I "exchanged" the transmission fluid on my 07' Tundra. Drain pan, fill, pin T-stat open, drain from cooler line, start rig, run through gears for 45 seconds, and fill. Repeat 4 time, check temp/level and your done. I learned all this via your videos. Spot on and provided peace of mine of doing the job correctly the first time. You guys Rock.
Was going to mention the Tranny Oil Cooler/Tranny Thermostat Pin Open before starting the level check at temp, then removing after the trickle occurs/check hole revealed. But what do We know?!?! Love you Timmy 💜♥️❤️🧡💚
These guys are the best, they have a great way to change the ATF. There's several good reasons to change your ATF yourself mainly because if you do, your trans will probably outlast the car. In owning around a dozen cars and trucks, 10 with auto trans 2 with a stick, I always changed the trans oil in all of them every year or every two years tops. Most of the cars I ever owned had 200,000+ miles when I sold them, but not a single one ever needed transmission repair. That might be one reason why Toyota deleted the dipstick in the first place, which is a very un-Toyota thing to do, but there is more to it as usual. The reason why almost all automakers eliminated the dipstick and drain plug (the info is from a guy in the auto business, from a forum comment, so take it with a grain of salt) is that the US EPA quietly made an "arrangement" with the automakers to help reduce waste fluids from cars and trucks in general. So towards that end the automakers, again quietly, started deleting the ATF dipsticks from everything! (I'm convinced the EPA would weld the engine oil drain plug on and seal the hood if they could, and the fact is, BMW seriously considered, then thought better of, simply sealing the hoods on all their new cars (!)...this is a thing I'd dearly love to see them try, since the consumer reaction would be hilarious, unless you own a Beamer I guess!). I recognize the disposal of millions of gallons of waste oil is nothing to be taken lightly, but the fact is, such waste oil gets burned in millions of furnaces that are designed to use it... so why shouldn't EPA give rebates for such furnaces? Anyway Anyway, even though it's cold comfort to understand the REASON they deleted the ATF dipstick it does nothing to help us change our ATF as often as we'd like! ATF is a normal wear item same as tires or brake pads but they insist we treat the ATF as a "lifetime" product which it 100% is not! ATF made today has essentially the same service life as the fluid we've been using for over 50 years and, except for two additional words on the bottle, nothing about the ATF has improved enough to make it "LIFETIME FLUID". Auto lubricants are constantly improving, of course but trust me, they did not suddenly figure out how to make the world's finest ATF with voodoo spells or sorcery. Your ATF still gets dirty, thins out, and wears out, just as it always has, and that's why it needs to be changed - and there is nothing happening in the field of tribology so far that is going to change that anytime soon.
I recall some information that explained that the 'sealed-system' was designed to eliminate the free exchange of air to reduce oxidation of the tranny fluid, thereby extending the effective life of the fluid. ... I believe there must be a 'vent-valve' that is pressure and vacuum regulated (so no dipstick and no open venting).
LX 470 Thanks for the video! I watched a couple of other videos and came up with an easier, faster and cleaner way. I brought your bucket. Then I pulled the hose going to the radiator and place my refill hose to replace it. After refilling after every 2 quarts my fluid started to look clear after 11 quarts. Therefore, after 12 quarts I pulled my refill hose and reconnected the old hose I was emptying from. This way is a total recirculation of the fluid and no touching the transmission refill plug. Then I just followed your instructions afterwards and done! If I try it next time I would figure out a way to keep the refill funnel up in the air by itself so I don't have to stand there during the slow refilling! Thanks again!
I rolled 182,000 before doing a transmission service.My tundra drained three qts. Started cold drained 3 quarts added 3 ran thru gears.repeated three times. Run to temp. Adjusted level. Working great two years out.used Valvoline full synthetic checked after 30,000 miles fluid looked red. I attached 4ft, of 1/2" clear tubing to a funnel threaded from engine bay to filler hole .
It's pretty amazing that you got away with not servicing the transmission for that long. From my research, the effective life of ATF is only 100k miles, and that's under perfect driving conditions, with the truck never being driven in the mountains or towing anything. In my opinion, you took away some potential life of your transmission by not giving it regular fluid servicing.
@@BrutusPalmeiraThe drain needs a low pressure air leak above the fluid to allow the atf to drain more quickly. Pulling the fill plug accomplishes this easily.
Timmy, just watched your vid on the timing belt replacement for the 2UZ-FE. Did it with the help of my dad successfully, now I’m doing this. You the man Timmy, tip jar will be getting some in it soon 👍🏻
It's great to hear our videos are helping you out. Good job doing your own work. Thanks in advance for any beer donation you make. Hope the trans flush went well for you.
I think he was low starting out.The Toyota WS is synthetic blend. The full synthetic is working fine for me.I have never towed or off roaded this truck.
Tim, i always drop the pan and change the filter when i do a trans fluid change. regardless of extra work it’s always worth it to clean the magnets and get a fresh gasket in there to ensure longevity.
*PLEASE READ THIS COMMENT FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION* **The cooling circuit for the A750F transmission is going to depend if your rig came stock with an additional external cooler or you just have the standard internal cooler inside the radiator. Regardless of which setup you have, you would want to follow the metal "SEND" line from the transmission towards the radiator. That metal line will eventually change to a rubber line that connects up to one of the cooler nipples on the radiator. It might go from metal, to a rubber line, back to a metal line and then to another rubber line depending on how Toyota decided to plumb the circuit. The fluid flows through the cooler and then exits another nipple on the radiator. If you don't have an external cooler, the fluid will flow directly back to the transmission. If you do have an external cooler, the fluid will then flow to the external cooler and then back to the transmission. The reason why you want to understand how the fluid flows through the transmission cooling circuit is you want to remove the rubber "RETURN" line and install another 3/8" transmission hose directed into your graduated level container for this flush procedure. **If you're viewing this video but you don't have an A750F Toyota Transmission, this DIY flush procedure will work for your sealed transmission as well. You first have to figure out which metal cooler line on the side of the transmission is the send line and which is the return line. You might be able to find out this information online, but an easy way to figure out which one is which is with a infrared thermometer. Point the thermometer at one of the cooler line fittings on the side of the transmission and note the temperature. Now, check the temperature of the other fitting. The fitting with the higher temp is the send line. It's sending the hot transmission fluid to the cooler. The fitting with the lower temp is the return line because the fluid ran through the cooler, it dropped in temperature, and is now returning to the transmission. Once you know which is which, you want to follow the send line towards the radiator, follow the circuit so you know which hose is the return hose so you can disconnect it and add your own 3/8" hose for the flush procedure. The other piece of knowledge you need is the recommended temperature at which to perform the fluid level check procedure. You can find this out via the manufacturers manual for your vehicle which will usually be an online resource or you can maybe find this out by asking on a forum and somebody knows the answer. Once you know these two pieces of information, you can perform the flush procedure and accurately top off the system with fluid. **At the beginning of the video, I discuss the concern of performing a full flush on a transmission that was clearly abused that has dark and nasty fluid. I mentioned one theory about how the transmission could have issues after a flush. The other common theory that I didn't mention is the fluid could be holding suspended clutch (friction) material in it. The fluid lost most of it's optimal lubricating properties, and because of that, excessive wear happened with the clutch disks. Currently, the only thing keeping the transmission shifting and not slipping is all that suspended friction material in the fluid. Once you perform the flush, you lose all that friction material and now the transmission doesn't shift and/or it slips. As it happened, even though Thanh's transmission was clearly abused due to the condition we saw the fluid was in, the end result was the transmission shifted better after the flush. So, did we just get lucky or maybe the concern about performing a flush on an abused transmission is quite a bit overblown. It's hard to say if there is merit to this concern because there's conflicting experiences.
I couldn’t believe you didn’t mention the fluid being full of clutch pack material and helping an old trans to function in the video. That is literally the main risk in doing a full trans fluid exchange on an old car. There’s no way that sludge would form in the trans unless SEVERELY contaminated somehow. Transmission fluid just doesn’t sludge up naturally.
@@I_know_what_im_talking_about I thought about saying that at the intro but then changed my mind. Afterward, I decided to mention it in this pinned comment. I guess you missed it. it's in the 3rd paragraph.
Really good info, ive (wife car) had my GX a almost 2 years now and i think its time to drain and fill it. Drive fine, shifts fine, just dont know of the old owners did anything. Got it at 158k. Ive just never had an automatic before, only manual and i can do a clutch quick and easy. But automatics are scary man!
Hey Alan, I messaged Joey at Wits End but he never got back to me. He must be busy. But yes, if he ends up making a jumper for the OBD II port, I will link it in the video description. You can also just check back in with me after a while and I'll give you an update. Glad you like the video. You're very welcome.
I have a FJ Cruiser with A750 transmission and I full flush at every 50,000 km and I have a Hayden 679 cooler as well. Transmission shifts like butter.
I thought that this was a great video! My rig is a 2010 Tundra. The 'HOW TO' information and the links to some of the tools used to complete this task is greatly appreciated. Thanks for posting this.
We're glad you like the video and you appreciate that we go the extra mile and link parts, tools and provide torque values for people. You're very welcome. Happy Wrenching!
Hey Timmy, awesome video as always. My dad told me to always make sure the fill plugs on the sealed transmissions and differentials break loose prior to draining the fluids. Just in case.
I agree. Amazing and thoughtful detail with excellent explanations. I never thought I could learn something new when doing a fluid exchange (like which orientation to use when replacing the crush washer) but there you are. Nicely done.
Excellent how-to video. Question: wouldn’t it be better to pump the transmission dry, first - then filling the transmission once with fresh fluid instead of going a quart at a time?
We like doing it one quart at a time. We don't like the idea of the transmission running that low on fluid. The safer technique of one quart at a time is what we recommend. We're glad you like the video and we appreciate you taking the time to comment. Good luck with the fluid exchange. Your transmission will thank you.
I have the A750F transmission in my 5th Gen 4Runner. I get 4 quarts out with a drain and fill. I wasn't surprised when you had to add more to get flow out of the level check tube. 2 quarts out on your pan drain is only half what I normally get.
Good to know. It definitely appears his trans was under-filled. Amazing it was still shifting fine. How it got that way, who knows. Maybe it was serviced by someone and they under-filled it. I'm going to do a drain and refill at some point on the trans I replaced in the FJ Cruiser and I know that trans was properly filled because I did it. I'll be interested to see how much comes out. I've had people say on some of the Facebook pages I posted the video on that they get around 3 quarts out on a drain of the pan. The manual did say a pan drain produces 1.8 quarts. Weird. Thanks for the comment.
I did this once using the cooler lines at the radiator. Using the exit line, I pumped two quarts out a time, by starting the engine and letting the pump do the work. Then, using the other line, pumped two quarts back into the transmission. It's very easy to do.
@ozzstars_cars You know more than most people now on this subject, which includes professional mechanics. A lot of shops mechanics work at have a machine that does the fluid exchange for them. They just hook it up and push a button.
With my 2010 Tacoma I did a drain n fill and was able to get about 2.9 Quarts. Truck had 50k miles and fluid was red. I'm going to do drain n fill every 10k miles. For those of you that don't want to the fill procedure with the temp, you'll be fine if you drain it in the morning when the fluid is cold, just put back in what you took out. Watch your tools!
Still red at 50k, that's pretty good. That means your fluid didn't hit very high temps. Do you drive at all in the mountains? You're smart to do a drain and refill every 10k.
Great video and what I do in Australian on my 100 series but always shifted through the gears to change the torque converter fluid as best I can while exchanging the fluid , like your thought’s Tim.
Thanks Alan. Never thought about shifting through the gears when doing the exchange. Don't really know if it's necessary based off my experience. It appears to me all the old fluid is being pushed out of the torque converter without shifting based off how the fluid starts to look clean as the max quart capacity of the system is reached during the exchange. But, you got me thinking now. When you're getting the fluid level dialed in, the manual instructs to shift through the gears. Shifting through the gears takes some time through. Are you exchanging out 1 quart at a time like I did or are you moving more fluid than that on each round?
@@TimmyTheToolman We use litres over here Tim so much the same fluid quantity and I get your point that it’s looking clear at the end of the operation but after the first top up go I go through the gears a couple of seconds each gear before I dump for the next fluid change , and same again again again , don’t know if it would get TC cleaner that way Alan.
