Sherl

Previous owner records point out that trans filter was changed at 185k miles - 07/2015. I am at 250k now and have changed tranny fluid at 190k, 220k. Should I change the filter now?
Anybody have DIY on how to change transmission fluid filter? I got the sealant from Toyo and ATP trans filter along with 12qt of Toyota fluid. So any tutorial is appreciated.
Also the differential is supposed to be between 45/60k right?

paulo57509

See attached. You only need to follow the filter R&R steps. The ATP filter should have the three filter gaskets already in place.

Losiracer2

If the filter isn't dirty, no need to change it. I dropped my pan on my 99' at 159k to rotate the transmission line pressure valve to position 3 from position 2 for more responsive shifts and my screen was perfectly clean. All it is, is a strainer with a metal mesh screen, so you can spray it out and clean it if needed.

Sherl

So for me I typically let my car warmup for a min or two before I put the car in drive but I have been noticing lately that my engine races to 2-2.5k rpm to shift to 2 whenever it shifts for the first time during a drive. Rest all is smooth once the first shift clears up from 1 to 2.
I can also notice the car moving from D to R and R to D. The tranny isnt just that quick as it used to be.

Losiracer2

Yeah that first shift at 2700rpm is normal I'd say anytime the temperature is below 50 degrees F. I lived in MI for 3 yrs and my 99' would do it religiously when starting out for the day. But lately when in AZ, with overnight temps in the mid 60s, I don't notice it doing it as much.

Installing new engine/transmission mounts would help the movement. I replaced my tranny mount recently and it helped eliminate highway vibrations I was having above 70 and restore the driveshaft angle going into the differential. My tranny mount wasn't torn but the rubber was collapsed by about an inch over new. I'll likely do my engine mounts next due to age and sagging.

400fanboy

Seems like normal behavior to me. The harsh 1-2 shift is universal among all cars. Only happens one time for the first shift if it's cold enough.

The D <--> R shifting is harsh when the transmission is cold, but that's just the nature of older torque converted automatics. You'll notice that once things are up to operating temp it's a lot smoother.


Fwiw transmission mount if super easy to replace - but engine mounts are quite a bit more involved. I replaced mine at 130k miles I think and honestly it did make a huge difference. Well, not huge, it's subtle, but it's something that's so simple that could be holding back from an absolutely perfect ride. I'm really glad I did mine (especially since they were completely shot & cracked lol).

Sherl

No mounts are fine in mine. I replaced mine a while back. I guess I am doing just the fluids and filter now then.

400fanboy

o I just checked my manual for my 98' and it never says to replace the transmission fluid under normal circumstances. It says to replace them every 7500 miles if under "heavy duty load" aka frequent trips under 5 miles in cold conditions, or continual idling\stop\start driving. Or, probably, if you drive the car pretty hard with a heavy foot.

I personally just use a "Best guess" on the interval of what's needed and I also use a spreadsheet to keep track of these things so that I'm not digging through old receipts to find out "wait when did this get last serviced?"



Considering how expensive it is to rebuild a transmission, and how cheap fluid changes are it's worth it to me. Side note: I only drove about 30k miles since I've owned the car, but when I did the transmission fluid change last year there was a huge improvement in shift quality. The transmission felt a lot more confident and it didn't bang gears. Considering the fluid came out a bit... burnt I probably should have changed it far sooner. I'm going to be doing another drain\fill earlier than needed this year since it only replaces a portion of the fluid that's actually in the transmission.