Trans fluid change

I have a 11’ SR5 and want to change the fluid. It has 125,xxx and I just want to know if I should leave it alone or if it’s okay to change. I’ve had a terrible experience before when changing the fluid, ruining the bands in the trans and it was a nightmare. (This was on an older Chevy) any suggestions are very much appreciated

 

Transmission fluid should be changed every 30k - 60k. If it's never been changed; then you're way overdue.

 

Yes sir I agree I’m just afraid if I change it the new fluid may be too acidic and mess something up. Have you ever heard of this?

 

Just be sure you get the correct trans fluid. You don't want to end up like this guy...

 

I’d just take it to dealership for a drain and fill. Then in theory, it will be done right.

 

Kind of picking a little, but 30k intervals might be too frequent. Car care nut and a few others have suggested that good transmission function after a while starts to rely on the suspended clutch-particles in the fluid.

Which is why I think it’s not recommended to do a full fluid replacement (aka flushes) on high mileage transmissions that have never been serviced before. Because that would remove all the built up suspended particles that are allowing the worn clutches to engage (by making up the space between the friction materials that have worn away). If you remove those particles in a full flush, then you immediately have a slipping transmission right after the service. I’m no expert, but the logic makes a certain amount of sense to me I suppose.

On a transmission with over 100k miles that has never had fluid maintenance, I would personally be hesitant to do much, especially if it’s functioning ok. Tops, I would refresh a bit of the fluid by doing a simple pan drain, and replace just that amount of fluid. Which is maybe 3 or 4 quarts.

There was even a retired tech on this forum, I think it was @Greg D , that briefly mentioned filtering and capturing the particulates out of the drained pan fluid, and putting it back with the new oil! I was pretty curious about that and asked him, but he never responded to my question. Greg if you’re here, what are your thoughts???

 

100% agree. But if you decide to go for it, it requires Toyota ATF WS or equivalent.

 

Ach! That’s a full fluid replacement. That’s probably what caused the OP’s first bad experience!

 

There you go again using logic and common sense to prove a valid point. I hate when people on the internet do that. I have no comeback!

 

I was wondering about this -- I have 4R with close to 60K on it now, so need to decide what approach to take. What did vehicles that ran 300K+ miles have done to them?

 

You're right. And, my bad. After I posted I thought about it and said to myself, "I would never do that." Will delete to avoid mis-information. However, I would use Toyota ATF WS.

 

I’m a bit hesitant to say my logic means that what I heard on the internet is true, especially since they say a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.

That's why I wanted to hear Greg D chime in on this. Just to hear his reasoning on why he filters out particulates and puts them back in (and how he does that).

 

I’d do maybe a single drain and fill or just ignore it until it dies. Past 100k and you might want to let a sleeping dog lie.

But I’m not sure what I’d do, I’d probably tiptoe into changing it but I’m just cuckoo for maintenance.

 

In cases like this, I think "WWCND?"

What Would Chuck Norris Do.

 

I did a lot of off roading my first year with my 4runner, so I figured I’d do a pan drain-refill to at least see what the oil looked like. It only had around 15k miles, and it looked like brand new oil…go figure lol. My OCD made me do it lol. Oh well… but for what it’s worth, I think the level was a little low from factory, so at least there’s that.

But after seeing the Car Car Nut video, I think I’ll settle for 60k pan drain-refills. Not even planning on touching the filter.

 

I just did both diffs,transfer case and tran drain and fill on my 2018 with 80K miles. The trans fluid wasn't to bad looking and not sure if any of it was done before so I did it all for piece of mind.

 

They say each one of his testicles is bigger than the other one. So I won’t be telling him what to do.

But if I had to guess, the transmission oil pan would take a roundhouse kick to the face. That would cause such a strong hydraulic pulse to travel through the oil, that the clutch particles would come out of solution and sinter themselves back onto the clutch bands. Good as new!

Then the transmission oil pan would apologize to Mr. Norris, even though it knew it had nothing to do with any of this.

 

Are you the original owner, and have never serviced the transmission?

Or, do you have service records of the previous owner to see if it was ever done?

The Toyota Maintenance/Service Manual says
“Replace automatic transmission fluid” if you have been “Driving while towing, using a car-top carrier, or heavy vehicle loading” at 60,000 mile intervals.

In any case @McSpazatron gives good advice for a pan drain only.
My 3rd Gen 4R had its first transmission pan drain after 100,000 miles and it was fine.

 

Here is the Car Care Nut video:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MiS248FXIs8?feature=share

 

I believe the thinking is as the clutches wear out, the suspended grit in the old fluid acts as a friction modifier to compensate and continue normal operation.

 

I am not the original owner and that’s why I’m skeptical because I really wanna make sure my truck is well taken care of.

 

Thank you sir. This is great information and I am going to follow your advice. This has been my favorite post yet! Thank you for that as well

 

Not metal. Clutch friction material is suspended in the oil. It’s like the material on an organic brake pad.

 

I'd change that. Drain and fill with Toyota fluid. Not changing it will do more harm from now on than changing fluid.

 

I second what Rocko9999 said. Ive got 247k on my 17' ORP and have done drain and fills at 50k mile intervals. Usually about 3.5 quarts if I rock the truck when draining.

 

It's OK to change. 125k isn't much for the A750F transmission. It's fairly robust, sized for the Tundra 2UZ V8 and torquey 1KD diesels in foreign markets.

I bought my 2010 SR5 with 140k. The drained old fluid was actually in good condition (previous owner probably changed it once or twice). Filled it up with new WS fluid and the transmission shifted fine, identically as before the change.

Be sure to use genuine Toyota WS fluid. The procedure to set the fluid level can seem fairly involved for a first-timer, since there's no dipstick.