Transmission flush...

[Benji668]

I have about 35,000mi on my Solara and haven't change any transmission fluid since the day I purchased it. And I want to replace it with Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF. Now here are the questions:

1. Should I just do a regular fluid change or a transmission flush before refill it with Synthetic ATF?

2. For transmission flush, can it be done by myself without taking to a shop?

3. And is there any kit, if there is for transmission flush, can be purchase at local auto store?

Thanks for all valuable advice!

[Hsakuragi]

yea, if someone can post pics about changing and flushing transmission fluid to here, will be great!! really want to DIY with this one.

[TXSolaraSLE]

just FYI, the auto solaras also have a separate differential chamber that needs to be flushed/filled. the toyota service associate i talked to said it's a different weight of oil. standard solaras dont have a separate diff.

[ToyCam]

I've never actually flushed the tranny myself, but for any of your that are interested, this sounds like it might work;

http://www.camryclub.org/forums/showthr ... ight=flush

You can actually do the complete change yourself. You don't need to spend $80-120 for the machine to do the swap with crappy regular ATF.

Start by draining the ATF and removing the pan (buy the Toyota parts: gasket, washer, etc). Clean out the screen box (mine was full of crap but it also had 155k miles) on it. I forced water through it and sprayed some simple green to loosen the material, then when I felt it was clean, dumped ATF through it. When done, put the pan back on, fill the transmission with the listed capacity for doing the pan drop only (3-4qts??).

To change the fluid from the torque converter, pull the hose coming from the ATF cooler on the bottom of the radiator (the return will be the drivers side). Add a piece of hose to make it drain into a container, then simultaneously (2 people to assist), have someone turn the engine over (1 second each time) and fill the transmission through the filler hole with the same amount of fluid as what is coming out. I would remove the fuel pump fuse to guarantee the engine won't start. Do this several times for 1/2-1 second intervals. Stop when the fluid is the bright, new red color and you are done. Connect the hose back to the cooler (lower radiator) then run the car to make sure you are at the proper level (as the owners manual states).

I did this myself 1 1/2 years ago and it was night and day in terms of the smooth shifting and heat tolerance of the fluid. I've put on 25K miles and the fluid is still nice and red versus smelling like a burnt record and being brown.

Email me at: ken_shan@citlink.net
if you (or anyone) has any questions.
-Ken-

[impactX]

just FYI, the auto solaras also have a separate differential chamber that needs to be flushed/filled. the toyota service associate i talked to said it's a different weight of oil. standard solaras dont have a separate diff.

Nope. For the I4, the torque converter is a seperate unit.

For the V6 (my 2000 at least), the torque converter is in the same unit as the transmission.

I used Redline D4 ATF on mine (Dexron III), I recommend people to switch to synthetic also. They usually have higher resistance to heat.
Our cars need Dexron II/III. While you are there, get a tranny cooler and install it... hmm I still haven't updated on the DIY article...

by the way, for this method, it's better to have another RUNNING car hooks up with the your car by jumping cable. Otherwise the battery will die when you switch out around 1L.

I will try an snap some picture... too busy these days.

[happy_aggies]

I found this: http://www.users.bigpond.com/pgscott/au ... otrans.htm

Can we use Type IV? It seems 2 b better... o/w Im thinking Royal Purple Max ATF.

[happy_aggies]

As listed in http://www.greenhydrant.com/~drees/auto ... annychange

Changing the Automatic Transmission Fluid
Take it to a shop and let them 'power flush' it for $69.95. Or, do it yourself. Hey, there's a pump inside your automatic, so why not use it?

This works the best when the engine and tranny are completely warmed up. The fluid is hot, so use gloves or be quick!

