Transmission Filter change

So I called the Toyota Dealer and ask them what a Transmission flush consisted of. He said remove the old fluid put in new Fluid. I ask him if they replace the filter he said "No Toyota does not recommend replacing the transmission filter" What are your thoughts on replacing the Filter?

I'm thinking that dropping the pan cleaning the magnets and replacing the Filter before a flush would greatly extend the transmission life. The truck has 60K so the transmission should be well broke in and for the rest of its life after that a flush every 60K would be all it needs.

What are your thoughts?

 

I am with your way of thinking. Will guarantee there is "fuzz" on the magnet after 60k miles. Their response is why I can't have a dealer touch anything I own.

 

One year ago, I had my filter replaced, and trans fluid totally flushed when I bought my 2011 with 97K miles. No problems. Saw the old filter and oil when I went to get the truck. It was nasty. Glad I had it done.

 

Have me curious now, where is the filter located, also does the "flush" need to be done with techstream at the dealership or a simple drain and refill?

 

No need to change the filter. Changed mine at 176k and split it open and hardly any material was inside of it. I have a thread on it.

 

Drain and fill for me, never been a fan of those high pressure trans flushes.

 

I'm going to do a drain filter change clean the magnets and fill at 60K. from that point on a flush every 60K.

 

I hate transmission fluid swaps so I pay for that service, as much as I do not trust techs and shops (17 years working with jobbers). That stated, had this done 2 weeks ago at a dealer. 3 gallons of fluid and labor, $273 out the door. Super inexpensive for my least favorite maintenance item. Glad I did it. They said same thing, no filter, just a strainer. On my Germans, I pull and replace the filter.

 

It's definitely a filter, not just a strainer, just replaced mine over the weekend. I don't understand why some, including dealers, say not to and don't need to change it. Would you change engine oil without changing the filter?

 

Drain and fill is way I did mine. 4 times and it's good to go for awhile.

 

Good to know the parts guy at my local Toyota dealer said it was just a strainer also.

 

So I know a guy that has owned a transmission shop for 30 years. He said mot of the people that brings him work usually say they just had there transmission flushed about a month ago. He told me the problem with doing a flush with out cleaning the magnets is the fluid being flushed in can loosen the metal shavings that come from the transmission breaking in. Transmission fluid is expensive so as soon as the fluid looks clean they stop flushing. Now you have all the metal shavings floating around in your transmission. He recommends replacing the filter and cleaning the magnets at 60K then if you want to just flush it every 30 to 60K you should be fine because the magnets and the filter/strainer wont have much if any shavings on them because the transmission should be broke in. I know from previous Transmission filter changes the Magnets can have a lot of metal fuzz on them and it wouldn't take much to loosen the shavings attached furthest away from the magnet.

 

This. Check Sumo’s thread. Apparently the bolts holding the pan strip easily and might cause more problems for work that isn’t needed. I’ve never seen a tundra maintenance schedule that has replacing the trans filter on it.

 

Keep in mind though that flushes are different from a drain and fill. A flush like you describe is an almost certain way to cause major problems. That's why only drain and fills are recommended.

 

It's drain and fill, but in order to set the proper fluid level you have to get the transmission to a specific temperature and pull the check plug. Luckily, you can do this without techstream... there are plenty of videos on this.

 

Cant you just measure what you take out?

 

Most dealers say that it's a strainer and not a filter but I believe mb66l79 who said "It's definitely a filter, not just a strainer, just replaced mine over the weekend."

 

The transmission fill plug is in a difficult-to-access area on the drivers side of the transmission. I'm sure if you were to figure out a good method to add exactly what you took out, you'd be good to go. I've seen folks feed a funnel with a hose from the engine bay down to the fill plug, but most folks I've seen (and friends I know who do fluid changes of their transmissions) use pumps that aren't very good at accurately measuring fluid volume, and as such, simply add an approximate amount to what you're supposed to add, and drop the extra fluid.

For me personally, when I perform the change, I will pull the check plug as it really isn't very difficult to do this.

 

I agree with this. Do a search for broken transmission pan bolts - seems like you're asking for trouble without any proven (or suggested) benefit. The only transmission failures I've seen are people running forced induction with large tires and one heat related trans death on the newer models without a trans cooler.

