Transmission Maintenance

texhater42 · 08-19-2016, 07:19 AM

Hey all I have a question. I have a 2008 Toyota Tundra. To my knowledge the tranny has never been serviced, I've owned it since 2010 and I've never serviced. I just hit 100K miles and I am wondering if I should get a tranny flush. Toyota has the "world standard" lifetime fluid...eye roll, you know how that goes. I am getting ready to move and I have to tow my passport 1300 miles to Arizona. Question is, do I get a flush, and chance the tranny slipping (I've heard a lot of horror stories about getting a flush on high mileage vehicles). Or should I just push on...Baby the truck and get to Az, figure it out then...

tech740 · 08-19-2016, 08:47 AM

If it were me I would look into a filter change and top off service. I wouldn't flush out all the old fluid and replace with new. Seems to be that's when the slipping occurs. Just my opinion.

Ken / Claudia · 08-19-2016, 08:50 AM

I go by what the maker says to do. And I do it. At 60 years old, rving and truck owner since I was 20, drove trucks for work last 8 years at state police. . Talking to friends and others it seems many people never follow maintenance guide lines. I think a oil change is better than a destroyed engine or transmission. That said I did blow up 2 transmissions in the current truck since ford used a tranny that was made for a gasser engine instead of a powerstoke engine.

Desert185 · 08-19-2016, 05:18 PM

Personally, I would drain the transmission and change the filter without a flush. Those take a particular fluid, so make sure whoever does it uses the correct fluid. Valvoline makes a good fluid for Toyota transmissions, BTW.

the sodfather · 08-19-2016, 07:31 PM

Funny I just had this conversation with a good friend of mine that's been a mechanic for years. He said don't jack with it. If you've done no maintenance to it so far than don't start now. He's seen many high mileage trans. get changed, flushed etc. and then the problems start. Let the sludge that's in there keep doing what it's doing. I've got 187,000 on my TV with no trans service to date. I'm not saying that that is the best practice, I am saying it's running strong....today!

Ken / Claudia · 08-19-2016, 09:22 PM

Sodfather, you made my point again about many do not follow maintenance guidelines from the company who made the vehicle. So, do you trust a guy you know or the people who engineered the vehicles and say do this to that at xxx mileage. Some say it is to sell oil, Again I say do what the manual says regarding maintenance. We do have choices and lack of recommended maintenance on a vehicle is one I will not buy used if I know or suspect it.

Canonman · 08-20-2016, 07:28 AM

I recently asked my trusted mechanic who also owns a 5er pulled with a Power Stroke about getting the transmission serviced. His advice was since the truck is working harder pulling weight especially pulling through the gears from a stop, shorten the service intervals.
If you have a professional mechanic that you trust get their advice. Personally I'm for getting PM service work done when it's convenient for me at the intervals recommended by the folks that engineered the power and drive systems. The alternative is getting work done when the fece is in the fan which is usually not a convenient time or place.
Understanding your question as "should I do or not do" I'd find a reputable transmission shop and get their opinion. Just my .02

MarcS · 08-20-2016, 12:50 PM

I tell my customers that tow/haul on a regular basis to flush trans and do 4X4 service every 30k miles. Otherwise, I recommend flushing trans and doing 4X4 service every 60k miles. Cheap insurance for major components to last.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

the sodfather · 08-20-2016, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia

So, do you trust a guy you know or the people who engineered the vehicles and say do this to that at xxx mileage. Some say it is to sell oil, Again I say do what the manual says regarding maintenance. We do have choices and lack of recommended maintenance on a vehicle is one I will not buy used if I know or suspect it.

I tend to trust the guy with 40+ yrs. experience and works on vehicles on a daily basis. I'm not saying the "engineers" or the "people who made the vehicle" are wrong. I do not have a method of going back in time and fixing a wrong (according to a manual). I'm just saying based on my situation (and maybe texhater42's), this guy says truck on. I will be trucking on...