Amazing video thanks. I recently did like 6 drain and fill for 17 rav4 and the fluid was like this truck. Of course with drive in between. The transmission had little shudder, but after using WS fluid, it feels like new😂
This is the best explanation of why you might not want to do a full flush right away! Thanks Timmy. Where did you find the container you used to drain the fluid?
Thanks for the compliment and you're very welcome. Check the video description by clicking on "Show More" to expand it. We provide a link to that container and all the other tools we used for the job. Happy Wrenching!
fantastic video, thank you! When you're running through the gears do you hold the brake pedal down or you've got the car on a lift with the wheels turning?
You want your foot on the service brake. Even if your tires were lifted off the ground, the wheels don't need to be spinning. You're just shifting through the gears to make sure the transmission fluid has circulated thoroughly. Glad you like the video Ben. Good luck with the flush.
About ready to do this myself. GX470 with a little over 260k miles and I have the same washboard road vibration around 40-50mph (the whole vehicle shakes), so hoping this will remedy that issue. I will stay on the cautious side and do a partial flush only, maybe 8qtrs, then repeat again in a few weeks and replace the rest. Since I am pulling a small offroad trailer with my rig now, I will also install a bigger external radiator to keep the trans temps lower. Recorded some temps on mountain passes in the 220-230 range which is fore sure too hot for my liking.
Hope the fluid exchange worked for you. Recording high trans temps in the mountains is normal. Even with using the trick of turning overdrive off to lock up the torque converter doesn't always work based on the speed you're traveling up the grade. The key is to know when it's prudent to pull over and give your transmission and engine a break. That could be the difference between happily continuing your trip or being stuck when you either blow your trans or engine. Knowledge is power. The fact that you monitor your temps puts you way ahead of the game.
Yep. This procedure works well. I've done it 3 times on my 08 4runner. When pumping out the old fluid, you can let it go 2-3 qts at a time. I built my own power fill jug with a 1gal garden sprayer. I took off the 1/4 turn valve because it seeped ATF out. I just fill it with how much I want to put in the tranny, then pump it up a bit. The one cool feature it the hook end. That makes it easy to keep the fill process a lot less messy. I might add a short piece of copper pipe bent in a J, or something.
Thanks for the comment Bob. I personally feel more comfortable only doing 1 quart at a time. I realize there's no real load on the transmission, but I'd rather err on the side of caution and not run the trans that low for any length of time. Yeah, that Motive Power Fill Pump is basically a fancy garden sprayer.
Thanks Buddy. I appreciate it. I do wonder why our channel isn't more popular with people. We do get around 150-160k views every month, but the high majority don't subscribe. Anyway, we'll keep plugging along making videos to help people out. Happy Wrenching!
Thank you for this helpful video! If you were to take the conservative approach of draining a few quarts and adding fresh fluid gradually over time, how many miles would you drive it between draining/adding more fluid?
I wouldn't waste the effort on dropping the pan. Those fine mesh filters don't really need to be replaced unless you know the transmission was abused and didn't receive regular maintenance. The way I keep my transmission fluid in great shape is I do a pan drain and refill every 10,000 miles. Some might consider this overkill but I don't. You're only exchanging around 1/3 of the capacity every time. I subscribe to the old school recommendation of renewing ATF every 30,000 miles if the vehicle is driven hard. ATF can last up to 100,000 miles but that's only if you never hit higher temps like you do when driving in the mountains, 4wheeling or towing. If you drive on flat ground all the time and don't tow, I'd say you could get away with a drain and refill every 30k miles.
Another theory of why replacing fluid for fist time on a transmission with a lot of miles, is that transmissions rely on a certain amount of friction to work, and old fluid can supply some extra friction on an older and worn transmission.
Hi ninja! Thanks for this video! I recently bought a 2005 Gx 470 (3 days ago) and when I put it in drive it takes a while to catch it, but when it does hits really hard… only happens when the car is cold, later in the day that symptom disappears. I’m really sad cause I need it a reliable car and I spend all my savings 😔…! Thanks for what you do! Peace!!! Sorry for my English, Spanish is my first language! ✌️
I appreciate your videos Tim. I learn a lot from all of them. Thanks for the time and effort to make these. A guy or gal should be able to do their own mechanic work like this, simpler stuff. The gist is, whether its sealed or has a dipstick, the procedure is the same for a flush - the only real difference being how you refill the transmission - sealed or not sealed. Obviously much easier to fill with a dip stick and no pump. I watched a guy on youtube completely drain his transmission - not a Toyota. He flush drained it until there were only bubbles coming out. Then refilled it. without any consequence, at least shown to the viewer. One difference in that case is there is no new fluid helping to push out old fluid and debris from any of the valves etc. That seems sketchy as the lack of fluid in the draining mode could allow parts to damage and in the refill possibly too much pressure in certain areas inside. I have an non CVT style automatic 2003 Tacoma A340 - I don't know if it is the F or the E. I wish there were more definitive answers about a full flush procedure actually causing a slip or stuck condition. I am tempted to flush mine out. I want someone to say its okay to do it. But maybe I will do a simple drain and fill two or three times and then if no issues just go ahead a flush it. Anyway, Thanks for your videos.
Good to hear you're learning a lot from our videos. You are correct. Whether it's not sealed or sealed, the flush procedure is the same - drain a quart and add a quart until the fluid looks clean. The guy that just let all the fluid drain out at once is stupid. I don't care if the transmission has no load on it, I'm not going to starve the transmission of fluid and hope I didn't cause damage. It's also bad to let any pump run dry like he did. If your trans has never seen a service, it would be safer to do the series of drain and refills and do them gradually. Space them out by a decent interval like 3,000 miles or maybe do them timed with your engine oil changes. After the 3rd round, your fluid will be in pretty good shape. After that, I would do a drain and refill every 10,000 miles or every other engine oil change. That's what I do with my 4runners and I keep my fluid in great shape. On Thanh's GX470, with how black his fluid was, we took a risk doing the full flush and got lucky. Nobody is going to be able to give you a definitive answer if a flush will be safe unless they have a crystal ball and can predict the future. Good luck!
Nice video, the correct way to do a hot change no dip stick. Though with fluid that dirty, if the miles were high I would have elected to drop drain pain and replace filter and gasket. What are your thoughts on using better ATF like AMSOil signature fully syn if car is out of warranty as seems alot folks find at higher mileage and colder temp weather it works much better.
I just flushed my 2004 GX470. 150k miles that had been sitting for 7 days. Rather than just removing the drain plug, I decided to see if anything would come out of the overflow plug. It was pouring out, it looked like a drain plug flow. With a measuring bucket under it I got nearly 1.5 quarts our of the overflow! Then removed the drain plug. Got another 3.5. Total was just under 5 quarts! Obviously not right. I have all records on the truck and have no record of it ever being done. So, after replacing crush washers and putting the plug and and drain bolts in, I removed the hose between the ATF cooler and hand pumped a gallon in with a simple Harbor Freight pump. Then did the 2-n-2 change with 2.5 more gallons (3.5 gallons total) used clear cups to see the progression of dirty to clean fluid. Nice-n-pink. Ran through the shifting and then a drive for 5 miles. Shifts beautifully as it always has. I am hesitant to let it drain through the overflow plug to a drip because I don't know if a previous owner broke it off if they pulled the pan. There is no need to ever pull this pan, the filter is not one that needs to be changed. So, @timmythetoolman what say you? If it ain't broke don't fix it? Meaning, should I drain it to temp with the overflow without knowing if the overflow valve in the pan is actually there? Pulling the pan is an option and I don't need another flush, it'd just be to check and see.
I don't think the overflow tube is something someone could damage unless they are really trying to. I haven't personally seen what it looks like but I assumed its just a vertical metal spout that rises up from the bottom of the pan. When you're at the right ATF temp, any fluid that was able to spill over into the tube was excess. So, I don't think it's some sort of valve but rather a simple metal spout that really can't be broken. I just did a search on RUclips to see if someone shows what the overflow tube looks like in the pan and I found this video. ruclips.net/video/zz-Hy8YSpP0/видео.html So, I think you should go through the fluid level check procedure we detail in the video to make sure you have your level right.
I followed how you did it, added about 1/2 quart, Was good. The book procedure was weird. A liter is larger than a quart. 0.4 liters is a little MORE than 0.4 quarts.
Good to hear Dave. Yeah, the procedure in the FSM is a bit convoluted. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to make the video to make the process more straightforward. If you invest in a tool like a scan gauge to monitor the trans temp, you can forego all those crazy steps of connecting OBD port pins, etc. Get the fluid between 97 and 115 degrees, open the overflow plug and check to see if fluid is coming out. If not, add a half quart, get it back up to temp and check again. Keeping adding a half quart at a time until it spills out of the overflow port. Let it get down to a trickle and you're good. At first, I was intimidated to service one of these "sealed" transmissions, but now that I understand the process, it's fairly straightforward. Happy Wrenching Dave!
Nice video! My 2011 Toyota Highlander started to slip/shutter at 3&4 gear. Has 160k miles and never serviced the transmission 🤦🏽 I know! Will be trying this out. Thank you!
@@MaximumDIYGarage I ended up taking it to a mechanic and he flushed it. And no, it didn’t fix it. It went away for a month or so and it’s doing it again. Going to keep driving it until it gets pretty bad then replace the trans.
Just recently got trans shudder 3-4 4-5 shifts like you described in the video on my 4runner with the A750F trans. Will be following these steps and hopefully will solve the issue!
@briano4698 McGeorge Toyota and Toyota Parts Deal have decent prices. Partsouq is good, but their shipping can take a while because it's coming from outside the US.
Thank you so much for your video! Are there any consequences practicing getting into "temp check mode" ? I wanted to make sure I was able to get into the temp check mode before I actually do the drain and refill. I'm going to be working on my 2021 4runner limited.
Great instructional video! I think your half quart discrepancy was what was left in your fill hose between the J hook and the quarter turn valve. Strong work again Timmy ! Oh and I love the little note that ( I'm guessing ) your daughter left on the white board.;)
I'm glad you liked the video. You might be right about the discrepancy. Can't remember what the whiteboard said. I don't have a daughter, but I have a wife.
Do you think it's possible to measure the temperature with one of those laser temp guns? Instead of using the scan tool. I did that when I replaced the fluid on my bmw x5 and it worked. Excellent video btw and thank you.
The infrared temp thermometer works pretty well. If you direct it at the send line fitting, it's pretty accurate. Directing it at the pan isn't as accurate. Glad you like the video. Thanks for the comment.
Hi Tim, thanks for the great video. Do you have to put the fill plug back in every time you add a quart? Or leave it out until after you check the over fill plug then put it back and torque it.
Three years ago I have my 2006 tundra to local dealer with 13 quarts for a flush with the machine. I got the truck back think it was done but once the transmission would heat and I would come to stop it would shudder and bump. So I opened the pan drained the oil out refilled it as per the factory service manual after getting the overflow plug dripping i closed it and it has ran fine since. I would not recommend the flush via the machine as they don’t check if adequate fluid has been put inside.
Thanks for the comment Andy. That's unfortunate they don't confirm the fluid level is good after flushing the system. You would think this would be part of the service. I guess it supports my belief that it's better to do it yourself instead of taking it to a shop. When you do it, you know it was done right.
That’s why I do my own work don’t depend upon dealers or outside shop. I was bleeding the brakes in my tundra yday and I broke the bleeder valve. Any pointers on how to get it out. My buddy who was a mechanic told me to use left hand drill bits.
Fantastic video! How is the transmission holding up? My fluid is black but has no odors and no material or metal and the car drives fine but once every few hours of driving I feel a bump when changing gears so I am going to do exactly what you guys did in the video which I was planning to do anyway.
@@TimmyTheToolman As an update I did the fluid flush from the radiator and after 2000 miles so far so good. I did notice that the color has changed back to a brown maybe even purple color I guess as the fluids mixed I guess the torque converter does not pump everything out through the trans cooler but the fluid is clear and no materials in it.
