200,000 Mile Full Transmission Flush or Drain and Fill?

[CruiserKentucky]

I am in the same boat as you. I've done two drain and fills starting at 220,000 miles with no problems and getting ready to do another one with my 225,000 mile oil change. I've saved all my oil if for some reason I have any issues and need to get back to where I started by adding back oil with friction particles floating around in it.

Good tip to keep the old fluid, thanks.

 

[CruiserKentucky]

You should look in the Warranty service manual not the owners manual.
Here it is from my 2013 manual
View attachment 3925608

Thanks! I thought I checked that one as well, must have missed that section. Lol

 

[bloc]

I think we should clarify some concepts here.

Drain/fill.. obvious.

"Fluid exchange".. what is often called a flush, but more precisely describes what we want, that is a full change of the fluid within the transmission. As noted earlier when done in the shop this usually involves a machine that basically has two reservoirs in it separated by a bladder.. the old fluid flowing out of the transmission pushes fresh stuff in to replace it.

A "Flush" sometimes involves a machine that forces ATF (and often solvent) through the transmission under higher pressures to clean things out. That specifically is what we want to avoid, it is too aggressive for an otherwise well-operating transmission.

 

[grinchy]

I went with a transmission cleaner and then drain and fill. Pumped out via the transmission cooler hoses.

Now that I know the fluid is fresh, the pan drain/ refill which is only a few quarts per cycle is the way to keep it fresh.

Beware when you drop the pan that the bolts can be corroded and might break off. Be careful with them. Several extend thru the pan and housing and back out to air.

 

[bloc]

Now that I know the fluid is fresh, the pan drain/ refill which is only a few quarts per cycle is the way to keep it fresh.

Beware when you drop the pan that the bolts can be corroded and might break off. Be careful with them. Several extend thru the pan and housing and back out to air.

Great points. I’d even say smearing some grease on the places the bolts protrude through is a good move. Can’t speak for the 8-spd but IIRC on the 6 they are all along the back edge of the pan.

 

[Valgrind]

A drain and fill will only replace 30-40% of the fluid. If you don’t know the history you can always have someone check the coloring of it. They can usually tell if it’s been serviced before based on how dark the fluid is.

I have a 2012 Tacoma as well and was not sure of the transmission service history. Had a Toyota Master Tech check the fluid for me. He said it’s too dark and was likely never serviced so I have left that rig alone.

anyone done tests with blackstone to determine what to do?

 

[scrubolio]

i concur to NOT drop the pan...i snapped 3 of the bolt heads off. they look aluminum. aluminum isn't very strong.

I then spent the next 3 days:
1. using hardened steel screw extractors. 2 extractors snapped off INSIDE the leftover bolt.
2. using a dremel tool with a carbide burr to grind out the hardened steel extractors
3. drilling out the leftover screws.

one bolt, I drilled straight through and the threads were saved.

the other 2 i messed up the threads, but then got lucky, since they went through to the other side, I used longer bolts and used double lock-nuts on the other side.