Cleaning Auto Trannie filter and magnet question

[mkgarrison5]

hey guys gotta 02 tacoma v6 4x4 automatic. i have never dropped the trannie pan at all. i know the screen and the magnets need to be cleaned. are there any write ups on how to do it with torque specs and everything?? i dont wanna give the stealership 85$ to do it....... thanks guys

[hillbilly]

Not sure about write-ups, but I've done a few tranny pans in my time. After draining/dropping the pan, use an old rag/towel to get a good grip on the magnet and pull it off (the magnet just 'sticks' to the bottom of the pan). Once the magnets off, I typically use the same old rag/paper towel to scrub the scum/shavings of the magnet. After the majority/all of the shavings are off, a little brake cleaner cleans it real nice.

The screen filter is held on by a couple bolts (10MM I think). Be sure the rubber ring stays with the filter. Once removed, I flushed the living ba'jesus out of it the hot water and used nearly an entire can of brake cleaner. Seemed like it took forever to get all of the shavings out of the screen. Use a final round of brake cleaner on it, then set it in the sun to dry while you cleaning the rest of the pan and scrapping the old gasket off. (In hind sight, I picked up a new screen filter for my next tranny flush to save the extra effort/hassle/time required to completely clean the old one.)

Drop the magnet back onto the bottom of the pan and re-assemble once the filters dry inside. Top off the pan, and proceed with the rest of the flush (if you're doing a complete flush).

[MTL_4runner]

This should walk you through the entire thing (just stop before the valve body removal):
http://members.cox.net/mgriese5/Level%2010%20Upgrade.doc

Pics of the entire process:
http://members.cox.net/mgriese5/Level10%20Pics1.html

I've done it a few times and it's messy but not that complicated at all.

[mkgarrison5]

what kind of sealent do i need for the pan? also, how much do i put on the pan before bolting it back on? ill probably just buy a new screen. its got 90k miles on it and its never been done before.. any torque specs to know about for the pan bolts and the screen? thanks man for the reply.. seems easy but messy lol

[mkgarrison5]

umm ill let yota do it lol.. i dont have some of the stuff i need to do this. i didnt realize you had to drop the sway bar and etc..

[MTL_4runner]

umm ill let yota do it lol.. i dont have some of the stuff i need to do this. i didnt realize you had to drop the sway bar and etc..


You don't have to drop the sway bar but it's a major PITA if you don't.
The price you got from the dealer really isn't too bad (esp considering how messy the job is).

[mkgarrison5]

the other place that i like said they would do it for around 75 plus tax.. i may sometime this year have that done.. i am saving up for the tbelt, waterpump and etc right now. 600$ worth.. to me thats more important. i can continue to drain and fill for now

[hillbilly]

I don't recall the sway bar being a PITA?!? I recall scrapping the old gasket goop off and clean the filter out stand out were more of the PITA than anything being in the way. BTW... I used Toy factory sealant on the pan. (I think it was +/-$4 for a tube.)

[mkgarrison5]

does the truck have to be lifted for the sway bar to be unbolted? if so i cant do it.. also i was told the sealant was 20$ or so. go figure....... one more thing, do you have to unclip the selenoids?? if so why?? didnt make any sense

[GSGALLANT]

The truck does not have to be lifted to unbolt the sway bar. I always use "the Right Stuff" sealant, by permatex. It is compatible with all the fluids on our vehicles, and I've never had a leaky joint after using it. It costs approx $15 for a large tube (size that fits a caulking gun). You don't have to touch the solenoids. The hardest part that I encountered was separating the top part of the tranny dipstick tube from the bottom part (It's a two piece tube, and there's an o'ring at the joint.)

[mkgarrison5]

question about the ATF.. they call for dexIII in my 02.. what would be a step up from that, that i can use? aside from dexIII synthetic?

[GSGALLANT]

If you want to go synthetic, no problem, but I'd stick with Dex III. Your transmission is designed to work well with it.

Don't take the rest of this post as gospel, but from the reading I've done, this is what I've come up with:

Toyota's newer transmissions have a "Slipping" lock-up (the lockup clutch is allowed to "slip" under certain driving conditions, which allows a difference in speed of 50-200 rpm between the pump and turbine wheels to avoid downshifting unnecessarily for moderate torque requests). This feature saves fuel and prevents "booming" (vibration and noise) in the body that you get with really high RPM when the tranny downshifts to go up a hill.