@@drscopeify I think you got most of the fluid out if you did it just like we did it in the video. The color change I believe is because of the excellent detergent qualities of the new fluid. Your transmission had a build-up of gunk inside it due to the lack of fluid maintenance. The fluid is cleaning the transmission resulting in the fluid getting dirty looking.. Following up with this flush, I would perform just a drain and refill of the pan every 10k miles. You will notice as time goes on doing these regular drain and refills, your fluid will get cleaner and cleaner. Drain and refills is all I do with my transmissions and the fluid stays in great shape. It's a dilution process (mixing new fluid with old fluid) but it works well. Good job getting the flush done. Keep up on your maintenance and you're transmission will be happier. Happy Wrenching!
I just use the trans cooler lines to drain and fill. Run engine and pump 4 qts out. Shut engine off. Fill with a 12v pump with 4qts. You change it all that way if you want. I've used Max Life in my 4runner with no issues. Being ocd I also install a inline magnefine filter.
I tried to use my OBD II reader and Torque Pro phone app to read the trans temp but it didn't work for some reason. I now use Scan Gauges for my rigs so I don't have to use my phone anymore.
Just watched this. Need to do an exchange on my 06 tundra @166,000 think it was done once...any updates on on how his transmission is doing after this procedure?
I guess disconnecting a hose from the cooler could be a little easier since you're not on your back but I can also see it being messier. With where I disconnected the hose, the ATF is just going to drain directly into the pan I have underneath the vehicle. When disconnecting at the cooler at the front of the vehicle, I can see that being a messy proposition. So, your "Much" easier designation for your method compared to ours doesn't really fly in my opinion. We each had to disconnect a hose and attach a hose. Nothing is hard about that. Anyway, good job doing the flush on your own. Your transmission thanks you. Most people forget about servicing their auto trans.
Great video Tim! Is it OK to leave the fill plug out and the tip of the fill hose in the trans while you are doing the check procedure with the truck running? I think that is what you did but wanted to confirm. Thanks again for another detailed video!
Yes, it's ok to leave the fill plug out and the tip of the pump in the trans. But, with the fill nozzle we used, the tip barely extends past the threshold of the transmission case. You couldn't want a hose pushed way in there, because if it catches something, you're just messed up big time.
I had to add some additional fluid on my ‘07 Tundra with the A750F transmission. When I got it to fluid level check mode after my three drain and fills nothing came out of the check plug so I added fluid through the open fill plug while the engine was running. Took about 1/2 quart of additional fluid before fluid started draining from the check plug. Great video!
Dear friend. Hector from Puerto Rico. I like the video Explain step by step and with the literature. I have a question, why not change or clean the filter. It was a hard job and think to complete in 100% I clean ir change the filter. Other question, I have a Tacoma 2018 V6 with 85,000 milles, it time to change the transmition fluid or can wait? Need to change the filter or is metalic one? Thanks for your the information than can brigh to me, is helpfull.
The filters in these transmissions are fine mesh metal strainers. As long as the transmission is serviced regularly, there's no need to replace it. The only time I would suggest someone to drop the pan and replace it is if the vehicle is high mileage, 200k and higher, and there is no service history of the transmission fluid ever being renewed. Dirty fluid will create more deposits in the strainer. For that Tacoma, I would definitely renew the fluid. You're overdue.
Video is very helpful!! I do have a question, I have seen that dropping the tranny pan allows you to clean the magnets and possibly even replace the filter. What are your thoughts on this?
If the trans has an unknown history and it appears the trans wasn't taken care of (ie very dirty fluid), it might not be a bad idea to drop the pan to make sure the filter isn't majorly clogged. If the trans was taken care of pretty well, I don't think it's worth your time to drop the pan. I cut open one of these type of fine mesh trans filters on my 3rd Gen 4runner and it was probably 90-95% unclogged. As for the magnets, they can gather fine metal debris for the life of the rig in my opinion. It's not like the magnets get flooded with lots of debris. It's usually a very fine sludge of metal on each magnet. If a trans is taken care of, you really never need to drop the pan. You can also do what I've done on my rigs and add a magnetic in-line filter in your trans cooler return line. *Magnefine 3/8" Magnetic In-line Transmission Filter amzn.to/35p6heN The Magnefine filters are rated for 30,000 miles of use. It's a nice way to achieve extra filtration with very little work. I should have installed one of these for Rey, but I forgot when I installed a trans cooler for him.
@Timmy The Toolman I removed the pan and changed the oil filter and filled with new oil. I did it when my car was 148k miles almost 2 years have passed. Now I came to know I put TOYOTA T IV oil instead of WS. My current miles is 163k. Car is Lexus Ls430 2005. What should I do now? Please advice.
Gonna use your video for my ‘ 15 Tacoma.. apparently the hot tip is to get a 2nd hex 14mm drain plug and toss that lame allen bolt overflow plug - same thread pitch
Please comment back with how this played out for the customer. In other words, LONG TERM did 100% fluid replacement work (or did it start to slip after a period of time)???
It's working for Thanh so far. He's reported no issues with his transmission. By the way, I don't really have customers because I don't run an automotive shop. Thanh is a friend of mine. I do help out total strangers, and they aren't considered customers either. They're just people I'm willing to help. We don't charge people for our help, but we do appreciate it when they buy us lunch or dinner and beers after the job is done.
I have 07 lexus es350 130k miles sealed transmission. Dont know if the trannys ever been touched. Is a pan drain risky? Or worth a shot i feel like the trans isnt shifting as good as before and i think i see some flaring.
Flaring? What's that mean? Anyway, yes, I would do a drain and refill for sure. Then do another one in around 3-5k miles and follow it up with a 3rd drain and refill in another 3-5k miles. After the 3rd drain and refill, your fluid will be in good shape. Then maintain it by doing a drain and refill every 10k miles. Just make sure you are getting the level correct after every drain and refill. Don't assume the level was good from the beginning and accurately measuring what came out and what is going back in isn't that easy to accomplish. Use what you learned from our video to make sure the level is correct. Good luck!
Thanks again Timmy, just getting ready to do this job on my son's 2015 Tacoma. In your video it seems the filling pump and hose are always conected to the transmission filling hole until the completion of the fluid exchange. It is that correct?
Always, always, always pull the fill plug first, or at least break it loose. More than one person has been in real trouble after they drained their fluid and rounded off the fill plug.
I definitely think Thanh's transmission was under filled based off how much came out. If you're concerned about getting the transmission properly filled, we cover the procedure at the end of the video.
Those filters are a fine mesh metal strainer. As long as the fluid is kept in decent shape, that filter will never need to be changed because it won't get blocked up by deposits.
We own an 07 Tacoma 4Cylinder Manual Transmission with over 250K miles on her, and we have owned since about 30K miles and we have never drained the transmission fluid, nor rear differential fluid, nor engine coolant either. Would you suggest doing these services at this point or just leaving it be, since such high miles and replacing these fluids especially on manual tranny might do more harm than good?…
Service them all. Coolant should be renewed every 30-50k miles. Differential gear oil and manual transmission gear oils should be done every 30k with conventional oil or around every 50k for synthetic.
Thanks and you're welcome. The process for any Toyota sealed transmission would be similar. The only question would be does the temperature at which you check the level at change at all. You can get access to the information through the Toyota Tech Information website. You can buy a $20 / 2-Day Subscription and download the info. The website does have a little bit of a learning curve, but once you know how to use it, you can get any information you want for any Toyota/Lexus/Scion vehicle. When I first used the website years ago, I was successfully able to use my Mac laptop. Then one day I had issues accessing the site and I called for help. The lady helping me said I needed a windows based computer now because their system changed so I bought a used Dell Laptop running windows and haven't had issues. But, recently, some guy told me he successfully navigates the website with his Macbook and using Windows is only for the Tech Stream program. Anyway, I've blah blahed enough. Here's a link to the website: techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/appmanager/t3/ti?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ti_home_page&contextType=external&username=string&password=secure_string&challenge_url=techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/login/techinfo&request_id=-5518364760491963150&authn_try_count=0&locale=en_US&resource_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechinfo.toyota.com%2F
@@markk2060 No problem Mark. If you like to turn wrenches on newer Toyotas, that Tech Info website is super beneficial. I use it a lot because I've branched out from just working on 3rd Gen 4runners which I have the physical factory service manual books for. The information I used to do this transmission service came from me downloading it from the Tech Info website.
Can you simply do the same process but instead just drop the fluid from the pan 3 or 4 times and refilling with fluid instead of doing it from the bottom trans hose
@goldenboyproductions7229 You could, but what you're suggesting is a dilution process. Every time you drain and add fluid, you're adding clean fluid to dirtier fluid. It works, but the fluid won't be as perfectly clean as it would doing it the way we show in the video. But yeah, several drain and refills will get your fluid in good shape.
Dropping the pan is often treacherous in the salt belt because the little pan bolts have a tendency to break off and then you have a new headache. Maybe best to leave a sleeping salty dog lie when it comes to dropping the transmission pan.
Hey Tim, do you guys have a shop here in Northern so I can bring in my GX? I have been wanting to service my tranny but you know how sensitive the transmission is, I just can’t bring it anywhere that don’t know what there doing so as the dealership only cause I don’t see what there doing, don’t know if there doing the job description or what since owners can’t see what’s happening in the back. Great video by the way, really helpful hope you do have a shop for service.🙏🏻
Hey Jerry, we don't operate a shop. We mostly work out of my home garage making videos to help people. The only shop I feel comfortable referring people to is Yota1 Performance in Riverbank near Modesto. I know the owners and the guys that work in the shop and they do good honest work for a fair price. Glad you like the video. I don't know what your circumstances are but if you have the time, space and tools, you can easily do this job with the help of a friend that starts and stops the engine for you.
29:50 my toyota had black oil came out of it, I drop the pan and clean the filter. The filter itself was so dirty. Took about a gallon of gas to see a suitable result. I would have replace the filter right then and there but where I live doesn't have those advance car part shop to get what I want. Have to order what we want from the state or elsewhere
Tim, I have a 2014 RAV4 and the maintenance manual has no mention of changing the transmission oil thru the 120,000 maintenance (highest mileage the manual goes to). It does mention changing the transmission oil if operating under special conditions, like driving while towing, car top carrier or heavy vehicle loading. When should the transmission oil be changed if driven normally?
The life expectancy of ATF depends on the temps it's been subjected to. ATF can last as long a 100,000 miles if the fluid temp never exceeds 170 degrees fahrenheit. If you drive at all in the mountains, you will be exceeding 170 degrees. As the temps go up the life expectancy goes down. When fluid loses its effectiveness to lubricate, excessive wear happens. Since I drive a lot in the mountains, I do a drain and refill of the pan every 10k miles to keep my fluid in good shape. This is what I recommend people do. If they want to wait a longer interval, then I recommend a full renewal every 30k miles. Performing fluid maintenance is cheap insurance. It might be overkill, but I'd rather err on the side of doing fluid maintenance too often than not enough and then be looking at a transmission replacement. It's a big and expensive job to perform.
If you drain 2qt from the pan and install 2 qts back why all the extra work with terminals and special procedures? I understand when you do 12-13qt you could be adding less due to the hose length of the tool. I don’t understand the Toyota procedure?
The procedure is to confirm the level is good. If the trans was a bit under-filled to start with, now you still have an under-filled trans after the service. With the older transmissions, you have a dipstick to easily confirm the level is good. It's a little harder with the sealed transmissions, but if you simply get a tool like a scan gauge, you can forego all that crazy stuff the Toyota manual shows you to do to know you're at the operating temp to check the fluid level.
The fluid expands when temperature rises, and contracts when cooling, hence the temperature needs to be within range when checking fluid level - and Tim is like me who goes for the center of that range.
The cheapest and most accurate way to measure fluid temperature is the meat thermometer 😊. Before filling the fluid, I use the silicone plug to cork the overflow hole. Insert the meat thermometer probe through the silicone plug into the transmission. Just enough to touch the fluid level. Once it reaches 104 to 113 degrees, simply Uncork the silicone plug and let it drain to trickle. Meat thermometer with long cable or Bluetooth works the best. I use Bluetooth. You can set the temperature to the T and alert you when ready. When your wife asks, what's that funny oil taste in the meat. 😮😅😁
Yeah, do a drain and refill, and then do another one in around 5k miles. Do a 3rd one in another 5k miles, and your fluid should be in good shape. After that, do a drain and refill every other engine oil change or every 10k miles, and your transmission will have a much longer life.