This is not close to the same. If your trans fluid was contaminated daily with the by-products of internal combustion I'm sure there would be a serviceable filter and the fluid life wouldn't be rated for 90,000 miles... Where is the filter for the diffs and t-case?

 

While I agree that they aren't the same (i.e. engine oil vs transmission oil), the transmission most definitely will become contaminated over the course of time with friction material from the 4 clutch packs. I wouldn't expect a filter for diffs or the t-case, as they don't have friction material that is going to be floating around, and even if they did (for limited slip differentials for example), fluid change intervals should be high enough that the excess friction material is removed. There are also no valve bodies or any other small orifices that can become clogged with excess "sludge".

EDIT: I don't really think that changing the strainer/filter in the pan is that necessary at very low intervals -- my biggest worry would be actually chunks of something getting sucked into the pump and being pushed through the valve body/solenoids/etc. With frequent enough fluid changes, you should be good to go to not have to replace the strainer/filter on every fluid change, and looking at pictures of the strainer/filter show that is is not likely to be filtering out the friction material anyway, at least effectively. Not to mention the fact that there are magnets in the pan anyway to catch ferrous shavings/debris from the clutch plates/wear in.

 

Some more info to consider.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/transmission-filter-or-screen-drop-pan-or-no-need.63450/

 

I agree I plan to replace the filter clean the magnets once and then just do a flush as recommended.

 

Toyota calls it both a filter and a strainer. It’s your money and time, but look at sumo’s thread. Might save you some money.

https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-transmission-filter-3533060060

Edit: most people do not recommend a flush. Just a drain and fill.

 

Here's another warning on the pan bolts breaking. I sprayed kroil on my bolts and let them sit a few days. The very first pan bolt I tried broke and I honestly used little force because I'd heard of this issue. The head stripped right off.

I ended up paying a guy to do the rest because I'm hit or miss on easy outing broken bolts. He told me I must've picked the wrong bolt from the start as no others broke on him. I had all new bolts for him to replace the previous ones.

 

timsp8, you have brought up another question, when I compared the link for the filter you sent it didn't match the part number the my local dealer said fits mine. I wonder what the difference is, both descriptions say they both fit?
https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-transmission-filter-3533060070

 

This might be an older one. Looking again, this one says “Tundra. Sequoia. 5.7l. 6-speed. From 11/2014. 4.6l. From 04/2015. Japan Built Part. To 08/2015.” They might have changed the part number in Aug 15. This one replaces 35330-0C020. What part number did your dealer give? Is it close with the 35330-?

 

I am not sure why your posting that, to educate me? Or just for others? I should share, I would agree with your 'mechanic' to a degree. I have rebuilt multiple transmission and not little 400hp engine types. So, I agree, but to me, this is an area where people sit around typing away on a keyboard splitting hairs which make little to no difference in the long run for 99% of owners out there. Numerous transmissions go 500k miles without even a fluid change. Not the best thing to do, but happens all of the time. There is 'best' and 'does it make a difference.' The two often get mixed up on automotive forums.

If there were enough 'fuzz' as you call it to the point it would completely impede/block the strainer/filter, the transmission would not work to begin with.

So in summary:

Is it good to swap out the transmission fluid: YES
MUST I swap out the strainer/filter? NO
Is it BEST to swap out the strainer/filter: Yes
Will changing the filter/strainer make a difference to 99.9% of owners: NO, except for piece of mind, and for some, that is good enough.

 

I entered 16 limited and only these 2 came up.

 

35330-60070 https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-transmission-filter-3533060070

 

Oats87 responded well to this, but I'd like to also add that the byproducts of combustion that contaminate oil do not get filtered out, they degrade the oil, which is why engine oil has much shorter replacement intervals.

Any type of gearbox or mechanical equipment breaks in when it's new. This includes transmissions, diffs, and transfer cases. Ever changed oil after breaking in a new gear set on a transfer case or differential? It's sparkly because of all the metal wear particles. Diffs are the worst because of the hypoid gear sets. I changed on my new Tundra at around 500 miles and guess what, lots of metal particles. This is normal and is proven to not be a big deal because very few get changed, I'm just more particular. If diffs and transfer cases were pressurized like a transmission or engine so they could have filters, no doubt in my mind they would.