Rkw explained it to you in a really good manner. If your tranny has any existing problems a flush will more than likely expose those issues. If your tranny is in generally good health I would personally flush it by just swapping all the fluid and be done if that's what your looking to do.

 

what about the transmission filter should that be replace also

 

If it were my car, I would do a few drain-and-refills and leave the filter alone. However if you decide to go with the flush, you should seriously consider dropping the pan and replace the ATF filter.

 

thanks for your response i will let you know the outcome within a couple of days im at the 209,000 mi mark

 

don't forget, someone here crossed 300k and mentioned it was mostly oil changes (don't think they touched the tranny)....so imho err to the side of caution, or maybe caution isn't even the word, be conservative in this procedure. If drain/fill is the official way, sure one could say why do 3 jobs and leave 17% old fluid, when I can simply flush all of it out at once and not waste fluid. For me, the video showing how Toyota even came up with a contraption to handle varying temps, shows how far they went to keep the procedure drain/fill for cars without a dipstick...my .02

 

Should you decide to take the easy way out, and flush your transmission through the cooler lines... At least consider to first drain out the sludge that had precipitated from the ATF and settled at the bottom of the pan. Then, replace with the same amount of fresh ATF before you proceed with the flush.

This initial drain will eliminate a significant amount of the fine particles that can potentially clog your filter or block some of the narrow passages.

In fact after the initial drain, I would take it one step further by pouring in maybe 1/2 quart of flesh ATF to rinse off the bottom of the pan before I close up the drain.

 

I hear that this stuff can cost you an arm and a leg...

 

No kidding... Toyota is very proud of its ATF. I remember paying over $12 per quart from Amazon over a year ago. I just check on Amazon and found the listing below (for less than $10 per quart) - still an arm and a leg, for sure!

 

My lifetime fluid with 67k miles and 17 years. Smelled bad and nothing like new fluid. What's crazy is my trans temps would easily climb past 200 and now I've yet to see 195. So far I've gotten 7 quarts out. Will do one more drain and fill in a couple weeks.


First drain got four qts after sitting 24hrs and jack up high angle.

Second drain. 3qts 8oz quick drain and refill. Could have gotten almost 4 again if sat for 24 hours but had to run. Huge difference in color and smell. Although lubricity seems the same as the straight old oem stuff.

 

Thanks for posting!