Thanks for creating this guide! Question: I have an '08 4runner with the A750E with 180k. Fluid was changed at 100k. At around 170k I did a pan drain and fill 2x and each time the shifting and slight shudder from 4-5th gear was gone and acceleration response was noticeably better but only for what seemed like 30 or so miles. I did use valvoline maxlife instead of Toyota ws but was wondering if shifting on this GS was still good without shudder? Thanks again!
I have read on some forums that fluid check temperature should be 97-115 degrees and others is 115-133 degrees for the A750E transmission. Which one is coorect? I have a 2008 tacoma prerunner.
@ocelott75 I got my information from the Toyota Tech Info website. Sometimes, the people writing the Toyota manuals make mistakes, which may be the reason for the discrepancy.
Next time you should strongly consider attaching a small magnetic level on the frame rails running under the car on each side (from front to back) and jacking the front to level (to offset the slope in most garage floors). That way, your fluid level would be totally exact.
That's a good tip, but I already know my garage floor is very level. It has an ever so slight slope towards the driveway, but it is essentially level. Definitely not enough for me to be concerned about it.
I used a level on my sliders when performing my fluid check. When underneath my truck, the bottom of the pan wasn't level so unfortunately that technique wouldn't work.
I just looked in the factory manual and it said to put vehicle on lift so it is level so I guess that means a DIYer can just put a level on the frame rails (and NOT the transmission pan) running under the car on each side (from front to back). Do you think that would work? Are sliders a part of a lift? @@dimwitrj
It occurred to me that I would like to do the fluid level check before doing any of this. What vehicle was this? How can I find out what transmission I have on my 06 Tundra? How do you know if you should replace the atf filter?
The vehicle used was a Lexus GX470. Your Tundra has the same transmission. We list all the vehicles that had this transmission in the video description. You can tell if the ATF needs replacing based off service records. If you don't have service records, you can take a look at the color of the fluid. Healthy ATF is pink in color. As it breaks down and deposits gather in the fluid, the fluid gets darker. Dark red is borderline good. If it's brown or black, it's overdue to be renewed. You'll get different suggestions on the interval to do a full renewal or partial renewal. I believe a full renewal should happen every 30k miles. If you want to do just drain and refills of the pan, do them every 10k miles or every other engine oil change.
oops, I missed that part of the video description, even though I thought I read the whole write up you did in the first comment below. You are a real hero for showing us all these shop procedures! I loved this one! I bought my first Toyota a little over a month ago, but yet I had watched many, many of your videos, even before purchasing the Tundra. It's a 2006, I purchased from a dealer with about 150K miles. I didn't get any service records. Is it normal that around 40-50 mph, it seems to not want to shift to the next gear. It feels like its holding that gear with rpm's winding out about 3000, with no upshift, unless I keep the pedal going and then it eventually does and seems normal in other situations, as far as I can tell, lol.@@TimmyTheToolman
@@DesertGardenPrepper No worries. We are here to help people do their own work so they can save money and make sure the job gets done right. Have fun with your 1st Gen Tundra.
People do 'exact replacement of drained fluids' at a specified temperature. How does this correct previous inexact exchanges? What is the purpose of the 'overflow drain plug' if the volume replacement procedure is followed?
Exact fluid level exchanges works if the original level was perfect and you added back in the exact amount you drained out. I have containers with graduated volume levels. When I drain out oil into these containers, unless the level falls exactly on one of the level lines, there's a bit of guesswork on exactly how much was drained out. You could get close, but you'll be hard pressed to be spot on. The purpose of the overflow drain plug is to correctly dial in the fluid level. Without this method, there's a level of guesswork based off what I said above. Also, at some point, you might spring a leak in your transmission fluid system. How would you get the level back to full capacity after repairing the leak? The answer is the overflow plug.
Hi Tim, this is your friend from Mexicali, Mexico. As always, very good video! Please when you have a chance, can you make a transmission flush video for a Toyota Rav4 2013-2018.? Thanks Tim!
Hey Javi, I doubt I'll be doing a video for a RAV 4. It's a pretty big longshot. From this video, you have most of what you need to know to get it done. You first need to figure out which cooler line on the side of the trans is the send line and which is the return line. You can determine that by simply using an infrared thermometer and seeing the temperature of the lines. The colder line is the return line. Once you figure that out, you want to follow the return line forward to the radiator and remove the rubber return line off the transmission cooler nipple. You put your own hose on there and direct it into a bucket. Then you do the flush like we demonstrate exchanging 1 quart at a time. When you're finished with the flush, the only thing I can't instruct you on is the temp at which you check the level at for the RAV 4 transmission. If you have a windows based computer, you can access information from Toyota via their Tech Info website. You can buy a 2 day subscription for $20 and download all the information you want. There's a bit of a learning curve to using the program but you'll figure it out. Basically the information you seek will be found in the RM pages which stands for Repair Manual. When you get a page you want to download, you click on the printer icon and you can select to save is as a PDF on your computer. This is how I get the information I need for the newer Toyota and Lexus vehicles I've been working on. At some point they stopped making the physical service manuals. It's all online now. I hope this helps you out
@@javivivero5119 You're welcome Javi. If you don't have a window based computer, you can find ones for sale on Ebay. That's what I did because I primarily use a Mac laptop. I bought a used Dell laptop with the windows operating system just so I could use Tech Info to download the information I need to work on these newer vehicles.
@@javivivero5119 Go to this site: techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/appmanager/t3/ti?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ti_home_page&contextType=external&username=string&password=secure_string&challenge_url=techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/login/techinfo&request_id=-5518364760491963150&authn_try_count=0&locale=en_US&resource_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechinfo.toyota.com%2F You can't simply download the entire manual by pushing one button. It doesn't work that way. You have to download the information in pieces depending on what you want to download.
Would you happen to have the part number for the rubber o-ring on the refill plug? Also would you advise having this done by a dealership? Have read that they pressurize the fluid and it can upset older transmissions.
I don't know the part number for that o-ring. I'm pretty sure the new fancy fluid exchange machines don't exert any excessive pressure on the system so that wouldn't be my concern. My concern is how much they would charge you. Get a quote and you might be shocked. For the price they charge you, you could buy the fluid pump and other necessary tools to do it yourself and probably still walk away with money in your pocket.
@@TimmyTheToolman So at the dealer, they will flush it with a machine? I'm concern, because I took mine Lexus GS 350 the other day, and I checked underneath and don't think they even touched the overfill plug. Makes me wonder of what they did.
@@MrCee861 Yeah, they have these fancy machines that does everything for them. I don't know exactly how they work, but I do know they aren't adding abnormal pressure to the system. It's more of an exchange like we did rather than a "flush'". Lots of people, including me, use the word flush when we are actually doing an exchange just allowing the transmission pump move the fluid like it normally does. It literally takes them no time to do it, but they certainly charge a lot for it. They want you to pay for their machine, and then after it's paid off, it's pure profit for not doing a whole lot. This is the reason why we wanted to share a DIY way to do it and not get bent over at a dealership.
How come you can’t use the Witt’s end tool from the iac job on the 3rd gen, I have that jumper tool and no scan gauge and I gotta deal with filling/checking fluid on my newer Camry trans… was thinking i could use the Witt’s end tool I got
good morning...if you do a simple drain the pan and fill, if you drain 4 quarts cold....is it ok to just replace 4 quarts with out doing the temp check procedure?
I would still do the level check procedure. You don't know if the fluid level was good before you did the drain and refill. It's also a bit difficult to exactly measure what you took out and what you added back in. Even with a container with graduated level markings, if you drain out somewhere between the markings, you're doing a little guessing. Also, with the fluid pump, some fluid is left in the pump lines which can throw you off.
@@dehartshipyard2135 You're welcome. If you do regular pan drain and refills, you can keep your fluid in great shape. I recommend doing one every 10k miles or every other engine oil and filter change.
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I "exchanged" the transmission fluid on my 07' Tundra. Drain pan, fill, pin T-stat open, drain from cooler line, start rig, run through gears for 45 seconds, and fill. Repeat 4 time, check temp/level and your done. I learned all this via your videos. Spot on and provided peace of mine of doing the job correctly the first time.
You guys Rock.
Good job Eric!
Was going to mention the Tranny Oil Cooler/Tranny Thermostat Pin Open before starting the level check at temp, then removing after the trickle occurs/check hole revealed.
But what do We know?!?!
Love you Timmy
💜♥️❤️🧡💚
One of the best detailed yet explained where one could actually do this procedure video. Excellent presentation and thank you.
Thanks for the nice compliment John. We appreciate it, and you're very welcome!
These guys are the best, they have a great way to change the ATF. There's several good reasons to change your ATF yourself mainly because if you do, your trans will probably outlast the car. In owning around a dozen cars and trucks, 10 with auto trans 2 with a stick, I always changed the trans oil in all of them every year or every two years tops. Most of the cars I ever owned had 200,000+ miles when I sold them, but not a single one ever needed transmission repair. That might be one reason why Toyota deleted the dipstick in the first place, which is a very un-Toyota thing to do, but there is more to it as usual.
The reason why almost all automakers eliminated the dipstick and drain plug (the info is from a guy in the auto business, from a forum comment, so take it with a grain of salt) is that the US EPA quietly made an "arrangement" with the automakers to help reduce waste fluids from cars and trucks in general. So towards that end the automakers, again quietly, started deleting the ATF dipsticks from everything! (I'm convinced the EPA would weld the engine oil drain plug on and seal the hood if they could, and the fact is, BMW seriously considered, then thought better of, simply sealing the hoods on all their new cars (!)...this is a thing I'd dearly love to see them try, since the consumer reaction would be hilarious, unless you own a Beamer I guess!).
I recognize the disposal of millions of gallons of waste oil is nothing to be taken lightly, but the fact is, such waste oil gets burned in millions of furnaces that are designed to use it... so why shouldn't EPA give rebates for such furnaces? Anyway
Anyway, even though it's cold comfort to understand the REASON they deleted the ATF dipstick it does nothing to help us change our ATF as often as we'd like! ATF is a normal wear item same as tires or brake pads but they insist we treat the ATF as a "lifetime" product which it 100% is not!
ATF made today has essentially the same service life as the fluid we've been using for over 50 years and, except for two additional words on the bottle, nothing about the ATF has improved enough to make it "LIFETIME FLUID". Auto lubricants are constantly improving, of course but trust me, they did not suddenly figure out how to make the world's finest ATF with voodoo spells or sorcery. Your ATF still gets dirty, thins out, and wears out, just as it always has, and that's why it needs to be changed - and there is nothing happening in the field of tribology so far that is going to change that anytime soon.
We appreciate your comment. Yeah, ATF needs to be renewed. The whole lifetime thing is a bunch of BS.
I recall some information that explained that the 'sealed-system' was designed to eliminate the free exchange of air to reduce oxidation of the tranny fluid, thereby extending the effective life of the fluid. ... I believe there must be a 'vent-valve' that is pressure and vacuum regulated (so no dipstick and no open venting).
LX 470 Thanks for the video! I watched a couple of other videos and came up with an easier, faster and cleaner way.
I brought your bucket. Then I pulled the hose going to the radiator and place my refill hose to replace it. After refilling after every 2 quarts my fluid started to look clear after 11 quarts.
Therefore, after 12 quarts I pulled my refill hose and reconnected the old hose I was emptying from. This way is a total recirculation of the fluid and no touching the transmission refill plug.
Then I just followed your instructions afterwards and done! If I try it next time I would figure out a way to keep the refill funnel up in the air by itself so I don't have to stand there during the slow refilling!
Thanks again!
Good job.
I rolled 182,000 before doing a transmission service.My tundra drained three qts. Started cold drained 3 quarts added 3 ran thru gears.repeated three times. Run to temp. Adjusted level. Working great two years out.used Valvoline full synthetic checked after 30,000 miles fluid looked red. I attached 4ft, of 1/2" clear tubing to a funnel threaded from engine bay to filler hole .
It's pretty amazing that you got away with not servicing the transmission for that long. From my research, the effective life of ATF is only 100k miles, and that's under perfect driving conditions, with the truck never being driven in the mountains or towing anything. In my opinion, you took away some potential life of your transmission by not giving it regular fluid servicing.
Always loosen the fill plug first. Ask me how I know…..
Yep, that's good advice. I usually remember to hit that home with people but I forgot to mention it.
Lol
Kids don't do drugs
How do you know?