Get a fresh gasket for the pan. Drain the fluid from the pan. pull the pan, clean it up, drop the filter screen and clean it up too. Put it back together. pour in (slowly) a GALLON of fresh ATF. Disconnect the return (driver side) line from the radiator cooler, and attach a short (6") piece of tubing to direct the flow down into your oil change pan. Start the engine. let it idle till no more fluid come out then shut it off. You noticed that brown icky color, right? Dump the burned, dirty fluid into the empty gallon jug. pour in another GALLON, start the engine, watch the color of the stuff coming out. When the fluid stops, shut her off. I usually find that on the 3rd gallon, it starts to look pretty nice. then you quit. Double check the fluid level till its perfect.

[bassthrive]

Is there a problem with the icky stuff clogging up your new filter while flushing it? Can I disconnect the hose without dropping the pan, idle my engine and drain all my old fluid into a jug, then drop the pan, put in a fresh filter and gasket, reattach the pan, fill with a gallon of regular ATF (just cause its cheaper and will be thrown out right away), idle the engine and flush that out, then fill completely with synthetic ATF?

Anyone use B&M's Trick Shift synthetic ATF? Also, im having trouble finding the ATF return line. Is it on the inner (engine) side of the radiator?

-Paul

[bassthrive]

Nevermind, found the hoses.

[impactX]

Sorry... didn't notice the post.

Anyways, return line is on the driver side of the radiator.

Should drop the pan and drain out those fluid first. Then pour 4 quarts in, then start the cranking method.

For the ATF cooler, you need to put out the 3 fan relays in the fusebox (unless you want to have your fingers chopped off). Fans are controlled by thermostat so they turn themselves on when it's hot enough.

Take off the driver side fan, then you can use those zip tie thing to mount the cooler.

Sequence: Tranny --> radiator --> new tranny cooler --> tranny

So you connect 1 end of the cooler to the return line of radiator and 1 end of the cooler to the tranny.

[bassthrive]

Picked up all my fluids and gaskets. I got one gallon of regular ATF to use as my "flushing agent" and I got 5 quarts of Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF to do the fill.

Now, when im doing the flush, what gear do you put the tranny in?

Ok, so I drop the pan, drain my current doody-colored fluid, clean the screen, replace and secure the pan and new gasket and fill with regular ATF. I run the engine for a second or two to flush into a container using the drivers side radiator return line. Do I have to drop the pan again and drain the remaining regular ATF before I refill with 100% new synthetic?

[impactX]

Picked up all my fluids and gaskets. I got one gallon of regular ATF to use as my "flushing agent" and I got 5 quarts of Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF to do the fill.

Now, when im doing the flush, what gear do you put the tranny in?

Ok, so I drop the pan, drain my current doody-colored fluid, clean the screen, replace and secure the pan and new gasket and fill with regular ATF. I run the engine for a second or two to flush into a container using the drivers side radiator return line. Do I have to drop the pan again and drain the remaining regular ATF before I refill with 100% new synthetic?

5 Quarts only? You need around 10 Quarts to do the whole flush. 5 Quarts is needed to refill the tranny after you drop the pan. There are around 4-5 Quarts in the torque converter.

When I did mine, I pull the EFI relay so the car won't start but the engine will crank. I kept cranking with another STARTED car's battery connected to the Solara so I won't run out of juice from cranking. When I filled up 1 quart of old ATF, I put 1 new bottle of ATF in, when I see the ATF coming out from the return line is bright red, I connect all the lines back.

I don't feel comfortable leaving the tranny running with no fluid.

By the way, do you have the V6 or I4? I4 has seperate torque converter. V6 has it built into the tranny.

[bassthrive]

V6

10 quarts are needed? Wow.

[impactX]

Yup... I did a flush with 9.5 Quarts and there's half a bottle left.

[onefiend]

By the way, do you have the V6 or I4? I4 has seperate torque converter. V6 has it built into the tranny.

A separate torque convertor? Can someone explain this to me? I took my car to JiffyLube to get a transmission flush, do you think they also serviced my separate torque convertor or only the auto tranny itself? I didnt know this, gettin worried now...