Quote:
Originally posted by Stooge
Search the site - lots on exacly what to do. The lower hose to the air-to-oil transmisstion cooler in front of radiator is the pressure line. Disconnect it, insert a 1 foot section of 3/8" copper tube and bend it down in front of the radiator under the bumper. Put that end in a gallon jug marked at about 1/2 (two quarts). Start the engine, fill jug to line, stop engine. Dump jug, add two quarts SLOWLY down the dipstip for tranny. Repeat until 12 to 15 quarts are changed through. Reconnect everything. Check the fluid level and leaks. Your done. Next day, check fluid level again. So easy you should do it every year!!!
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Actually, there is an easier way. Use the UPPER fitting on the Aux cooler instead of the LOWER fitting. Someone mentioned it on here and they are right. It's easier. This is what I did:
Before you even start stop by an auto parts place and get a 3 foot section of 3/8 inch rubber transmission line. Also, pick up the transmission crush washer from the dealer. (I keep a couple of all the various Tundra fluid/oil washers in my tool box so I don't have to run to the dealer to do a fluid change. )
I park on a slight hill so the front is a couple feet higher than the rear (oil drains downhill with some force). Putting the front wheels on ramps would do the same thing.
Park the vehicle for a couple minutes to let all the fluid drain into the pan and then check the transmission dipstick to see what the fluid level is.
Important:
You want this to be the level when you are done flushing. Actually, you want it to be just a little less so you can add some later to top it off after you've checked the fluid level while "hot". Be conservative, don't overfill.
Drain the ATF in the transmission pan by pulling the drain flug (think it's 14 mm). WHILE the plug is still out, pour a clean, full quart of ATF into a funnel inserted into the dipstick tube to flush out any dirty fluid left on the bottom of the pan. (I do this on all oil changes - diff, trans, engine, transfer).
After all the fluid finishes draining, put the plug back in (with the new crush washer) and tighten it to 15 foot-pounds. Fill the pan with 4 quarts of fresh fluid ( I suggest synthetic) using the funnel in the dip stick tube.
Go to the front of the vehicle and throw an old t-shirt under the fittings going into transmission cooler in front of the radiator (to catch any drips when you disconnect the UPPER line). Not much fluid will drip, but this will catch anything that falls.
Disconnect the UPPER fitting on the transmission cooler. This is the return line back to the transmission. Feed one end of the 3 foot section of 3/8ths inch transmission line through the hole in the middle of the bumper (behind the license plate) and connect one end to the UPPER fitting on the tran cooler. You won't need any clamps, it will fit tightly enough. Just squeeze it on and this will divert the transmission fluid into a drain bucket rather than back to the transmission.
If you want you can leave the temporary drain line above the bumper rather than through it, but I keep my truck clean and I didn't want any ATF drips on the clean paint when I pulled the line off. I guess you could run it under the bumper too. But through it worked best for me.
Put the other end of the temporary drain line into a bucket that has graduated marking on it so you can tell how much fluid is in the container in 1 quart increments. I used two 2 1/2 gallon containers and built a dipstick so I could tell how many quarts of fluid were in the bucket as I couldn't see from outside the container how much fluid was in it. I had to tell from inside (and at night). A dipstick worked fine.
Once you've got one end of the temporary drain line connected to outlet (the UPPER fitting) of the transmission cooler and the other end into a container(s) that will hold 4 gallons total of ATF you're ready to go. If you connect to the outlet, you'll have the advantage of flushing fluid through the cooler also. Plus, it's easier to use rubber hose.
NOTE: If you don't have the aux transmission cooler, then connect this drain line to the OUTLET on the transmission cooler that is in the radiator rather than the OUTLET on the auxilary cooler. You can still use the same 3/8 inch rubber trans line either way.
Start the vehicle and let your drain bucket fill with 2 quarts of fluid. This will only take about 20 to seconds or so. Maybe even less. But I suggest that you turn the vehicle on, then turn it off 3 seconds later the first time just to make sure that everything is draining as you expect and that you're not making a royal mess.
Once you have two quarts of fluid in the drain container. Stop the engine and put the same amount of ATF into the dipstick tube.
Run the engine again and drain another two quarts. Stop the engine. Fill the trans with another two quarts. Repeat until you fill the container, then swap for another container (if you need to).
Keep doing this until you see clean fluid come out which will take about 11 quarts. Personally, I flushed close to 16 quarts through. I had 5 gallons of synthetic ATF when I started and had about a gallon left when I was done.
Check the fluid level before you pull the drain line off (so it's the same level as when you started or a little less). This is the STOPPED level of fluid that was in the pan with the vehicle oriented on whatever level or unlevel ground you have chosen to drain the vehicle on. So give the fluid time to drain down - couple of minutes will drain a vast majority of the fluid.
If it's not too high, pull the drain line off and reconnect the original transmission line back to the upper fitting on the aux transmission cooler. (Or the transmission cooler in the radiator if you don't have an aux cooler.) It's best to leave it a little low when you pull the drain line as more fluid will drain down the longer you wait (but not much more).
Drive the vehicle for 20 minutes and check the fluid when it's warm. I'd still leave it just a touch low. Just above the low mark. Then top off the last little bit if needed after you've driven it for a couple days.
Don't overfill. If you do, drain the extra fluid off before you run the transmission much.
That's all there is to it. I prefer to drain the ATF directly into the containers that I'm going to take to the recycling center. I use two 2 1/.2 gallon containers myself to catch the fluid and just swap the drain hose from one container to the other as I go along. Too, I was doing it in the dark with the help of a flashlight.
Clean the 3 foot drain hose and put it in a plastic bag and you can use it again later.
Alan