@@BrutusPalmeiraThe drain needs a low pressure air leak above the fluid to allow the atf to drain more quickly. Pulling the fill plug accomplishes this easily.
Timmy, just watched your vid on the timing belt replacement for the 2UZ-FE. Did it with the help of my dad successfully, now I’m doing this. You the man Timmy, tip jar will be getting some in it soon 👍🏻
It's great to hear our videos are helping you out. Good job doing your own work. Thanks in advance for any beer donation you make. Hope the trans flush went well for you.
This video is by far the MOST completed one I have seen so far, very well explain if you know what are you looking at, Thank you
@Calimero-1980 Thanks for the compliment, and you're very welcome.
I think he was low starting out.The Toyota WS is synthetic blend. The full synthetic is working fine for me.I have never towed or off roaded this truck.
I think his level was low, too.
Tim, i always drop the pan and change the filter when i do a trans fluid change. regardless of extra work it’s always worth it to clean the magnets and get a fresh gasket in there to ensure longevity.
If it makes you feel better, that's what counts.
I agree, for the 15 minutes it take to change the filter it’s much better to look in the pan as well.
*PLEASE READ THIS COMMENT FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION*
**The cooling circuit for the A750F transmission is going to depend if your rig came stock with an additional external cooler or you just have the standard internal cooler inside the radiator. Regardless of which setup you have, you would want to follow the metal "SEND" line from the transmission towards the radiator. That metal line will eventually change to a rubber line that connects up to one of the cooler nipples on the radiator. It might go from metal, to a rubber line, back to a metal line and then to another rubber line depending on how Toyota decided to plumb the circuit. The fluid flows through the cooler and then exits another nipple on the radiator. If you don't have an external cooler, the fluid will flow directly back to the transmission. If you do have an external cooler, the fluid will then flow to the external cooler and then back to the transmission. The reason why you want to understand how the fluid flows through the transmission cooling circuit is you want to remove the rubber "RETURN" line and install another 3/8" transmission hose directed into your graduated level container for this flush procedure.
**If you're viewing this video but you don't have an A750F Toyota Transmission, this DIY flush procedure will work for your sealed transmission as well. You first have to figure out which metal cooler line on the side of the transmission is the send line and which is the return line. You might be able to find out this information online, but an easy way to figure out which one is which is with a infrared thermometer. Point the thermometer at one of the cooler line fittings on the side of the transmission and note the temperature. Now, check the temperature of the other fitting. The fitting with the higher temp is the send line. It's sending the hot transmission fluid to the cooler. The fitting with the lower temp is the return line because the fluid ran through the cooler, it dropped in temperature, and is now returning to the transmission. Once you know which is which, you want to follow the send line towards the radiator, follow the circuit so you know which hose is the return hose so you can disconnect it and add your own 3/8" hose for the flush procedure. The other piece of knowledge you need is the recommended temperature at which to perform the fluid level check procedure. You can find this out via the manufacturers manual for your vehicle which will usually be an online resource or you can maybe find this out by asking on a forum and somebody knows the answer. Once you know these two pieces of information, you can perform the flush procedure and accurately top off the system with fluid.
**At the beginning of the video, I discuss the concern of performing a full flush on a transmission that was clearly abused that has dark and nasty fluid. I mentioned one theory about how the transmission could have issues after a flush. The other common theory that I didn't mention is the fluid could be holding suspended clutch (friction) material in it. The fluid lost most of it's optimal lubricating properties, and because of that, excessive wear happened with the clutch disks. Currently, the only thing keeping the transmission shifting and not slipping is all that suspended friction material in the fluid. Once you perform the flush, you lose all that friction material and now the transmission doesn't shift and/or it slips. As it happened, even though Thanh's transmission was clearly abused due to the condition we saw the fluid was in, the end result was the transmission shifted better after the flush. So, did we just get lucky or maybe the concern about performing a flush on an abused transmission is quite a bit overblown. It's hard to say if there is merit to this concern because there's conflicting experiences.
I couldn’t believe you didn’t mention the fluid being full of clutch pack material and helping an old trans to function in the video. That is literally the main risk in doing a full trans fluid exchange on an old car. There’s no way that sludge would form in the trans unless SEVERELY contaminated somehow. Transmission fluid just doesn’t sludge up naturally.
@@I_know_what_im_talking_about I thought about saying that at the intro but then changed my mind. Afterward, I decided to mention it in this pinned comment. I guess you missed it. it's in the 3rd paragraph.
Really good info, ive (wife car) had my GX a almost 2 years now and i think its time to drain and fill it. Drive fine, shifts fine, just dont know of the old owners did anything. Got it at 158k. Ive just never had an automatic before, only manual and i can do a clutch quick and easy. But automatics are scary man!
@noahwise6938 Yeah, it sounds like your wife's rig is due for an ATF renewal.
You mentioned that a friend might be making a connector for old port. Well you be updating us if that happens. Thanks, Great Video!
Hey Alan, I messaged Joey at Wits End but he never got back to me. He must be busy. But yes, if he ends up making a jumper for the OBD II port, I will link it in the video description. You can also just check back in with me after a while and I'll give you an update. Glad you like the video. You're very welcome.
I have a FJ Cruiser with A750 transmission and I full flush at every 50,000 km and I have a Hayden 679 cooler as well. Transmission shifts like butter.
Good job Roy! Your transmission thanks you.
I thought that this was a great video! My rig is a 2010 Tundra. The 'HOW TO' information and the links to some of the tools used to complete this task is greatly appreciated. Thanks for posting this.
We're glad you like the video and you appreciate that we go the extra mile and link parts, tools and provide torque values for people. You're very welcome. Happy Wrenching!
Hey Timmy, awesome video as always. My dad told me to always make sure the fill plugs on the sealed transmissions and differentials break loose prior to draining the fluids. Just in case.
Yeah, your dad's advice it good.
Best video I’ve seen for the A750F fluid flush. Definitely waiting to see the lockup install. Great job and love the channel!
Thanks Aaron. We appreciate the compliment. We will hopefully get that trans valve body and lockup kit and be making that video.
I agree. Amazing and thoughtful detail with excellent explanations. I never thought I could learn something new when doing a fluid exchange (like which orientation to use when replacing the crush washer) but there you are. Nicely done.
Excellent how-to video. Question: wouldn’t it be better to pump the transmission dry, first - then filling the transmission once with fresh fluid instead of going a quart at a time?
We like doing it one quart at a time. We don't like the idea of the transmission running that low on fluid. The safer technique of one quart at a time is what we recommend. We're glad you like the video and we appreciate you taking the time to comment. Good luck with the fluid exchange. Your transmission will thank you.
I have the A750F transmission in my 5th Gen 4Runner. I get 4 quarts out with a drain and fill. I wasn't surprised when you had to add more to get flow out of the level check tube. 2 quarts out on your pan drain is only half what I normally get.
Good to know. It definitely appears his trans was under-filled. Amazing it was still shifting fine. How it got that way, who knows. Maybe it was serviced by someone and they under-filled it. I'm going to do a drain and refill at some point on the trans I replaced in the FJ Cruiser and I know that trans was properly filled because I did it. I'll be interested to see how much comes out. I've had people say on some of the Facebook pages I posted the video on that they get around 3 quarts out on a drain of the pan. The manual did say a pan drain produces 1.8 quarts. Weird. Thanks for the comment.
I did this once using the cooler lines at the radiator. Using the exit line, I pumped two quarts out a time, by starting the engine and letting the pump do the work. Then, using the other line, pumped two quarts back into the transmission. It's very easy to do.
Good job.
This guy is a legend!
Great info! I feel like a pro now after watching the video.😜
@ozzstars_cars You know more than most people now on this subject, which includes professional mechanics. A lot of shops mechanics work at have a machine that does the fluid exchange for them. They just hook it up and push a button.
Thanks as always Tim and friends! Looking forward to that valve body upgrade! 🤙
You're very welcome David. I hope we can film the valve body upgrade. It depends how Valley Hybrids responds to our proposal.
Where are you located Tim?
I want you to work on my Lexus
With my 2010 Tacoma I did a drain n fill and was able to get about 2.9 Quarts. Truck had 50k miles and fluid was red. I'm going to do drain n fill every 10k miles. For those of you that don't want to the fill procedure with the temp, you'll be fine if you drain it in the morning when the fluid is cold, just put back in what you took out. Watch your tools!
Still red at 50k, that's pretty good. That means your fluid didn't hit very high temps. Do you drive at all in the mountains? You're smart to do a drain and refill every 10k.
@@TimmyTheToolman thanks Tim! No I don't drive in the mountains, the only time temp hits 170 is when I drive to Vegas.
@@vinr6867 Yep, that makes sense then why your fluid looked so good at that many miles.
Great video and what I do in Australian on my 100 series but always shifted through the gears to change the torque converter fluid as best I can while exchanging the fluid , like your thought’s Tim.
Thanks Alan. Never thought about shifting through the gears when doing the exchange. Don't really know if it's necessary based off my experience. It appears to me all the old fluid is being pushed out of the torque converter without shifting based off how the fluid starts to look clean as the max quart capacity of the system is reached during the exchange. But, you got me thinking now. When you're getting the fluid level dialed in, the manual instructs to shift through the gears. Shifting through the gears takes some time through. Are you exchanging out 1 quart at a time like I did or are you moving more fluid than that on each round?
@@TimmyTheToolman
We use litres over here Tim so much the same fluid quantity and I get your point that it’s looking clear at the end of the operation but after the first top up go I go through the gears a couple of seconds each gear before I dump for the next fluid change , and same again again again , don’t know if it would get TC cleaner that way Alan.
Amazing video thanks.
I recently did like 6 drain and fill for 17 rav4 and the fluid was like this truck. Of course with drive in between.
The transmission had little shudder, but after using WS fluid, it feels like new😂
Good Job!
This is the best explanation of why you might not want to do a full flush right away! Thanks Timmy. Where did you find the container you used to drain the fluid?
Thanks for the compliment and you're very welcome. Check the video description by clicking on "Show More" to expand it. We provide a link to that container and all the other tools we used for the job. Happy Wrenching!
I bought this container a few years ago and it really helps!
fantastic video, thank you! When you're running through the gears do you hold the brake pedal down or you've got the car on a lift with the wheels turning?
You want your foot on the service brake. Even if your tires were lifted off the ground, the wheels don't need to be spinning. You're just shifting through the gears to make sure the transmission fluid has circulated thoroughly. Glad you like the video Ben. Good luck with the flush.
About ready to do this myself. GX470 with a little over 260k miles and I have the same washboard road vibration around 40-50mph (the whole vehicle shakes), so hoping this will remedy that issue. I will stay on the cautious side and do a partial flush only, maybe 8qtrs, then repeat again in a few weeks and replace the rest. Since I am pulling a small offroad trailer with my rig now, I will also install a bigger external radiator to keep the trans temps lower. Recorded some temps on mountain passes in the 220-230 range which is fore sure too hot for my liking.
Hope the fluid exchange worked for you. Recording high trans temps in the mountains is normal. Even with using the trick of turning overdrive off to lock up the torque converter doesn't always work based on the speed you're traveling up the grade. The key is to know when it's prudent to pull over and give your transmission and engine a break. That could be the difference between happily continuing your trip or being stuck when you either blow your trans or engine. Knowledge is power. The fact that you monitor your temps puts you way ahead of the game.
Did this fix it or fudge it? Having similar issue
Yep. This procedure works well. I've done it 3 times on my 08 4runner. When pumping out the old fluid, you can let it go 2-3 qts at a time. I built my own power fill jug with a 1gal garden sprayer. I took off the 1/4 turn valve because it seeped ATF out. I just fill it with how much I want to put in the tranny, then pump it up a bit. The one cool feature it the hook end. That makes it easy to keep the fill process a lot less messy. I might add a short piece of copper pipe bent in a J, or something.
Thanks for the comment Bob. I personally feel more comfortable only doing 1 quart at a time. I realize there's no real load on the transmission, but I'd rather err on the side of caution and not run the trans that low for any length of time. Yeah, that Motive Power Fill Pump is basically a fancy garden sprayer.
I also pumped out 3 quarts at a time when I've done this in the past with no ill effects. One quart at a time gets a bit tedious!
the best transmission fluid change video what i have wateched. The best part is use transmission pump to circulate the old fluid out.