The fluid used in this transmission system was a completely new type due to the increased stress caused by the slipping lock-up. The fluid meets spec JWS 3309, and is called Toyota T-IV. JWS 3309 is a mineral-based ATF with unique additives, high coefficient of friction and very high resistance to thermal oxidation. JWS 3309 will mix with Dexron II and III (JWS 3309 is therefore "backwards compatible"), but will not provide any advantages over standard fluid in earlier 4-speed automatic transmissions. However, transmission that require JWS 3309 need to have it to function properly.

Toyota has new long life type of ATF meeting spec JWS 3324 (called WS - which stands for World Standard, I think) for their sealed transmissions, but I don't know if it would be compatible.

Bottom line... if you really love your transmission, Feed it some Mobil 1 synthetic ATF (probably $12/quart). Toyota ATF ($3-$4/quart) has always worked well for me, but I also have an aux tranny cooler.

[MTL_4runner]

Any ATF that meets the T-IV spec should work just fine in your transmission.

[mkgarrison5]

i was told NOT to use T-4 from my mechanic (toyota) he said stick with dexIII or synthetic dexIII.. he said those auto trannies are very tough and you really dont need the synthetic. just drain and fill every 20-30k miles and you will be fine. so i went with valvoline maxlife atf dex\merc. 5 qts for 20$! cant beat it

[Lee]

i went mobil 1. i love mobil 1 diff fluid, engine oil and now their ATF is great.

i would recommend not cheaping out on anything transmission related. you'll regret it if it dies and youre left to pay over $2000 to put a USED one in.

[MTL_4runner]

i was told NOT to use T-4 from my mechanic (toyota) he said stick with dexIII or synthetic dexIII.. he said those auto trannies are very tough and you really dont need the synthetic. just drain and fill every 20-30k miles and you will be fine. so i went with valvoline maxlife atf dex\merc. 5 qts for 20$! cant beat it


I just switched to the same stuff....look on the back and you'll see it's a Mercon III fluid that also satisfies the Toyota type T-IV requirement. If you look at their spec sheets for it you'll see they say it is "Recommended for use in GM, Ford, Mazda, Toyota, Chrysler and Most Import Vehicles" and in product info it says "Suitable for use in Toyota/Lexus Type T, T-III and T-IV applications". If you look at Valvoline's basic ATF it has no such recommendation (seems like a pretty good hint to me). Plus the higher end Valvoline products all have the "free mechanics gloves mail in" so I've been stocking up. :D

Maxlife ATF:
http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?product=6
http://www.valvoline.com/products/Maxlife%20ATF.pdf

Conventional ATF:
http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?product=64
http://www.valvoline.com/products/Dexron%20III%20Mercon.pdf

[mkgarrison5]

where is this mail in rebate?? i didnt see anything about it at walmart where i bought my atf fluid??

[MTL_4runner]

where is this mail in rebate?? i didnt see anything about it at walmart where i bought my atf fluid??


It might be only in Canada....not sure.

Here's the info:
http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/718620

[mkgarrison5]

Flushing question, is this feasable? it takes 3 people. one to hold the unplugged cooler line and point it towards a bucket, one to poor in (approx at the same speed it is being drained below) new atf fluid and the other person used to turn the truck on and off when needed?. the person below just waits for the atf fluid to start coming out nice and red.. has anyone tried that method by chance??

[MTL_4runner]

Flushing question, is this feasable? it takes 3 people. one to hold the unplugged cooler line and point it towards a bucket, one to poor in (approx at the same speed it is being drained below) new atf fluid and the other person used to turn the truck on and off when needed?. the person below just waits for the atf fluid to start coming out nice and red.. has anyone tried that method by chance??


I haven't done it myself, but I suspect it will come out with similar velocity to the PS pump (ie there's no way to pour fast enough to keep up without stopping and starting the engine often). You can do it but it would be best to have a huge pail (10-15 qts) of fluid ready to pour if you try it.

[mkgarrison5]

yeah if i do this i will have 4-5 gallons of Maxlife ATF dex-merc fluid, 2 gallon drain pan which once we fill up we can shut off the motor to drain the 2 gallon drain pan and restart until i see good red fluid coming out.. i personally dont think i need to do this bc the fluid in the pan is always nice and red never brown or a really dark red color but since its never been "flushed" i figured i may try it and the only tranny maintanence that i know of is what i done between 52k and 96k miles (3-4 drain and fills) thats it. so i am sure i have some of the original fluid in there granted the previous owner didnt have it done and there is no record of it being done

[GSGALLANT]

I doubt you'll be able to pour the new stuff in fast enough to keep up with the tranny pump, and you don't want to fall behind and starve the pump. Just use two people (one to hold the cooler line and one to start/stop the truck), and pump out one liter at a time.