**JRTJH** · 08-20-2016, 03:59 PM

I'm certainly no mechanic (especially since we cut down the shade tree) and an automotive engineer is something I can hardly spell, but "way back when" synthetic oils were first introduced, they leaked/burned readily in older cars that were "converted to synthetic". We "kind of" came to the conclusion that synthetics were "OK" in new engines, but once an engine had been operated for a significant amount of time on "regular oil", the wear conditions in the engine were so great that the "thinner synthetic" would slip past the rings and not work well.

Sort of like sodfather's comment about the sludge in a "neglected transmission" becoming a part of the way it "survives". After years of "neglect" it's difficult to "update the maintenance" and achieve the same results that would be present if the maintenance schedule had been followed form the beginning.

I'm of the opinion that in this situation, if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. Once the trip is finished and there's time to repair anything that may be identified, then the choice can be made, but for now..... I'd leave it alone and just be careful not to push too hard on the trip.

bobbecky · 08-20-2016, 06:55 PM

At the very least, do the check of the fluid, dripping fluid on the dip stick on to a clean paper towel or rag. If there is anything besides nice clean pink fluid, I would just do a drain and fill without doing a flush. There are quite a few trannies that doing a power flush can do damage to them. If the pan has to be dropped to do the drain, replace the screen/filter also. This way, at least you have some fresh fluid. If the transmission is still working next year, think about doing the same thing again. If the fluid you check from the dip stick is dark and smells burnt, might as well bite the bullet and take it into a shop for a rebuild.

Desert185 · 08-21-2016, 06:00 PM

If the manufacturer recommends a particular change interval and it is known that the change interval has been exceeded to the detriment of the transmission longevity, why would one leave the old fluid in the transmission for a trip involving a trailer pull during the heat of summer with a possibly dirty filter?

Its a common procedure to change fluids when buying a used vehicle without a known maintenance record. This logically falls into the same category. I have done this on a number of vehicles over the years without failure. Leaving the old fluid for the trip is the same as not changing the fluid on a severe duty schedule because changing it on the normal duty schedule is better for the transmission.

Why abuse it more by following an old wives tale than a recommended maintenance schedule?

T3/T4 Hybrid · 08-22-2016, 01:54 PM

Here is a PDF for the maintenance schedule on your truck. It also has the mileage for if you tow and drive in special conditions.

http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/docum...undra08SMG.pdf

If the vehicle was mine, I would hot flush the transmission with a new filter install.

texhater42 · 08-27-2016, 03:54 AM

So I called a few shops around and none of them were willing to touch my transmission (over 100K miles). Jiffy lube was down to drop pan and put a new screen in, but wanted to use a Valvoline tranny fluid...I can't mix and already have the toyota WS fluid in there so no dice. I even asked if I purchased the fluid if they would do it...nope. So I broke down and went to toyota...at least the fluid would match and they hopefully would have done this on a closed system a time or two. After about 20 mins of talking with the rep, he told me they could do it....but it was going to be about $800, and they didn't have the screen on hand so would have to order that. "your transmission is a "closed" system, we don't recommend dropping the pan because it would introduce moisture into the sytem...listen, it's my job to sell services, and I really don't think you want this done"...his words...

holy hell...never again with a toyota...

Desert185 · 08-27-2016, 07:58 AM

Without going into details, I wouldn't worry about ATF brand as long as you use the correct fluid formulation, whether O'Reilly, Valvoline, etc.

Volvo sells their brand ATF for $20/qt when I last checked. I pay $5-7/qt at the auto store for the same Toyota spec ATF (the Volvo has a Nissan trans). Never again Volvo. I do the Volvo trans for ~$24. $800?! (Expletive deleted)

Ken / Claudia · 08-27-2016, 08:48 AM

My F350 was 650 for tranny, transfer case and both rear ends having fluid changed at a transmission only repair shop. It is not cheap, the dealer price might not be much higher than a real transmission shop doing the same work. But, I have to ask what does your vehicle service manual say you should do.

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