Transmission Question

[ho1ywars]

Im in a bit of a pickle. I know nothing about automatic transmissions so maybe you guys can help out.

02 Toyota Highlander V6 AWD with 194k miles.


A few days ago a customer came into the shop i work at stating his car was acting funny. My tech started up the car, went to test drive it. he got about a hundred yards and the trans just started slipping. The car would not move at all. So my tech say to take it to a trans shop, it needs a replacement.
We dont really do trans work where i work, we ship to amco or cottman. Customer comes to pick up the car and says he just going to junk it, or sell it. I tell him ill give him a grand for it, and he accepts.

I get the truck home today and drive it off the trailer into my driveway. it drives great, then basically completely stops moving again. so im begining to think its really weird and think maybe the filter is clogged. shut the car off, wait ten minutes and go to drive it again and it runs fine again for about 100 yards!! I checked the level of the trans, its fine. Go threw all gears with the brake on and check again, levels fine.

Drop the pan, its filled with sludge and has a noticiable amount of metal shavings. I clean out the filter, it has a metal mesh filter, and clean off pan. Put it all back together, fill it up with fluid, go threw the gears and i see the cars engine torquing back and forth. I should say that before when the truck ran for about a minutes, even in park you would not see the engine shift back and forth. So i top off the fluid, and 1 quart of lucas trans fluid and go drive the car, it drives perfect.

The question i have is i didnt really flush the trans, so im wondering if i should flush it. The problem is the trans has close to 200k and i know your not really suppose to flush a high milage trans. But considering the fluid was so dark and there were so many metal shavings i really wana do another few drain and fills. I also filled the trans up with pennzoil ATF cause i had it laying around and really didnt think it was going to fix it, so i didnt want to spend money on the toyota fluid. toyota says it should use toyota type IV. i read a few people said its just toyotas name for regular atf.

So the questions are:

Is type IV toyota trans fluid just regular ATF
Should i drain and fill the trans a few more times


And suggestions appriciated.

[Foolinaround]

Flushing it that high is only going to cause more problems and open a can of **** that you dont even wanna go near. At my work we dont recommend doing flushed after 60k if they have been done on a regular schedule already.

[Supraru]

Just get a new trans for it.

[jpalamar]

High miles does not equal do no flush. I did it to every high mile car I've ever had an had no issues. I really think that is more related to much older cars. I'd flush the fluid and replace the filter more often beign that it has higher miles. I'm yet to see a trans have issues in any car I've ever owned.

[ho1ywars]

High miles does not equal do no flush. I did it to every high mile car I've ever had an had no issues. I really think that is more related to much older cars. I'd flush the fluid and replace the filter more often beign that it has higher miles. I'm yet to see a trans have issues in any car I've ever owned.

I dont really understand the automatic transmission. why do alot of people feel that they should stay away from flushing?

[OutToWinPAHC]

Just use OE fluid, it's mixing fluids that cause issues from OEM to other branded. You allready drained it and did a new filter. A flush cant hurt much more, but I would use toyota own ATF

[jpalamar]

I dont really understand the automatic transmission. why do alot of people feel that they should stay away from flushing?

Dunno man. I wouldn't worry about it though. Flush would probally be best to get the most old fluild out though.

I'd flush it.

[russiankid]

I dont really understand the automatic transmission. why do alot of people feel that they should stay away from flushing?

Because if a transmission has not been serviced in a long time, dirt builds up in small crevices in the valve body. Overtime, this dirt is what allows the transmission to function because it covers up internal leaks which will reduce pressure, and since an automatic transmission is essentially a big hydraulic pump, pressure is the key. Flushing it out removes the dirt, which can unclog a leak and or it could clog a passage in the valve body which would lead to the transmission not functioning. If you just change the transmission fluid, you're better off because transmission fluid is a good cleaning agent, thus you will remove dirt little by little which will prevent you from clogging something else up.

[itwillboost]

It's probably a bad torque converter in which case you need to flush it. You are going to have a chance to cause problems flushing a trans if that all you do but it doesnt mean it will definitely cause problems.

[ho1ywars]

trans took a dump again on saturday and last night. each time the filter is getting clogged. gana take the trans out this weekend and take it to aamco. its basically eating itself.... metal all over the place.

[itwillboost]

Dam honestly if I was you I would just find one at a junkyard with a 6 month to a year warranty and drop it in it's cheaper and allows you to start over.