Thanks for the nice compliment. We appreciate it!
Thanks Tim! Your videos are outstanding, You should have more than 200k subscribers
Thanks Buddy. I appreciate it. I do wonder why our channel isn't more popular with people. We do get around 150-160k views every month, but the high majority don't subscribe. Anyway, we'll keep plugging along making videos to help people out. Happy Wrenching!
This is an awesome video. Thank you! I have a 2008 FJ cruiser with an A750F Transmission. Does this apply to my vehicle?
Yes, it would pertain to your transmission since it's the same one in this video.
Thank you for this helpful video! If you were to take the conservative approach of draining a few quarts and adding fresh fluid gradually over time, how many miles would you drive it between draining/adding more fluid?
also was wondering whether cleaning the filter would be feasible rather than replacing?
I wouldn't waste the effort on dropping the pan. Those fine mesh filters don't really need to be replaced unless you know the transmission was abused and didn't receive regular maintenance. The way I keep my transmission fluid in great shape is I do a pan drain and refill every 10,000 miles. Some might consider this overkill but I don't. You're only exchanging around 1/3 of the capacity every time. I subscribe to the old school recommendation of renewing ATF every 30,000 miles if the vehicle is driven hard. ATF can last up to 100,000 miles but that's only if you never hit higher temps like you do when driving in the mountains, 4wheeling or towing. If you drive on flat ground all the time and don't tow, I'd say you could get away with a drain and refill every 30k miles.
Another great video. Any more feedback from Tan on how this transmission is functioning after 6 months?
Thanks Art. Thanh's transmission is functioning just fine. No issues.
Very Informative video ❤ dear with oil filter how many litters need to fill A07 transmission ( land cruiser GXR)
@LasanthaNuwansiriPubbareMudiya I've never served the transmission you have, so I don't know the fluid capacity.
Thank you for great instructions. Is there a difference in checking the level (open drain) with the engine turned on and off?
You're very welcome. The level has to be checked with the vehicle running and the fluid circulating.
Another theory of why replacing fluid for fist time on a transmission with a lot of miles, is that transmissions rely on a certain amount of friction to work, and old fluid can supply some extra friction on an older and worn transmission.
Yep, I've heard of that theory as well Mark. Thanks for the comment.
Hi ninja! Thanks for this video! I recently bought a 2005 Gx 470 (3 days ago) and when I put it in drive it takes a while to catch it, but when it does hits really hard… only happens when the car is cold, later in the day that symptom disappears. I’m really sad cause I need it a reliable car and I spend all my savings 😔…! Thanks for what you do! Peace!!! Sorry for my English, Spanish is my first language! ✌️
Hopefully the flush helps your trans. Good luck!
@@TimmyTheToolman thanks a lot!!!
@@TC-en7vi You're very welcome.
I appreciate your videos Tim. I learn a lot from all of them. Thanks for the time and effort to make these. A guy or gal should be able to do their own mechanic work like this, simpler stuff. The gist is, whether its sealed or has a dipstick, the procedure is the same for a flush - the only real difference being how you refill the transmission - sealed or not sealed. Obviously much easier to fill with a dip stick and no pump.
I watched a guy on youtube completely drain his transmission - not a Toyota. He flush drained it until there were only bubbles coming out. Then refilled it. without any consequence, at least shown to the viewer. One difference in that case is there is no new fluid helping to push out old fluid and debris from any of the valves etc. That seems sketchy as the lack of fluid in the draining mode could allow parts to damage and in the refill possibly too much pressure in certain areas inside.
I have an non CVT style automatic 2003 Tacoma A340 - I don't know if it is the F or the E. I wish there were more definitive answers about a full flush procedure actually causing a slip or stuck condition. I am tempted to flush mine out. I want someone to say its okay to do it. But maybe I will do a simple drain and fill two or three times and then if no issues just go ahead a flush it.
Anyway, Thanks for your videos.
Good to hear you're learning a lot from our videos. You are correct. Whether it's not sealed or sealed, the flush procedure is the same - drain a quart and add a quart until the fluid looks clean.
The guy that just let all the fluid drain out at once is stupid. I don't care if the transmission has no load on it, I'm not going to starve the transmission of fluid and hope I didn't cause damage. It's also bad to let any pump run dry like he did.
If your trans has never seen a service, it would be safer to do the series of drain and refills and do them gradually. Space them out by a decent interval like 3,000 miles or maybe do them timed with your engine oil changes. After the 3rd round, your fluid will be in pretty good shape. After that, I would do a drain and refill every 10,000 miles or every other engine oil change. That's what I do with my 4runners and I keep my fluid in great shape. On Thanh's GX470, with how black his fluid was, we took a risk doing the full flush and got lucky.
Nobody is going to be able to give you a definitive answer if a flush will be safe unless they have a crystal ball and can predict the future. Good luck!
Nice video, the correct way to do a hot change no dip stick. Though with fluid that dirty, if the miles were high I would have elected to drop drain pain and replace filter and gasket. What are your thoughts on using better ATF like AMSOil signature fully syn if car is out of warranty as seems alot folks find at higher mileage and colder temp weather it works much better.
Yeah, dropping the pan and replacing the filter isn't a bad idea. Aftermarket fluids are fine in my opinion.
I just flushed my 2004 GX470. 150k miles that had been sitting for 7 days. Rather than just removing the drain plug, I decided to see if anything would come out of the overflow plug. It was pouring out, it looked like a drain plug flow. With a measuring bucket under it I got nearly 1.5 quarts our of the overflow!
Then removed the drain plug. Got another 3.5. Total was just under 5 quarts! Obviously not right. I have all records on the truck and have no record of it ever being done. So, after replacing crush washers and putting the plug and and drain bolts in, I removed the hose between the ATF cooler and hand pumped a gallon in with a simple Harbor Freight pump. Then did the 2-n-2 change with 2.5 more gallons (3.5 gallons total) used clear cups to see the progression of dirty to clean fluid. Nice-n-pink.
Ran through the shifting and then a drive for 5 miles. Shifts beautifully as it always has. I am hesitant to let it drain through the overflow plug to a drip because I don't know if a previous owner broke it off if they pulled the pan. There is no need to ever pull this pan, the filter is not one that needs to be changed.
So, @timmythetoolman what say you? If it ain't broke don't fix it? Meaning, should I drain it to temp with the overflow without knowing if the overflow valve in the pan is actually there? Pulling the pan is an option and I don't need another flush, it'd just be to check and see.
I don't think the overflow tube is something someone could damage unless they are really trying to. I haven't personally seen what it looks like but I assumed its just a vertical metal spout that rises up from the bottom of the pan. When you're at the right ATF temp, any fluid that was able to spill over into the tube was excess. So, I don't think it's some sort of valve but rather a simple metal spout that really can't be broken.
I just did a search on RUclips to see if someone shows what the overflow tube looks like in the pan and I found this video. ruclips.net/video/zz-Hy8YSpP0/видео.html
So, I think you should go through the fluid level check procedure we detail in the video to make sure you have your level right.
@@TimmyTheToolman Yeah about 15 min after I wrote this I went back and got it to temp and drained it. All good!
I followed how you did it, added about 1/2 quart, Was good. The book procedure was weird. A liter is larger than a quart. 0.4 liters is a little MORE than 0.4 quarts.
Good to hear Dave. Yeah, the procedure in the FSM is a bit convoluted. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to make the video to make the process more straightforward. If you invest in a tool like a scan gauge to monitor the trans temp, you can forego all those crazy steps of connecting OBD port pins, etc. Get the fluid between 97 and 115 degrees, open the overflow plug and check to see if fluid is coming out. If not, add a half quart, get it back up to temp and check again. Keeping adding a half quart at a time until it spills out of the overflow port. Let it get down to a trickle and you're good. At first, I was intimidated to service one of these "sealed" transmissions, but now that I understand the process, it's fairly straightforward. Happy Wrenching Dave!
Just did this oil change and the car is noticeably shifting a lot smoother, thank you for the excellent video!
You're very welcome. Your transmission thanks you.
Nice video! My 2011 Toyota Highlander started to slip/shutter at 3&4 gear. Has 160k miles and never serviced the transmission 🤦🏽 I know!
Will be trying this out. Thank you!
Hope it works out for you Fernando.
Did it fix the slip/shudder?
@@MaximumDIYGarage I ended up taking it to a mechanic and he flushed it. And no, it didn’t fix it. It went away for a month or so and it’s doing it again. Going to keep driving it until it gets pretty bad then replace the trans.
Just recently got trans shudder 3-4 4-5 shifts like you described in the video on my 4runner with the A750F trans. Will be following these steps and hopefully will solve the issue!
Good luck with the job Steven. Hope the fluid renewal fixes the shuddering problem. Let us know the result.
So It looks like this transmission change was around 1 year ago.
How is the transmission holding up?
Great Video's
Transmission is holding up well. We're glad you like our videos.
@@TimmyTheToolman ? Best/safest place online to buy parts, trans oil ext. No dealers close.
@briano4698 McGeorge Toyota and Toyota Parts Deal have decent prices. Partsouq is good, but their shipping can take a while because it's coming from outside the US.
Thank you so much for your video! Are there any consequences practicing getting into "temp check mode" ? I wanted to make sure I was able to get into the temp check mode before I actually do the drain and refill. I'm going to be working on my 2021 4runner limited.
You're very welcome. No, there wouldn't be any issues with practicing getting into the temp check mode. Good luck with the job.
Great instructional video! I think your half quart discrepancy was what was left in your fill hose between the J hook and the quarter turn valve. Strong work again Timmy ! Oh and I love the little note that ( I'm guessing ) your daughter left on the white board.;)
I'm glad you liked the video. You might be right about the discrepancy. Can't remember what the whiteboard said. I don't have a daughter, but I have a wife.
Do you think it's possible to measure the temperature with one of those laser temp guns? Instead of using the scan tool. I did that when I replaced the fluid on my bmw x5 and it worked.
Excellent video btw and thank you.
The infrared temp thermometer works pretty well. If you direct it at the send line fitting, it's pretty accurate. Directing it at the pan isn't as accurate. Glad you like the video. Thanks for the comment.
Hi Tim, thanks for the great video. Do you have to put the fill plug back in every time you add a quart? Or leave it out until after you check the over fill plug then put it back and torque it.
Glad you like the video. No, you can leave the fill plug out for the process.
Awesome instructional detail as usual and entertaining at the same time!
Thanks for the compliment of our work. We appreciate it!
Three years ago I have my 2006 tundra to local dealer with 13 quarts for a flush with the machine. I got the truck back think it was done but once the transmission would heat and I would come to stop it would shudder and bump. So I opened the pan drained the oil out refilled it as per the factory service manual after getting the overflow plug dripping i closed it and it has ran fine since. I would not recommend the flush via the machine as they don’t check if adequate fluid has been put inside.
Thanks for the comment Andy. That's unfortunate they don't confirm the fluid level is good after flushing the system. You would think this would be part of the service. I guess it supports my belief that it's better to do it yourself instead of taking it to a shop. When you do it, you know it was done right.
That’s why I do my own work don’t depend upon dealers or outside shop. I was bleeding the brakes in my tundra yday and I broke the bleeder valve. Any pointers on how to get it out. My buddy who was a mechanic told me to use left hand drill bits.
@@andyg5004 They sell screw extractors which is a similar method to using a left handed drill bit.
Fantastic video! How is the transmission holding up? My fluid is black but has no odors and no material or metal and the car drives fine but once every few hours of driving I feel a bump when changing gears so I am going to do exactly what you guys did in the video which I was planning to do anyway.
Transmission is holding up fine. Good luck with the exchange.
@@TimmyTheToolman As an update I did the fluid flush from the radiator and after 2000 miles so far so good. I did notice that the color has changed back to a brown maybe even purple color I guess as the fluids mixed I guess the torque converter does not pump everything out through the trans cooler but the fluid is clear and no materials in it.
@@drscopeify I think you got most of the fluid out if you did it just like we did it in the video. The color change I believe is because of the excellent detergent qualities of the new fluid. Your transmission had a build-up of gunk inside it due to the lack of fluid maintenance. The fluid is cleaning the transmission resulting in the fluid getting dirty looking.. Following up with this flush, I would perform just a drain and refill of the pan every 10k miles. You will notice as time goes on doing these regular drain and refills, your fluid will get cleaner and cleaner. Drain and refills is all I do with my transmissions and the fluid stays in great shape. It's a dilution process (mixing new fluid with old fluid) but it works well.
