Tranny Oil change ..A Survey - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

celica2004 · 09-19-2005, 10:30 PM

How many guys in this forum changed their transmission oil by themselves?

Please respond to this link if you did. If possible mention your experience.

redgtxdi · 09-20-2005, 12:24 AM

Well, I haven't on any of my current cars, but I've certainly drained my share of tranny oil.

Here, however, is my current dilema. A good tranny oil change should include pulling the pan, pulling the screen/filter, scraping any old gasket off the mating surfaces and then putting it all back together and either flushing and refilling or just refilling the trans with fresh oil.

Now, my questions is............what stops a shop from just draining, refilling and calling it 'done'??

Obviously this goes for a lot of work, but if they simply made it *look* like they touched any bolts and maybe wiped a bit around the pan, how would you know??

touringcamry · 09-20-2005, 12:34 AM

I have flushed my transmission once before on my Camry.

I didn't take the pan out though. I drained the fluid out through the hose going to the radiator and then poured new fluid back in through the dip stick tube. I went through about 10 qts of fluid.

I drained and refilled the differential also.

thousand_five · 09-20-2005, 12:55 AM

I've replaced so many tranny oils in my day. I had a chevy baretta. What a piece of lskdfj. Everytime the tranny would not engage it was time for a change. and the changes came more and more often till I bought my celica in which I changed the trannyfluid to syncromesh to fix the syncro problem I had. All in good fun.

NathanOfSeattle · 09-20-2005, 01:40 PM

I changed the tranny in my manual '91 Corolla. Pretty simple procedure. I believe manual trannys are a lot easier to change than automatics. All you have to do is drain it and fill it back up with 2.8 quarts, don't have to deal with the torque converter

.

redgtxdi · 09-20-2005, 02:34 PM

Ya, but eventually you'll have to deal with that clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing..........oh and we can have a donut in one hand and a coffee in the other while we drive with our knees................manual folks can't...........(j/k...LOL!)

But, seriously, I wonder then if most "flushes" don't actually pull the pan then?? Perhaps they suppose the "flush" will self-clean the filter and blow out anything stuck on the magnets??????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????

redgtxdi · 09-20-2005, 03:20 PM

Wow!!! Read this excerpt I took from another post.........VERY interesting read.........

Never, ever flush a trans. There is no "safe" way to flush a trans unless you own the flush machine and control it yourself.

Flushing a trans has several pitfalls...

The most obviuos is that the last vehicle hooked up to that flushing machine probably was on it's last leg and was generating tons of debris. Most owners, when the trans starts to act up, rush to get a "flush" in the fervent hope that it will cure the problem. So....flush machines, by definition, see the worst of the worst. If the lines aren't cleaned, hooked up improperly, oil is reused or recycled, etc....then you are screwed as your trans gets the dose of debris from the last trans. No matter how good the intentions of the shop, one simple mistake and your trans gets the debris.

Flushing is supposed to negate the need for removing the pan, cleaning the debris and replacing the filter.....BS. There is considerable debris coating the inside of the trans pan with miles as anyone who has done this can attest. That is part of the maintenance, removing the pan, cleaning the screens and replacing the filter and cleaning the pan.

All that debris in the pan is laying around in areas where there is little oil flow by definition...it tends to settle in the areas where the oil is quiet and just lies there not hurting anything....until the "flush" stirs it up and circulates it thru the trans. What a concept....LOL

Reverse flush.....?????.....what logic makes anyone think that it is a good idea to reverse the oil flow path in a reverse flush and flush sediment and debris into areas that are normally protected by filters, etc...???? Stupid idea. Period. No other way to describe it.

"Transmission flush" machines are money makers for the shops and dealerships because they are quick and easy and they can actually charge more money for it under the guise of it being "better" for the trans....when it is really a detriment....suckers born every day......

Read the factory service manuals and point out the place where a transmission "flush" is recommended.

So what if all the oil cannot be removed. A "flush" doesn't remove it all either.

If you really really want to replace as much oil as possible in the trans, drain the pan, service it by removing/cleaning/changing the filter and reassemble. Refill the trans with fresh fluid. Disconnect one of the cooler lines at the radiator, put it into a bucket and start the engine. Let the trans oil pump purge the old oil into the bucket so that nothing is subjected to abnormal oil flow. Start pouring oil into the trans to keep it full while the idling engine/trans oil pump purges the fluid thru the system. Easy and quick and gets ALL the fluid out....and eliminates any risk of hooking up to a "flush machine".

