Home Transmission Flush

keezer37

keezer37

Explorer
Been doing my 100,000 mile service: serpentine belt, thermostat, new coolant (block drains:yikes:) etc.
Last but not least, new trans fluid. Justifiable paranoia tells me if I took it to the dealer for this they would do nothing but steal $140 worth of Amsoil fluid from me and charge me for their thievery.
So, in that I have cooler lines coming off my '05 Tacoma I'm thinking that one clear line in an empty jug and another in the new fluid and the transmission will do the work. I've got the whole fluid level/appropriate temp thing down now so that's not a concern.
My fears:
-Old fluid coming out and nothing going in.
-Old fluid coming out, new fluid going in but way too soon, new fluid coming out.
-Everything goes swimmingly until I get in the truck and put it in "R".
-God awful noises cause me to hurriedly shut the engine down and cry.

My alternate is to look the service writer/mechanic in the eye and say "I don't trust you to actually do the work and I want to hover over you while you do it." I'm sure I'll get the liability speech while I'm shooed off to the waiting area to watch "The Price is Right".

Any supporting/dissenting opinions on my procedure?
 
nater

nater

Adventurer
That is an accepted way of doing a home flush. The other accepted theory is just to drain the fluid, replace, drive 100 miles or so, and repeat 2x or 3x times. That is of course very expensive with good fluid @$8 a quart or so and 5 or more quarts being used each time.

What exactly do you fear from your dealer? That they take the Amsoil and fill your tranny with junk? Or that their flush wont be up to your standards? Either way, finding a place you trust is key.
 
refried

refried

Adventurer
It will pump out into the bucket but the new fluid isn't going to be sucked up by the other line with out being pumped in. what about the filter? new fluid isn't going to last very long being sucked thru a dirty filter and sitting in a dirty pan. pull the pan, change the filter, then flush the cooler and torque converter.
 
HMR

HMR

Rendezvous Conspiracy
keezer37 said:
Been doing my 100,000 mile service: serpentine belt, thermostat, new coolant (block drains:yikes:) etc.
Click to expand...
Were you able to locate the block drains? I've been servicing my 2005 since new and have never been able to find them. I took my truck to my local Toyota dealer (huge service dept.) and they couldn't find them either. Strange...

FWIW- I change all the fluids on my truck myself EXCEPT transmission fluid. I don't have the proper equipment to do it right. I take my truck to a local transmission shop, not AAMCO, but a pro shop that services hot rods, race cars, etc. They'll use whatever fluid you give them and just charge for labor.

Good luck!
 
keezer37

keezer37

Explorer
HMR said:
Were you able to locate the block drains? I've been servicing my 2005 since new and have never been able to find them. I took my truck to my local Toyota dealer (huge service dept.) and they couldn't find them either. Strange...

FWIW- I change all the fluids on my truck myself EXCEPT transmission fluid. I don't have the proper equipment to do it right. I take my truck to a local transmission shop, not AAMCO, but a pro shop that services hot rods, race cars, etc. They'll use whatever fluid you give them and just charge for labor.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Yeah. Don't look at the manual, their picture sucks.
They are both viewable from the wheel wells. Check out the passenger side first. Pull away the tar paper like splash guard thing and you'll see the brass fitting and the small drain tube.
It was not my intention to go after these drains but I only got about three quarts of old stuff out from the radiator drain. The majority came from the block drain. I think I got all but a quart+. I only opened the drain on the passenger side in that I got most of it out as per the capacity listed. If I damaged either of these block drains, I sure wouldn't want it to be the one on the driver side.
 
keezer37

keezer37

Explorer
BajaRunner said:
Here's a pretty nice writeup if your interested:

http://home.centurytel.net/stevenjackie/transmission flush/tranny.html
Click to expand...

Thank you and MotoDave for the links unfortunately the '05+ Tacoma Auto Trans has neither a fill tube nor a filter to change. The pan has a drain port and overflow port/tube (like a toilet tank) in the bottom. The fill port is on the side similar to a manual trans or any gear case. http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/05+/data/ileaf/06toyrm/06toypdf/06rmsrc/rm2006ta/02800210.pdf
I believe the transmission's pump will circulate the fluid this is why I believe that it will pick up along with discharging the fluid through the cooler lines.

My paranoia of dealerships not performing the work is based on observation. For the number of times I've had the truck in when under warranty or other vehicles for that matter in at various dealerships in the past, I always make a point of wandering around and scoping out my vehicle in the service area. I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually caught someone working on my truck. More often times than not, it is sitting there with the hood open or up on the lift with no one around it. So when it comes to something like this where I cannot verify the work was actually performed, my paranoia starts to kick in.
 
RU55ELL

RU55ELL

Explorer
There should be connections close to the tranny cooler. They break these connections and put the machine in line of the cooler and tranny. They fill the machine with new fluid and there is a drain line on the machine that drains the old fluid. That is how the Wynns machine I used was when I was a mechanic at a Dodge dealer. You ought to be able to get some old lines with those connections, hook them to the truck, run one to drain and the other to a tank of new fluid. The pump in the tranny does the work.
 
C

CJCA

Adventurer
keezer37 said:
So, in that I have cooler lines coming off my '05 Tacoma I'm thinking that one clear line in an empty jug and another in the new fluid and the transmission will do the work. I've got the whole fluid level/appropriate temp thing down now so that's not a concern.
My fears:
-Old fluid coming out and nothing going in.
Click to expand...

That's what'll happen. The cooler line is pressurized. It won't provide any suction to draw in fresh fluid. Easiest DIY thing to do is a drain and fill. Or check around and find a shop you can trust.
 
keezer37

keezer37

Explorer
CJCA said:
That's what'll happen. The cooler line is pressurized. It won't provide any suction to draw in fresh fluid. Easiest DIY thing to do is a drain and fill. Or check around and find a shop you can trust.
Click to expand...

That was my one concern, that breaking the loop might remove the suction.
 
keezer37

keezer37

Explorer
refried said:
Are you sure about that?

http://www.customtacos.com/tech/fil...6toyrm/06toypdf/06rmsrc/rm2006ta/02700710.pdf

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Re...ter&Ntk=Keyword&N=599001+102005+50070+2070023
Click to expand...

It has an oil strainer. I believe it does not need to be changed. Truth be told, it's been so long now I cannot remember where I read this. Something else to research.
Then again for $38 http://www.trademotion.com/partloca...coma&year=2005&catalogid=1&displayCatalogid=0 might as well replace it. Thanks for bringing it up.
 
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