Good job getting the flush done. Keep up on your maintenance and you're transmission will be happier. Happy Wrenching!
I think your underfilling came from that power pump having to fill the lengthy hose/tubing first before going into the trabsmissing case
Anything is possible. The important thing is to get the level correct with the method we showed in the video.
I just use the trans cooler lines to drain and fill. Run engine and pump 4 qts out. Shut engine off. Fill with a 12v pump with 4qts. You change it all that way if you want. I've used Max Life in my 4runner with no issues. Being ocd I also install a inline magnefine filter.
I personally wouldn't feel comfortable running 4 quarts out at a time. But, it's your rig, so do it the way you want. Good job renewing your ATF.
Thanks Timmy great video! Just curious, any reason why you didn’t use OBD2 to check trans temperature? You did for 4runner.
I tried to use my OBD II reader and Torque Pro phone app to read the trans temp but it didn't work for some reason. I now use Scan Gauges for my rigs so I don't have to use my phone anymore.
Just watched this. Need to do an exchange on my 06 tundra @166,000 think it was done once...any updates on on how his transmission is doing after this procedure?
@@rptrick79 His transmission is working fine. No issues.
Excelente video as always professor Timmy 👌👍
Thank you Brother!
I've done mine through the front trans. cooler, 1.5qts at the time. Much easier in my opinion.
Used valvoline Max Life ATF. 50k miles and no issues.
I guess disconnecting a hose from the cooler could be a little easier since you're not on your back but I can also see it being messier. With where I disconnected the hose, the ATF is just going to drain directly into the pan I have underneath the vehicle. When disconnecting at the cooler at the front of the vehicle, I can see that being a messy proposition. So, your "Much" easier designation for your method compared to ours doesn't really fly in my opinion. We each had to disconnect a hose and attach a hose. Nothing is hard about that. Anyway, good job doing the flush on your own. Your transmission thanks you. Most people forget about servicing their auto trans.
Great video Tim! Is it OK to leave the fill plug out and the tip of the fill hose in the trans while you are doing the check procedure with the truck running? I think that is what you did but wanted to confirm. Thanks again for another detailed video!
Yes, it's ok to leave the fill plug out and the tip of the pump in the trans. But, with the fill nozzle we used, the tip barely extends past the threshold of the transmission case. You couldn't want a hose pushed way in there, because if it catches something, you're just messed up big time.
@@TimmyTheToolman Thanks! I bought the same pump / tip that you were using in the video so it sounds like I should be in good shape
@@joeburris2836 Yeah, you'll be good to go.
I had to add some additional fluid on my ‘07 Tundra with the A750F transmission. When I got it to fluid level check mode after my three drain and fills nothing came out of the check plug so I added fluid through the open fill plug while the engine was running. Took about 1/2 quart of additional fluid before fluid started draining from the check plug. Great video!
Dear friend. Hector from Puerto Rico. I like the video Explain step by step and with the literature. I have a question, why not change or clean the filter. It was a hard job and think to complete in 100% I clean ir change the filter. Other question, I have a Tacoma 2018 V6 with 85,000 milles, it time to change the transmition fluid or can wait? Need to change the filter or is metalic one? Thanks for your the information than can brigh to me, is helpfull.
The filters in these transmissions are fine mesh metal strainers. As long as the transmission is serviced regularly, there's no need to replace it. The only time I would suggest someone to drop the pan and replace it is if the vehicle is high mileage, 200k and higher, and there is no service history of the transmission fluid ever being renewed. Dirty fluid will create more deposits in the strainer. For that Tacoma, I would definitely renew the fluid. You're overdue.
Thanks for your information. 🙏🙏🙏
Video is very helpful!! I do have a question, I have seen that dropping the tranny pan allows you to clean the magnets and possibly even replace the filter. What are your thoughts on this?
If the trans has an unknown history and it appears the trans wasn't taken care of (ie very dirty fluid), it might not be a bad idea to drop the pan to make sure the filter isn't majorly clogged. If the trans was taken care of pretty well, I don't think it's worth your time to drop the pan. I cut open one of these type of fine mesh trans filters on my 3rd Gen 4runner and it was probably 90-95% unclogged. As for the magnets, they can gather fine metal debris for the life of the rig in my opinion. It's not like the magnets get flooded with lots of debris. It's usually a very fine sludge of metal on each magnet. If a trans is taken care of, you really never need to drop the pan. You can also do what I've done on my rigs and add a magnetic in-line filter in your trans cooler return line.
*Magnefine 3/8" Magnetic In-line Transmission Filter
amzn.to/35p6heN
The Magnefine filters are rated for 30,000 miles of use. It's a nice way to achieve extra filtration with very little work. I should have installed one of these for Rey, but I forgot when I installed a trans cooler for him.
@@TimmyTheToolman Thank you very much!!! Great info and quick response is appreciated!!
@@DarwinWasBlind You're very welcome Mike.
@Timmy The Toolman
I removed the pan and changed the oil filter and filled with new oil. I did it when my car was 148k miles almost 2 years have passed. Now I came to know I put TOYOTA T IV oil instead of WS. My current miles is 163k. Car is Lexus Ls430 2005.
What should I do now? Please advice.
Gonna use your video for my ‘ 15 Tacoma.. apparently the hot tip is to get a 2nd hex 14mm drain plug and toss that lame allen bolt overflow plug - same thread pitch
Yeah, getting rid of the allen head bolt wouldn't be a bad idea. Good luck with the trans flush.
any info on the plug you used or just got the exact same plug from toyota?
@@jimmpsi its same drain plug hex bolt from Toyota at least on Tacoma
Please comment back with how this played out for the customer. In other words, LONG TERM did 100% fluid replacement work (or did it start to slip after a period of time)???
It's working for Thanh so far. He's reported no issues with his transmission. By the way, I don't really have customers because I don't run an automotive shop. Thanh is a friend of mine. I do help out total strangers, and they aren't considered customers either. They're just people I'm willing to help. We don't charge people for our help, but we do appreciate it when they buy us lunch or dinner and beers after the job is done.
I have 07 lexus es350 130k miles sealed transmission. Dont know if the trannys ever been touched. Is a pan drain risky? Or worth a shot i feel like the trans isnt shifting as good as before and i think i see some flaring.
Flaring? What's that mean? Anyway, yes, I would do a drain and refill for sure. Then do another one in around 3-5k miles and follow it up with a 3rd drain and refill in another 3-5k miles. After the 3rd drain and refill, your fluid will be in good shape. Then maintain it by doing a drain and refill every 10k miles. Just make sure you are getting the level correct after every drain and refill. Don't assume the level was good from the beginning and accurately measuring what came out and what is going back in isn't that easy to accomplish. Use what you learned from our video to make sure the level is correct. Good luck!
@@TimmyTheToolman should i have lexus do it? And this is what i mean by flaring
ruclips.net/user/shortsQ0Ni0i7GNJM?feature=share
Thanks guys... that truck is in better condition now.
You're welcome and we agree. His trans fluid was dark and way overdue to be changed.
Thanks again Timmy, just getting ready to do this job on my son's 2015 Tacoma. In your video it seems the filling pump and hose are always conected to the transmission filling hole until the completion of the fluid exchange. It is that correct?
Yes, that's correct. You can just leave it hanging in the fill hole during the fluid exchange process. Good luck with the job.
Hi. I’m in Southern California. I’m looking for a great mechanic like you! Any chance I can have you work on my gx470? Love the videos!!
Hey Michael, I'm in NorCal. Also, we're not mechanics for hire. We make videos to help people out. Glad you like our channel.
Your video has provided me with a lot more knowledge, thank you Sir Timmy!
Good to hear Kenneth. You're welcome.
Always, always, always pull the fill plug first, or at least break it loose. More than one person has been in real trouble after they drained their fluid and rounded off the fill plug.
Your suggestion is smart. I usually remember to say this but I forgot. Thanks for the comment.
Is there a possibility that you may have less fluid than necessary? If so, how would you know how much more to add during the drain and fill?
I definitely think Thanh's transmission was under filled based off how much came out. If you're concerned about getting the transmission properly filled, we cover the procedure at the end of the video.
I called a Toyota tech and he said as long as you replace the filter there should be no issues.
Those filters are a fine mesh metal strainer. As long as the fluid is kept in decent shape, that filter will never need to be changed because it won't get blocked up by deposits.
Excellent walkthrough. Thank you for taking the time to video this procedure. Liked and subbed. Many thanks.
Appreciate the kind words Miguel!
We own an 07 Tacoma 4Cylinder Manual Transmission with over 250K miles on her, and we have owned since about 30K miles and we have never drained the transmission fluid, nor rear differential fluid, nor engine coolant either. Would you suggest doing these services at this point or just leaving it be, since such high miles and replacing these fluids especially on manual tranny might do more harm than good?…
Service them all. Coolant should be renewed every 30-50k miles. Differential gear oil and manual transmission gear oils should be done every 30k with conventional oil or around every 50k for synthetic.
Outstanding job! Thanks for posting. Would love to see one for the 3rd gen Tundra.
Thanks and you're welcome. The process for any Toyota sealed transmission would be similar. The only question would be does the temperature at which you check the level at change at all.
You can get access to the information through the Toyota Tech Information website. You can buy a $20 / 2-Day Subscription and download the info. The website does have a little bit of a learning curve, but once you know how to use it, you can get any information you want for any Toyota/Lexus/Scion vehicle. When I first used the website years ago, I was successfully able to use my Mac laptop. Then one day I had issues accessing the site and I called for help. The lady helping me said I needed a windows based computer now because their system changed so I bought a used Dell Laptop running windows and haven't had issues. But, recently, some guy told me he successfully navigates the website with his Macbook and using Windows is only for the Tech Stream program. Anyway, I've blah blahed enough. Here's a link to the website: techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/appmanager/t3/ti?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ti_home_page&contextType=external&username=string&password=secure_string&challenge_url=techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/login/techinfo&request_id=-5518364760491963150&authn_try_count=0&locale=en_US&resource_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechinfo.toyota.com%2F
@@TimmyTheToolman Your awesome! Once again, I appreciate the info.
@@markk2060 No problem Mark. If you like to turn wrenches on newer Toyotas, that Tech Info website is super beneficial. I use it a lot because I've branched out from just working on 3rd Gen 4runners which I have the physical factory service manual books for. The information I used to do this transmission service came from me downloading it from the Tech Info website.
Can you simply do the same process but instead just drop the fluid from the pan 3 or 4 times and refilling with fluid instead of doing it from the bottom trans hose
@goldenboyproductions7229 You could, but what you're suggesting is a dilution process. Every time you drain and add fluid, you're adding clean fluid to dirtier fluid. It works, but the fluid won't be as perfectly clean as it would doing it the way we show in the video. But yeah, several drain and refills will get your fluid in good shape.
Dropping the pan is often treacherous in the salt belt because the little pan bolts have a tendency to break off and then you have a new headache. Maybe best to leave a sleeping salty dog lie when it comes to dropping the transmission pan.
Yeah Ted, I'd probably leave it alone as well.
Epic dude, thanks for the master class.
Thanks Doug. You're very welcome.
Another great video TTT!!! Thank you.
Hell yeah brotha! 🤘🏼
Hey Tim, do you guys have a shop here in Northern so I can bring in my GX? I have been wanting to service my tranny but you know how sensitive the transmission is, I just can’t bring it anywhere that don’t know what there doing so as the dealership only cause I don’t see what there doing, don’t know if there doing the job description or what since owners can’t see what’s happening in the back. Great video by the way, really helpful hope you do have a shop for service.🙏🏻
Hey Jerry, we don't operate a shop. We mostly work out of my home garage making videos to help people. The only shop I feel comfortable referring people to is Yota1 Performance in Riverbank near Modesto. I know the owners and the guys that work in the shop and they do good honest work for a fair price. Glad you like the video. I don't know what your circumstances are but if you have the time, space and tools, you can easily do this job with the help of a friend that starts and stops the engine for you.
