metel shavings in trans

[mattjensen]

when i check the trans fluld, in the snulight i noticed metel shavings in the oil. i was like what, so i got out the magnet and they stuck. so i went down to the dealership and they pulled the stick, took a look and said, o thats just normal.so i went to another toyota dealership, and they said the same, trying to play it down, neither of the dealerships would drop the pan and take a look, like i aisked them to. that was at 1000 miles. now i have 19,000 its starting to feel as if its not shifting as smoth. still metel shavings, possibly even more than at 1000. whats up with this is this normal, i sure dont think its to normal. thanx
matt

[DevinSixtySeven]

drain, flush, fill. truck's new, right? all sorts of crud in the fluids from the manufacturing process...not to mention the engine is wearing in, however most of that "wearing in" is gears chewing hard metal particles that shouldn't be there. removing the hard particles will reduce the wear on your drivetrain.

-sean

[mattjensen]

Originally Posted by DeepStealth

drain, flush, fill. truck's new, right? all sorts of crud in the fluids from the manufacturing process...not to mention the engine is wearing in, however most of that "wearing in" is gears chewing hard metal particles that shouldn't be there. removing the hard particles will reduce the wear on your drivetrain.

-sean

ya the trucks new. thats what i was thinking, that it was just junk from the manufacturing process, i just wanted to make sure, i gotta have this truck run forever. thanx, matt

[KLS]

Sounds like a problem. Be sure the transmission fails within the 5-yr/60,000 mile warranty.


Ken

[akauth]

Originally Posted by mattjensen

i gotta have this truck run forever. thanx, matt

Swap your fluids over to synthetics. Even if there is a manufacturing/design issue, synthetics work better outside the working boundaries of ordinary petrol fluids so that the component doesn't even fail or has much less overall wear.

I'll give you an example. Chysler and Ford transmissions (could be differentials too) that go out at 80k miles or less (which is crazy) then go for more than twice that on synthetic. Spend a little, save a lot......

Things last sooooooo much longer.

Alan

[Bbbutch]

Is there a magnet in the trans pan of our Tundras?

[dsconstructs]

There should be 4 magnets in the pan.

[thecarguy]

magnets, sytnthetics or not, a little metal shavings is normal on new parts. Ever tear apart an oil filter after the first oil change? There is always some crud to be worked out in the first few fluid changes.

[mattjensen]

so what do u think is a good synthetic, i was thinking mobil 1, or red line. iam planing on doing a flush of the trans. iam debating doing it my self or taking it somewhere. i have a pretty good idea of how to do it. thanx, matt

[KLS]

After you flush and refill with the Toyota type T-IV ATF, give serious consideration to installing an in-line filter. These are a small cartridge filter that goes in one of the transmission cooler hoses. It contains a magnet as well as a filter. I've seen the Magnefine filters also sold in ATP packages.
http://www.emergingent.com/subpage1Magnefine.htm
http://www.spxfiltran.com/Products/atm_filter.asp

I've installed a Racor LFS22825 full flow cartridge filter in my transmission cooling line.

You have unauthorized alternatives to the Toyota ATF. Amsoil claims that their synthetic ATF is a suitable replacement for T-IV, but hasn't actually been qualified as such. Or, you could add a good synthetic Dexron III ATF, Mobil 1, Redline, Schaeffer, and then add a bottle of Lubegard black-bottle ATF supplement---again, not the real thing.

If you feel that there's the possibility of a warranty claim in the future for this transmission, stick with the real Toyota stuff.


Ken

[mattjensen]

thanx everybody for the info. iam gonna do the trans filter the flush, sounds like that will do a lot of good. any good places to instal the filter, that anybodys found. thanx
matt

[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by mattjensen

thanx everybody for the info. iam gonna do the trans filter the flush, sounds like that will do a lot of good. any good places to instal the filter, that anybodys found. thanx
matt

FYI, the Toyota type T-4 trans fluid in the '03 Tundras is a synthetic fluid. There's probably no gain in replacing it with another kind of synthetic, especially since most of the others aren't known to be suitable replacements (Amsoil might be an exception). I also have a 2003 Tundra which will be used for mountain towing so I was really keen on replacing the fluid with a synthetic...until I discovered my truck's transmission was filled at the factory with a synthetic fluid.

The filter sounds like a real good idea though.

FWIW, no sign of metal on my dipstick so far.

[KLS]

Originally Posted by mattjensen

any good places to instal the filter, that anybodys found. thanx
matt

Remove the skid plate under the engine and look at the rubber hoses connecting to the transmission cooler section of your radiator...or the external transmission cooler if you have the tow package. Find a convenient spot and install the filter. I like to save the original shaped factory hose and buy hose for the filter...if you buy hose, buy hydraulic hose, not fuel hose, and 3/8" I.D. is the hose size. Also buy good screw-type hose clamps. Fuel hose might not take the high temperatures of hot ATF. You need to determine the direction of flow of the ATF to correctly position the filter. Follow the cooler tubing back to the transmission. The line with the temperature sensor is the line out of the transmission.


Ken

[mattjensen]

alwright sounds good. thanx everybody.
matt