[jpalamar]

Dam honestly if I was you I would just find one at a junkyard with a 6 month to a year warranty and drop it in it's cheaper and allows you to start over.

Thats why So many imports are a POS, they just get junkyard motors and trans instead of rebuilding the one they have and having a fresh solid part.

I think it is stupid to spend hours of work to put a mystery part liek a trans in a car when you can rebuild it

[420sx]

Thats why So many imports are a POS, they just get junkyard motors and trans instead of rebuilding the one they have and having a fresh solid part.

I think it is stupid to spend hours of work to put a mystery part liek a trans in a car when you can rebuild it

I couldnt disagree more. Take for example, my car. I could spend 500-1500 rebuilding the transmission, or I could pick up a used one for $150 (which is exactly what i did). Replacement is almost ALWAYS significantly more cost effective. Sure, I didnt know 100% that the trans I was putting in was good, but at $150, I could replace it 10 times before coming near the cost of rebuilding the first one.

Oh, and my trans went at 84k, and I put in a trans with 189k and it shifts like butter. :)

[jpalamar]

I couldnt disagree more. Take for example, my car. I could spend 500-1500 rebuilding the transmission, or I could pick up a used one for $150 (which is exactly what i did). Replacement is almost ALWAYS significantly more cost effective. Sure, I didnt know 100% that the trans I was putting in was good, but at $150, I could replace it 10 times before coming near the cost of rebuilding the first one.

Oh, and my trans went at 84k, and I put in a trans with 189k and it shifts like butter. :)

I personally could never but a mojor part like a trans or motor in my car without doing a simple rebuild just to be safe. My theory is if I have to do the work, I might as well do a little more and have it done right the first time and have a car that I KNOW with last.

[420sx]

To each their own, I suppose. I mean, yeah- its definitely nice to have that peace of mind knowing that your motor/trans is FRESH, but for someone like me, cost is whats important. I'm fairly confident in my ability to tell if a person is being honest or not, and my instincts have served me fairly well. If Im buying an expensive part like a transmission, I kinda take the sellers character into consideration- I look for a well spoken person who knows what they have and knows a decent amount about it. I wouldnt buy a transmission or engine from a junkyard- knowing NOTHING about it, but I will buy it off a person that I feel is legit. Granted, Im sure this will bite me in the ass eventually, but like I said- I could get 5 bad trannies before finding a good one, and STILL spend less than rebuilding the original. Im sure that'd be a little tougher with your car, but for 240's (and most jap cars), parts are plentiful and cheap enough that rebuilding just isnt cost effective.

Here at my work, we send out big electric motors and such (25-100HP) out for rebuild. When they quote us the cost- if the rebuild is more than 40 percent of the cost of a new unit, we simply replace. Its not cost effective when you can replace for near the price of a rebuild, and in this circumstance, a replacement tranny can be as little as 10 percent the cost of a rebuild.

However, youre not gonna find an AWD highlander trans for $150. $500-600 would be my guess, and I'd still do that over rebuilding whats in there.

[itwillboost]

I have had junkyard engines and transmission last longer than most people's from the factory. You perform a couple tests and they are no longer mystery parts. I understand where you are coming from but at the end of the year if your transmission blows you had a good trans for a year at only 200 dollars, if it blows sooner than you get a new one for free, and if it doesn't blow you saved a ton of money. I have also seen a 12,000 350 small block blow after only it's 3rd pull and guess what the guy did went got one from the junkyard and it ran fine.

[ho1ywars]

a v6 awd highlander trans runs a grand. if i can get this one rebuild for 1000, to 1500, im just going to go that route. apperently these trans are known for eating themselves and when they get rebuild they use stronger parts.

[screamingdsm]

Flushing it that high is only going to cause more problems and open a can of **** that you dont even wanna go near. At my work we dont recommend doing flushed after 60k if they have been done on a regular schedule already.

False

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/automatic-tranny/374982-transmission-flush-myths-busted.html

[OutToWinPAHC]

Agree with that, and its best to use the exact recommended fluid. Fluid from the dealer usually.

[///chrism3]

flush them coolers line before u put a junk unit in or a rebuild in...

[Foolinaround]

False

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/automatic-tranny/374982-transmission-flush-myths-busted.html

I did see at the bottom he did say a healthy transmission flushed he never saw a problem,but now a transmission with a problem already,it might exacerbate it