twice. Look in the manual for your truck how they do it. In my case there is no drain plug, you need to slowly loosen the bolt of the pan and let it tilt that some oil can drain out. Loosen a bit more to let it tilt even more that more oil can drain out and finally remove the pan with still some oil in it. Can be very messy. Replace the filter, reinstall the pan and put new oil in. For quantity it really depend on the tranny. For the diff. I used one of those manual pump to transfer liquid. I used it to drain it and fill it.
Anyhow the tranny oil is something I really doesn't look forward to do.

Patrice

Scott,

Personally I'm leary of the express lube power flush idea. Yeah it is quick and easy. But if your tranny fluid is dirty then that power flush will just jam more dirt into the filter. It won't clean it. So if you need to replace the filter then do it yourself. You can just remove one return hose as you mentioned and let it drain. Then just keep on filling down the normal filler tube. See note below.

Patrice,

Doing the filter part. Haven't done a truck but have done a bunch of my cars. 1st time I did what the manual said and loosen bolts in the back and let it drip. Makes one hell of a mess. Here is a cleaner option. Get a siphon/pump. One of those cheap ones used for siphoning gas. You need about 2-4ft of hose on the suction end of the pump. Remove the tranny dipstick. Slide the hose down and wiggle it around until it is immersed in the fluid in the pan. I've been able to hit bottom every time. Then hand pump out all you can. On my cars I typically get at least 3qts. Now you can get under the car/truck and loosen all the pan bolts and you won't be wearing any of the fluid or having it dump on the floor. There should be less than 1qt sitting in the pan. Significantly less messy approach.

Graham

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http://www.greywinds.com

Fluid capacity should be somewhere in the owners manual.

Me, I'd take it to the dealer. Any fluid change job that requires the removal of something much more than 15 quarts, I just want no part of. That way they can dispose of the fluid correctly and it doesn't have to take any space in your garage.

Those jobs also tend to get messy with all that fluid everywhere. Blech. Not for me.

One question that hasn't been addressed here is:

"Is there any (measureable?) difference between a 'flush' and a 'drain and fill'?" (ignoring for the moment that the flush sounds like it would never change the filter)

I've flushed radiators, and yeah, a bunch of brown rusty crap came out, and it never would have if I had just drained and refilled. Does that really apply for tranny? We never 'flush' the engine oil system.

Anders

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Lina Racing: As Seen On Radio

With an auto tranny a the torque converter doesn't drain back to the pan when the engine is off. A drain and fill on the Tundra equates to abot 2 quarts, but the system holds well over 10 quarts.

Scott

FYI some torque converters have drain plugs including our 97 Mustang. Check the manual. Be sure to have a new replacement plug per Ford.

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

Unless the fluid has been overheated (dark color, burnt smell) or the pan/filter is full of crud (sign of pending failure!) you don't need to drain the torque converter. Just drain the pan per advice here and change the filter. Refill after replacing gasket and pan. That's all the dealer will do. Overheating is the only enemy of transmission fluid, it's a hydraulic fluid, not a lubrication oil so it doesn't "wear out" in normal use, The filter change is the real reason for the transmission service recommendation. DOUBLE and TRIPLE check that you have the right pan gasket before you start! BTDT.

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

The desire to switch to synthetic is another good reason to drain and refill.

Toyota quit using gaskets long ago...

Scott

One minor modification to what Chuck posted:

FYI: In some Ford transmissions, there is a tendency for the lockup torque converter to chatter when the fluid gets old, even if it hasn't shown any signs of overheating and is the "latest greatest" version (Mercon V for our 97 Mustang) and the trans has a cooler per a TSB. This is with a car that is driven very gently and has a very large fluid capacity. In this particular case, completely replacing the fluid has solved the problem both times.

Dick

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

once again, the fluid does not provide much lubrication, so there is little advantage to using a synthetic in this application, and I suspect that most modern spec ATFs contain a substantial amount of synthetic base already.
Be SURE that whatever you use is of the type specified in the factory literature mixing of incompatable types can result in premature failure. Note: Toyota 4WD automatics use a special type T fluid incompatable with any of the other types.
For Dick: A large part of the work done by the ATF is in the torque converter, where a shearing action takes place. On a non-lockup torque converter that shearing can litterally tear apart the long chain molecules, reducing the efficiency of the torque converter. That's why changing the fluid helps your situation.

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

Heat resistence. I do tow a 5000 lb trailer, in the summer.

The fluid is due for a change, and it seems pointless unless you change all of it. They might as well just spec the fluid for 200,000 miles or more and put an extrnal filter in the system. That would mean the pan never has to come off.

I've found some decent instuctions at Tundrasolutions.com. It's a bit tedious, but it can be done.

Short version:

1) Drop pan and change filter, assemble in reverse.
2) Top off with fresh fluid.
3) Disconnect line from transmission cooler and run to a bucket/bottle.
4) Start engine and let 2 quarts pump into bottle (approximately the volume of the pan). Turn off engine.
5) Top off fluid in pan.
6) Goto 4, repeat 7x.
7) replace line to cooler.
8) warm up to normal temp and top off fluid accordingly.

This process will never run the tranny dry and will replace pretty much all the fluid with fresh stuff.

In the future, since Toyota was nice enough to put a plug on the pan, I think I might just do a drain and fill of the transmission every oil change. This way, when I do the filter every 30K miles, I don't have to jump through the current hoops.

Scott

Most of the heat damage to an automatic happens at a lower temp >300*F than what the fluid will tollerate. The burnt smell is not the fluid itself but the bands being burnt. The type of fluid will not appreciably change the heat reduction characteristics. The best solution for trailer towing, especially in our climate is to add an air cooled oil cooler in the return line, being sure to mount it where it is in the airstream! By adding a drain plug to the pan, Toyota has already told you what it expects you to do, so your idea is a good one IMHO.
If you're going to do a lot of trailer hauling you might consider adding a tranny fluid temp gauge.

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

Scotjohnson wrote:
Saturn has some automatic transaxles that have no pan and an external screw on filter.

A weird car from a weird car company.

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George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.