Originally Posted By: Wilhelm_D
All of the major additive manufacturers have developed a "universal" package for highly friction modified ATFs, and so increasingly the ATF folks are skipping the certification to OEM specs and simply listing all the fluids that their product can replace.
I personally have used the Mobil 1 and Red Line D4 and if there is any issue with either I have not found it. The only difference between the pre-change and post-change is very slightly better performance at extremely low temperatures, which is just what you would expect when you lower the cold weather viscosity by replacing an OEM fluid with a synthetic.
Interesting. Thanks.
Being in Arizona, I don't think the performance at extremely low temperatures will ever be a problem.
I'll keep the Mobil stuff on the list.
Originally Posted By: 38sho
man you need to use some common sense and think for yourself
Indeed.
Common sense would seem to suggest to me that a good place to start when considering maintenance intervals for a specific vehicle is the vehicle's owners/service manual, followed by the manufacturer's website, followed by a third-party service manual. All but the Haynes manual say it's a lifetime fill and make no mention of ever changing the inline filter. The Haynes manual says do a drain-and-fill every 60,000 miles. There's no mention of flushing at 30,000 intervals.
I'm certainly willing to get alternative suggestions (which is why I'm here!), but I like having some facts to back up a suggestion that is so significantly different from what is in the manufacturer's various manuals -- again, one of the reasons I'm going to send a sample for a UOA at 60,000 miles.
Think of it like oil changes: many manufacturers recommend OCIs in the 5,000-7,5000 mile range with modern oils and engines, yet there's not a small number of people who insist on changing every 3,000 miles. Will changing the oil more frequently cause damage or any other problem? Certainly not. However, it's unnecessary, wasteful, and the cost adds up. Same sort of thing here -- Toyota says "lifetime under normal driving" while Haynes says "fluid change every 60,000 miles" vs. "fluid change ever 30,000 miles" and "full transmission flush every 30,000 miles". While I doubt the latter would be harmful in any way, I'm not exactly convinced that it's necessary.
Quote:
I would change this fluid and filter as often as its cost effective for you. This is still transmission fluid, its still a transmission that works like 90% of them on the road, I would personally be doing mine every 30,000 miles. My family runs a transmission shop, and I worked there for a few years, you would be suprised whats inside those pans at those mileage intervals and how dirty the fluid can get on T-IV cars.... i've seen them BLACK at 40k on numerous different types of Toyotas
Fair enough. As I've mentioned above, the fluid is still just as red as the brand-new T-IV in my fiancee's RAV4. It smells exactly the same as the new fluid, and there's no other indicator (short of a UOA, which I mentioned I'd do when I change some of the fluid at 60,000 miles) that the fluid is stressed, worn, or otherwise indicative of any problem. If it was black, I'd definitely take it into a shop (perhaps one like your family's shop, as I prefer small, independent shops) to have it checked out, as it definitely shouldn't have been doing that. Fortunately, my transmission doesn't seem to be too mean to the fluid.
I called the second dealer here in Tucson and they sell the T-IV for about $5/qt, which is not an unreasonable price and compares favorably to the SuperTech Dexron-VI/T-IV fluid in terms of price. I may use that when I change the fluid, as it's exactly what's called for and reasonably priced.
Thanks to all who responded! In the future, I now have a short list of alternatives to "genuine" T-IV if the need arises.
All of the major additive manufacturers have developed a "universal" package for highly friction modified ATFs, and so increasingly the ATF folks are skipping the certification to OEM specs and simply listing all the fluids that their product can replace.
I personally have used the Mobil 1 and Red Line D4 and if there is any issue with either I have not found it. The only difference between the pre-change and post-change is very slightly better performance at extremely low temperatures, which is just what you would expect when you lower the cold weather viscosity by replacing an OEM fluid with a synthetic.
Interesting. Thanks.
Being in Arizona, I don't think the performance at extremely low temperatures will ever be a problem.
I'll keep the Mobil stuff on the list.
Originally Posted By: 38sho
man you need to use some common sense and think for yourself
Indeed.
Common sense would seem to suggest to me that a good place to start when considering maintenance intervals for a specific vehicle is the vehicle's owners/service manual, followed by the manufacturer's website, followed by a third-party service manual. All but the Haynes manual say it's a lifetime fill and make no mention of ever changing the inline filter. The Haynes manual says do a drain-and-fill every 60,000 miles. There's no mention of flushing at 30,000 intervals.
I'm certainly willing to get alternative suggestions (which is why I'm here!), but I like having some facts to back up a suggestion that is so significantly different from what is in the manufacturer's various manuals -- again, one of the reasons I'm going to send a sample for a UOA at 60,000 miles.
Think of it like oil changes: many manufacturers recommend OCIs in the 5,000-7,5000 mile range with modern oils and engines, yet there's not a small number of people who insist on changing every 3,000 miles. Will changing the oil more frequently cause damage or any other problem? Certainly not. However, it's unnecessary, wasteful, and the cost adds up. Same sort of thing here -- Toyota says "lifetime under normal driving" while Haynes says "fluid change every 60,000 miles" vs. "fluid change ever 30,000 miles" and "full transmission flush every 30,000 miles". While I doubt the latter would be harmful in any way, I'm not exactly convinced that it's necessary.
Quote:
I would change this fluid and filter as often as its cost effective for you. This is still transmission fluid, its still a transmission that works like 90% of them on the road, I would personally be doing mine every 30,000 miles. My family runs a transmission shop, and I worked there for a few years, you would be suprised whats inside those pans at those mileage intervals and how dirty the fluid can get on T-IV cars.... i've seen them BLACK at 40k on numerous different types of Toyotas
Fair enough. As I've mentioned above, the fluid is still just as red as the brand-new T-IV in my fiancee's RAV4. It smells exactly the same as the new fluid, and there's no other indicator (short of a UOA, which I mentioned I'd do when I change some of the fluid at 60,000 miles) that the fluid is stressed, worn, or otherwise indicative of any problem. If it was black, I'd definitely take it into a shop (perhaps one like your family's shop, as I prefer small, independent shops) to have it checked out, as it definitely shouldn't have been doing that. Fortunately, my transmission doesn't seem to be too mean to the fluid.
I called the second dealer here in Tucson and they sell the T-IV for about $5/qt, which is not an unreasonable price and compares favorably to the SuperTech Dexron-VI/T-IV fluid in terms of price. I may use that when I change the fluid, as it's exactly what's called for and reasonably priced.
Thanks to all who responded! In the future, I now have a short list of alternatives to "genuine" T-IV if the need arises.