[mkgarrison5]

one quart at a time is very time consuming plust wearing my starter out lol.. you maybe right about the speed of the stuff coming out vs the stuff going in. anyone here try it?

[GSGALLANT]

Yes it is time consuming... somewhat. It takes probably 1/2 hour to run the last 10-12 quarts through for the flush by doing it one quart at a time. The starter is beefy enough to take 12 starts in a half hour no problem. Even if it wasn't, the consequences (and cost) of a starter failure are a lot lower than the consequences of a tranny failure if something goes wrong in the continuous feed and bleed with the engine running method. I personnally would want to ensure that I'm not starving the tranny pump of fluid for any amount of time.

[hillbilly]

I've done it myself. The fluid does come out at a pretty decent rate when the motor's running, but nothing excessive. It'll slow down to a dribble a few seconds after shutdown, and eventually stop. Just don't overfill the bucket/drain pan before shutting down. If it overflows the catch basin its gonna make a real mess. Plus its more difficult to empty if its excessively full.

As far as refill, after cleaning the pan/magnet and sealing/bolting the pan backup, I topped off the pan. I then attached a small rubber hose to the output line to extend it so it would stay in the drain bucket. Before I started it up, I put a very small funnel into the tranny dip stick line. Started it up and poured additional ATF into the dipstick line while the old stuff was being pumped out. What was in the pan was enough to fill my drain bucket, so I had to shutdown to empty it. At which time I'd top off the tranny pan again. I repeated this till I had put in +/-14/15 quarts then topped the pan off and called it good.

The local Valvoline Quick Lube joint gladly took my old fluid... :)

[mkgarrison5]

hillbilly thats how i was going to do it.. have someone poor new atf continually at the fastest pace possible in the dipstick line while i drain into the drain bucket. or vise versa. ill pour while someone makes sure it hits the drain bucket.. this is what i want to do

drain and fill the tranny pan (4-5qts roughly)
then pull the cooler line and start the truck while someone pours new atf through the dip stick at a high enough rate of speed without over filling the funnel in the dipstick hole

sound ok or should i go with the 1qt drain and 1qt fill and repeat 12 times or so?

[hillbilly]

Either way should be fine. One's just a bit faster than the other. Just be sure you don't run the pan to low or you'll starve the tranny of fluid, which is NOT a good thing. A semi-clear gallon jug (milk) obviously holds 4 quarts, so that would give you an indication as to how much your taking out verses putting in, and how much is left in the pan.

I used an old 10-quart Amsoil jug and marked 1/2 gallon increments on it so I know what much was coming out.

[JB_96LTD]

I have a 96 automatic 4Runner and have been using Mobil One synthetic ATF.
Is this okay?

[GSGALLANT]

This is what i want to do:

drain and fill the tranny pan (4-5qts roughly)
then pull the cooler line and start the truck while someone pours new atf through the dip stick at a high enough rate of speed without over filling the funnel in the dipstick hole
Regarless of what method you decide to use for the flush, after you drain the tranny pan, you should remove it to clean it, the filter, and the magnets. Then re-install the pan, refill it, and start your flush.

And JB_96LTD, your truck will love you for using Mobil One ATF. If you can afford it, keep it up.

[JB_96LTD]

And JB_96LTD, your truck will love you for using Mobil One ATF. If you can afford it, keep it up.


Yeah man I love M1 motor oil (and their synthetic oil filter also!) I have just started using M1 ATF in my tranny and the shifts seem nice and solid with no hesitation or slipping at gear shifts/downshifts. I think I will switch over to their gear oil as well.....only downside is the price.

[mkgarrison5]

This is what i want to do:

drain and fill the tranny pan (4-5qts roughly)
then pull the cooler line and start the truck while someone pours new atf through the dip stick at a high enough rate of speed without over filling the funnel in the dipstick hole
Regarless of what method you decide to use for the flush, after you drain the tranny pan, you should remove it to clean it, the filter, and the magnets. Then re-install the pan, refill it, and start your flush.

And JB_96LTD, your truck will love you for using Mobil One ATF. If you can afford it, keep it up.


i know you are right and ill probably wait till i get the stuff together to do that.. i may have the yota place do it bc i really dont want to have to deal with that mess lol.. they do not do flushes. they told me drain and fills at 15k miles are the best way plus cleaning the screens and etc..