Guys....FORGET THE IDEA OF FLUSHING YOUR TRANSMISSIONS. Normal trans maintenance is a good idea. Drop the bottom pan, change the filter and clean everything up and refill the trans with fresh fluid. Do the cooler line/bucket purge if you are really fastidious about changing all the fluid.....but....DO NOT hook your trans up to a flush machine.

Really now, would you get a blood transfusion from an unknown source that is reusing needles......about the same thing if you think about it. A flush will do absolutly nothing more than a good drain and refill will accomplish...and potentially a lot of harm. Do not take the risk. Just because some have had good experiences (or the lack of a bad experience) with a flush does NOT mean that they will always go good.

NathanOfSeattle · 09-20-2005, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redgtxdi

Ya, but eventually you'll have to deal with that clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing..........oh and we can have a donut in one hand and a coffee in the other while we drive with our knees................manual folks can't...........(j/k...LOL!)

Speaking of the driving with the knees.. A dude driving a Passat with a coffee in the right hand, yapping on the cell phone with his left hand changed lanes in front of me probably using his knees to steer.

bisondelta · 09-21-2005, 08:51 AM

For those with a manual tranny, it's pretty easy. First make sure you can get the fill plug loose but don't take it out. Get it loose but hand tighten it back down. Then loosen your drain plug slowly and have the fluid come out. The reason you want to leave the fill plug in is because otherwise all your fluid wants to come out at once. If you have ever "shotgunned" a canned drink of any sort you know what I mean. Other than that it is pretty easy. Good luck man!

GoPitt68 · 10-02-2005, 09:09 PM

Is this true? Nobody replied to this post...always heard that a tranny flush is the better way to go than a drain and fill. Now you got me worried.

Plus, I've heard that I should do this at 30,000 miles. Also heard elsewhere that 60,000 miles it should be done not 30,000! All my previous cars never had a tranny oil change at all (I traded them all in at 70K though...by coincidence of course! I just get sick of them by then LOL)

toyotaspeed90 · 10-02-2005, 10:54 PM

i have a MT..... it gets changed fairly frequently (roughly every 10K or so)

abimanyu · 10-03-2005, 12:57 AM

If you have a manual tranny, try the redline MT-90, I'm sure you won't go back to anything else.

Flashmn · 10-03-2005, 11:33 AM

I did my manual tranny oils, Castrol EP 80 is whats in there now. Used a hose and a clamp to clamp it over the oil bottle, then "shotgun" the bottom. Fast and nice way of doing it.

redgtxdi · 10-03-2005, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoPitt68

Is this true? Nobody replied to this post...always heard that a tranny flush is the better way to go than a drain and fill. Now you got me worried.

Plus, I've heard that I should do this at 30,000 miles. Also heard elsewhere that 60,000 miles it should be done not 30,000! All my previous cars never had a tranny oil change at all (I traded them all in at 70K though...by coincidence of course! I just get sick of them by then LOL)

I'd not worry about it 'til 60,000!!! Especially on a newer vehicle. 30,000 would be premature, imho!!

FWIW, I've had 2 flushes done so far on my '98 Camry. First at 60,000 miles and again just under 100,000 miles. I don't know whether it's good/bad/indifferent yet myself, but I think what I'm gonna do from now on is just constantly cycle oil out like every-other engine oil change. That way I'll constantly be introducing new fluid into the trans.

I don't think you could go seriously wrong having it flushed if you've owned it since new. I think you'd be worse off doing it if you *didn't* own it since new 'cuz you don't know how it was maintained & might introduce sludge/chunks/flakes if you flushed a poorly maintained trans.

In manuals, the idea is to put a good oil in that isn't so thick when cold that it makes it hard to shift. Newer synthetics are better at this than old dyno oils. I recall in my old Volkswagen, I used to use a 75W90 manual trans oil that had a little pump even built into the top of it. That made it easy. After draining, simply pump this new oil in 'til it leaked out the fill hole, then you knew you were full. Then put the set-screw plug back in and you were done!

I looked recently for an oil container like that at Auto Zone and NONE of the manual trans oils come w/ pumps anymore. You have to figure out how to get it in yourself!! WTF? (Obviously ATF is easy 'cuz you just funnel it in thru the dipstick tube)