I have a 3rd gen 3.4 AUTO, with well over 130k on it. I think the tranny fluid has been changed once, but I doubt it.I havn't checked the fluid yet, which I will do later on. I'm thinking about flushing the whole system out and replacing it with a generic synthetic brand. Mainly DEXRON III, since T-IV is non exsistant here.

Is there anything else I should consider before I change my old tranny fluid out?

 

if youre not sure and youre at that mileage interval, i'd highly suggest you do the total fluid exchange.

lots to read: https://www.yotatech.com/search.php?searchid=1195688 get yo' self some edjumacation!

bob

 

I just checked the tranny oil today and it didn't look cherry red, but kind of a mixture of brown and dark red. It smelled like freshly grinded metal, and the cloth i used to clean the dipstick with becoam brown.

Bad signs of tranny fluid?

 

How does it compare to this? https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/burnt-atf-fluid-71116/

 

It was alittle darker than that. Slightly browner, but some visible red spots.

If I do need to flush and fill my ATF fluid, how many quarts will I need? 12 quarts of Amsoil which is roughly $165 CDN, seems too much. Is Mobil 1 ATF similar to Amsoil?

 

16 quarts to use the dealer machine to do a flush. There was a thread about it recently if you don't believe it. The machine need the extra 4 quarts so that it would replace 99% of the fluid instead of leaving 20% of hybrid stuff in there (mix between old and new).

I got Mobil 1 (about $100 U.S for 16). It's definately similar to amsoil, good synthetic, but by numbers, amsoil wins by 5-10%. Personally, I would say that unless you plan on entering a nascar race with your truck, don't worry about the numbers and use Mobil 1. It's more readily available as well.

 

If you are unsure when the fluid was changed last, I would NOT recommend at trans flush. I work in the automotive industry and have heard of various problems resulting from Tranny flushes. My service advisor says to only flush if you are gonna do it every 30,000 miles. On older trannys he says to only drain and fill, but to do it somewhat frequently.

 

In the 4Runner worls, you should check for the size of metal shavings on the magnetic filter and based on that decide what you are gonna do. Too many big metal shavings in the filter is a sign of failure and flushing at that point is almost immediate death.

 

What if I do the flush myself, how many quarts of ATF should I use then?

 

How are you planning to flush it? Here is the best info I've found yet on tranny flushing: http://www.gadgetonline.com/TransFlush.htm