29:50 my toyota had black oil came out of it, I drop the pan and clean the filter. The filter itself was so dirty. Took about a gallon of gas to see a suitable result. I would have replace the filter right then and there but where I live doesn't have those advance car part shop to get what I want. Have to order what we want from the state or elsewhere
We should have replaced the filter as well based off how dirty his fluid was, but we didn't have a filter nor the time to drop the pan.
Tim, I have a 2014 RAV4 and the maintenance manual has no mention of changing the transmission oil thru the 120,000 maintenance (highest mileage the manual goes to). It does mention changing the transmission oil if operating under special conditions, like driving while towing, car top carrier or heavy vehicle loading. When should the transmission oil be changed if driven normally?
The life expectancy of ATF depends on the temps it's been subjected to. ATF can last as long a 100,000 miles if the fluid temp never exceeds 170 degrees fahrenheit. If you drive at all in the mountains, you will be exceeding 170 degrees. As the temps go up the life expectancy goes down. When fluid loses its effectiveness to lubricate, excessive wear happens.
Since I drive a lot in the mountains, I do a drain and refill of the pan every 10k miles to keep my fluid in good shape. This is what I recommend people do. If they want to wait a longer interval, then I recommend a full renewal every 30k miles. Performing fluid maintenance is cheap insurance. It might be overkill, but I'd rather err on the side of doing fluid maintenance too often than not enough and then be looking at a transmission replacement. It's a big and expensive job to perform.
If you drain 2qt from the pan and install 2 qts back why all the extra work with terminals and special procedures? I understand when you do 12-13qt you could be adding less due to the hose length of the tool. I don’t understand the Toyota procedure?
The procedure is to confirm the level is good. If the trans was a bit under-filled to start with, now you still have an under-filled trans after the service. With the older transmissions, you have a dipstick to easily confirm the level is good. It's a little harder with the sealed transmissions, but if you simply get a tool like a scan gauge, you can forego all that crazy stuff the Toyota manual shows you to do to know you're at the operating temp to check the fluid level.
The fluid expands when temperature rises, and contracts when cooling, hence the temperature needs to be within range when checking fluid level - and Tim is like me who goes for the center of that range.
Did you leave the fill plug out while adding the 1 quart increments, or did you reinstall the fill plug each quart added?
I reinstalled the fill plug hand tight after each quart.
New subscriber here. Excellent informative video my friend! Thank you!
Welcome to our channel. Thanks for the compliment and you're very welcome!
The cheapest and most accurate way to measure fluid temperature is the meat thermometer 😊.
Before filling the fluid, I use the silicone plug to cork the overflow hole.
Insert the meat thermometer probe through the silicone plug into the transmission. Just enough to touch the fluid level.
Once it reaches 104 to 113 degrees, simply Uncork the silicone plug and let it drain to trickle.
Meat thermometer with long cable or Bluetooth works the best.
I use Bluetooth. You can set the temperature to the T and alert you when ready.
When your wife asks, what's that funny oil taste in the meat. 😮😅😁
Thanks for sharing your meat thermometer technique to measure the fluid temp.
Another job well done! Keep up the excellent vids.
Thanks! We appreciate it!
Hi Tim,
I have 2017 camry xle at 113K. Never did transmission fluid change as i got sucked into lifetime. Should i do drain and refill?
Yeah, do a drain and refill, and then do another one in around 5k miles. Do a 3rd one in another 5k miles, and your fluid should be in good shape. After that, do a drain and refill every other engine oil change or every 10k miles, and your transmission will have a much longer life.
Thanks for creating this guide! Question: I have an '08 4runner with the A750E with 180k. Fluid was changed at 100k. At around 170k I did a pan drain and fill 2x and each time the shifting and slight shudder from 4-5th gear was gone and acceleration response was noticeably better but only for what seemed like 30 or so miles. I did use valvoline maxlife instead of Toyota ws but was wondering if shifting on this GS was still good without shudder? Thanks again!
The shudder hasn't come back with Thanh's GX470 but I don't know how many miles he's driven in it since the flush.
I have read on some forums that fluid check temperature should be 97-115 degrees and others is 115-133 degrees for the A750E transmission. Which one is coorect? I have a 2008 tacoma prerunner.
@ocelott75 I got my information from the Toyota Tech Info website. Sometimes, the people writing the Toyota manuals make mistakes, which may be the reason for the discrepancy.
Good work. Where r u located at?
Thanks. We're in San Jose, California
Thank you for very good videos Tim you a good man god bless you big
You're very welcome. God bless you as well.
Next time you should strongly consider attaching a small magnetic level on the frame rails running under the car on each side (from front to back) and jacking the front to level (to offset the slope in most garage floors). That way, your fluid level would be totally exact.
That's a good tip, but I already know my garage floor is very level. It has an ever so slight slope towards the driveway, but it is essentially level. Definitely not enough for me to be concerned about it.
I used a level on my sliders when performing my fluid check. When underneath my truck, the bottom of the pan wasn't level so unfortunately that technique wouldn't work.
@@dimwitrj Specifically what do you mean when you say "sliders"????
??? You never answered my question from months ago ????@@dimwitrj
I just looked in the factory manual and it said to put vehicle on lift so it is level so I guess that means a DIYer can just put a level on the frame rails (and NOT the transmission pan) running under the car on each side (from front to back). Do you think that would work? Are sliders a part of a lift? @@dimwitrj
GREAT JOB !!! Thanks a lot !!!!
You are the best on this topic and explained everything, regardless of your time !!!
Thanks for the very nice compliment. We appreciate it! Happy Wrenching!
It occurred to me that I would like to do the fluid level check before doing any of this. What vehicle was this? How can I find out what transmission I have on my 06 Tundra? How do you know if you should replace the atf filter?
The vehicle used was a Lexus GX470. Your Tundra has the same transmission. We list all the vehicles that had this transmission in the video description. You can tell if the ATF needs replacing based off service records. If you don't have service records, you can take a look at the color of the fluid. Healthy ATF is pink in color. As it breaks down and deposits gather in the fluid, the fluid gets darker. Dark red is borderline good. If it's brown or black, it's overdue to be renewed. You'll get different suggestions on the interval to do a full renewal or partial renewal. I believe a full renewal should happen every 30k miles. If you want to do just drain and refills of the pan, do them every 10k miles or every other engine oil change.
oops, I missed that part of the video description, even though I thought I read the whole write up you did in the first comment below. You are a real hero for showing us all these shop procedures! I loved this one! I bought my first Toyota a little over a month ago, but yet I had watched many, many of your videos, even before purchasing the Tundra. It's a 2006, I purchased from a dealer with about 150K miles. I didn't get any service records. Is it normal that around 40-50 mph, it seems to not want to shift to the next gear. It feels like its holding that gear with rpm's winding out about 3000, with no upshift, unless I keep the pedal going and then it eventually does and seems normal in other situations, as far as I can tell, lol.@@TimmyTheToolman
@@DesertGardenPrepper No worries. We are here to help people do their own work so they can save money and make sure the job gets done right. Have fun with your 1st Gen Tundra.
People do 'exact replacement of drained fluids' at a specified temperature.
How does this correct previous inexact exchanges?
What is the purpose of the 'overflow drain plug' if the volume replacement procedure is followed?
Exact fluid level exchanges works if the original level was perfect and you added back in the exact amount you drained out. I have containers with graduated volume levels. When I drain out oil into these containers, unless the level falls exactly on one of the level lines, there's a bit of guesswork on exactly how much was drained out. You could get close, but you'll be hard pressed to be spot on.
The purpose of the overflow drain plug is to correctly dial in the fluid level. Without this method, there's a level of guesswork based off what I said above. Also, at some point, you might spring a leak in your transmission fluid system. How would you get the level back to full capacity after repairing the leak? The answer is the overflow plug.
@@TimmyTheToolman Thanks for connecting some dots.
@@Shalmaneser1 You're welcome.
Hi Tim, this is your friend from Mexicali, Mexico. As always, very good video! Please when you have a chance, can you make a transmission flush video for a Toyota Rav4 2013-2018.? Thanks Tim!
Hey Javi, I doubt I'll be doing a video for a RAV 4. It's a pretty big longshot. From this video, you have most of what you need to know to get it done. You first need to figure out which cooler line on the side of the trans is the send line and which is the return line. You can determine that by simply using an infrared thermometer and seeing the temperature of the lines. The colder line is the return line. Once you figure that out, you want to follow the return line forward to the radiator and remove the rubber return line off the transmission cooler nipple. You put your own hose on there and direct it into a bucket. Then you do the flush like we demonstrate exchanging 1 quart at a time. When you're finished with the flush, the only thing I can't instruct you on is the temp at which you check the level at for the RAV 4 transmission. If you have a windows based computer, you can access information from Toyota via their Tech Info website. You can buy a 2 day subscription for $20 and download all the information you want. There's a bit of a learning curve to using the program but you'll figure it out. Basically the information you seek will be found in the RM pages which stands for Repair Manual. When you get a page you want to download, you click on the printer icon and you can select to save is as a PDF on your computer. This is how I get the information I need for the newer Toyota and Lexus vehicles I've been working on. At some point they stopped making the physical service manuals. It's all online now. I hope this helps you out
@@TimmyTheToolman All right Tim, Thanks for take the time to responce my message.! Again, Great video!
@@javivivero5119 You're welcome Javi. If you don't have a window based computer, you can find ones for sale on Ebay. That's what I did because I primarily use a Mac laptop. I bought a used Dell laptop with the windows operating system just so I could use Tech Info to download the information I need to work on these newer vehicles.
@@TimmyTheToolman Yes, I have windows, do you have the link to download the manual?😉
@@javivivero5119 Go to this site: techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/appmanager/t3/ti?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ti_home_page&contextType=external&username=string&password=secure_string&challenge_url=techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/login/techinfo&request_id=-5518364760491963150&authn_try_count=0&locale=en_US&resource_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechinfo.toyota.com%2F
You can't simply download the entire manual by pushing one button. It doesn't work that way. You have to download the information in pieces depending on what you want to download.
Would you happen to have the part number for the rubber o-ring on the refill plug?
Also would you advise having this done by a dealership? Have read that they pressurize the fluid and it can upset older transmissions.
I don't know the part number for that o-ring.
I'm pretty sure the new fancy fluid exchange machines don't exert any excessive pressure on the system so that wouldn't be my concern. My concern is how much they would charge you. Get a quote and you might be shocked. For the price they charge you, you could buy the fluid pump and other necessary tools to do it yourself and probably still walk away with money in your pocket.
@@TimmyTheToolman So at the dealer, they will flush it with a machine? I'm concern, because I took mine Lexus GS 350 the other day, and I checked underneath and don't think they even touched the overfill plug. Makes me wonder of what they did.
@@MrCee861 Yeah, they have these fancy machines that does everything for them. I don't know exactly how they work, but I do know they aren't adding abnormal pressure to the system. It's more of an exchange like we did rather than a "flush'". Lots of people, including me, use the word flush when we are actually doing an exchange just allowing the transmission pump move the fluid like it normally does. It literally takes them no time to do it, but they certainly charge a lot for it. They want you to pay for their machine, and then after it's paid off, it's pure profit for not doing a whole lot. This is the reason why we wanted to share a DIY way to do it and not get bent over at a dealership.
@@MrCee861 Yep. I'm in the same boat. Fluid exchanged at the dealer and they did not touch the overfill plug.....
How come you can’t use the Witt’s end tool from the iac job on the 3rd gen, I have that jumper tool and no scan gauge and I gotta deal with filling/checking fluid on my newer Camry trans… was thinking i could use the Witt’s end tool I got
The size of the pins on the Wits End jumper won't fit into the OBDII port connectors. The OBDII port connections are smaller.
good morning...if you do a simple drain the pan and fill, if you drain 4 quarts cold....is it ok to just replace 4 quarts with out doing the temp check procedure?
I would still do the level check procedure. You don't know if the fluid level was good before you did the drain and refill. It's also a bit difficult to exactly measure what you took out and what you added back in. Even with a container with graduated level markings, if you drain out somewhere between the markings, you're doing a little guessing. Also, with the fluid pump, some fluid is left in the pump lines which can throw you off.
@@TimmyTheToolman THANKS!
@@dehartshipyard2135 You're welcome. If you do regular pan drain and refills, you can keep your fluid in great shape. I recommend doing one every 10k miles or every other engine oil and filter change.