This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I originally changed mine with a full pan/drop and replacement at around 137K. I think the P.O.(s) had changed it before that as the fluid was dark, but not terrible. I also swapped out another 4+ quarts around 150K when I added a Nomad valve body and bigger trans cooler. The change with pics above was another full replacement and pan drop at 175K. There was still a fair amount of junk in the bottom of the pan and in the magnets, and the trans shifted better afterwards as well.You are correct on that, especially if the car is high mileage and no history of servicing the fluid.
However, mine is low mileage, and the fluid that came out on my 3rd "drain & fill" was as pink as the one going into the system.
Maybe it was excessive and unnecessary, but now I have a good base to work with for doing AT maintenance. D&F every 30k miles should keep it relatively clean in there while keeping some old friction material too!
I know some people who do it every other oil change, but for me, that is excessive. However, if you find a good deal on facebook marketplace on fluids, I can justify doing it sooner
That's a very low-mileage 100
. It's easy enough....I'd just drop the pan and clean next time you touch the trans. It will add maybe 30 minutes to the entire job. Also, being that you are in Toronto, it will hopefully reduce the chance of some of the two dozen or so M6 pan bolts seizing into the aluminum trans on your low-mileage rig. Mine came out easy, but I have heard that the bolts can snap off easily up north.
That's a very low-mileage 100
Good points, If done with factory fluid and level set correct from miles one.I'm hesitant to say it but it really isn't like that at all, unless the human body is built to run hundreds of thousands of miles while drinking muddy water with rocks in it -- given that the majority of vehicles will never see a transmission fluid change.
Scheduled drain/fill cycles maintain the fluid by refreshing the fluid's additive package, removing a percentage of contaminants, allowing for inspection of the fluid and its level, and generally providing a substantially increased fluid quality over the life of the vehicle.
Is it as good as pumping out the old fluid and filling with all new? No, but even that method mixes new fluid with old. Unless you disassemble the entire transmission, you still have rocks and muddy water in there.
Drain and fills of the same fluid type are certainly much better than never changing the transmission fluidI'm hesitant to say it but it really isn't like that at all, unless the human body is built to run hundreds of thousands of miles while drinking muddy water with rocks in it -- given that the majority of vehicles will never see a transmission fluid change.
Scheduled drain/fill cycles maintain the fluid by refreshing the fluid's additive package, removing a percentage of contaminants, allowing for inspection of the fluid and its level, and generally providing a substantially increased fluid quality over the life of the vehicle.
Is it as good as pumping out the old fluid and filling with all new? No, but even that method mixes new fluid with old. Unless you disassemble the entire transmission, you still have rocks and muddy water in there.
. I've done them on other vehicles where a full R&R was more difficult than a Toyota and noticed better shifting/performance afterwards.
I agee^^^Drain and fills of the same fluid type are certainly much better than never changing the transmission fluid
I do think that if you try the full R&R with a pan drop - particularly if you use the Motive Power Fill - you'll be surprised with 1) how easy it is and 2) how much gunk is in the bottom of the pan on even a low mileage transmission fluid in a lower-mileage vehicle. Using MaxLife ATF and filter/pan gasket from O'Reillys, plus a cordless impact for the pan bolts, I can do the full R&R for around $140 in maybe 2 hours of work.
The other benefit is - as @2001LC mentioned above - setting the level properly. A drain and fill without checking the level afterwards (via the FSM procedure based on trans temp - with the vehicle perfectly level and at 95-105F) is really needed to make sure if's filled correctly. You should really be doing this at every drain and fill. So if you do a drain and fill ever year or so, you'll have to go through that process again and again (which is only a quick process if it's not overly hot or cold when you do the R&R). If you do the full replacement, you'll only check it at R&R intervals - which for me is around every 40K/3years - and won't need to worry about it in between.
When I first got the vehicle (in 2013, when it had 85k), I did three drain/fills with Toyota WS fluid. Would it have been better to do a "flush"? I absolutely agree that it would have.
I also do the PS fluid change at the same time as the trans, with the same fluid. Brake fluid is usually every year or two (crazy how easy it is with the electric brakes on these vehicles). I have some pH strips for the coolant and haven't change it yet, but might next yeas as it's coming up on 50K on the rig (pH is in the 7-8 range).When I first got the vehicle (in 2013, when it had 85k), I did three drain/fills with Toyota WS fluid. Would it have been better to do a "flush"? I absolutely agree that it would have.
Every year since then I've done a single drain/fill, always with WS fluid, always setting the level at temperature. I use a Motive Power Filler which makes the "fill" part of the job very easy.
As an aside, I also flush brake fluid annually, do a PS fluid reservoir drain/fill several times a year (literally takes 90 seconds), and drain/fill coolant every 2-3 years. This extra maintenance costs in time and materials, but reliability and longevity are the primary goals (I'd like to keep the vehicle for a few more decades if possible) and the benefit of inspecting these systems when this work is done furthers those goals.
I've no experience RH dr. All in USA are LH dr with AT oil cooler.
Again, I rarely drop a pan. But when I have, pan has some gunk. But mostly it is what on magnets. Which is metal particles coated with gunk. By flushing regularly, with a full synthetic. It will wash away some of the gunk. But not the metal stuck to magnets. The metal particles will say fix to magnets indefinitely.
Drain and fills are a good thing. Just not as good as full flush.When I first got the vehicle (in 2013, when it had 85k), I did three drain/fills with Toyota WS fluid. Would it have been better to do a "flush"? I absolutely agree that it would have.
Every year since then I've done a single drain/fill, always with WS fluid, always setting the level at temperature. I use a Motive Power Filler which makes the "fill" part of the job very easy.
As an aside, I also flush brake fluid annually, do a PS fluid reservoir drain/fill several times a year (literally takes 90 seconds), and drain/fill coolant every 2-3 years. This extra maintenance costs in time and materials, but reliability and longevity are the primary goals (I'd like to keep the vehicle for a few more decades if possible) and the benefit of inspecting these systems when this work is done furthers those goals.
I agree. Once you understand how to. It easy!
