100 Series V8 Land Cruiser - automatic transmission service

fluid should be changed at some point as heat kills it.

I had a v8 falcon that also had a sealed for life transmission. I still think that at 180,oooklms the auto should have a full flush if you intend to keep the vehicle. Especially if towing. It certainly cant hurt!!

You are kidding?
I have always serviced my auto every 20,000km.

Talk to a service centre about it.

Ignore the incredulous looks and the rubbing of the hands together!

bill

Gadget
At 180k I certainly would be carrying out some sort of service, if only a full oil change (including the torque convertor). A minimum of 12 litres is required for that change, and much more if the old oil is in poor condition.
I would also suggest that you have an additional oil cooler fitted at the same time.
It is heat that kills both oil and transmissions, and damaged oil kills transmissions.
Sealed for life means just that, sealed until the transmission dies, not the life of the vehicle. Good oil will delay that death.

Hope this helps. Regards
Athol

If you look a little closer at the service schedule you'll see that under "adverse conditions" which include highway driving, stop start driving, towing etc there is a different schedule and it covers the trans also.

Moves by manufacturers to "sealed-for-life" components are nothing new - they're an attempt to reduce maintenance costs, and give them bragging rights in sales talk.

The idea does have some merit - contamination during oil changes and filter replacements and faulty re-assembly, is a known cause of component troubles.

Diff oil is usually never changed - although I like to change mine after many years and usually, a couple of hundred thousand kms.

However, with automatic transmission oils, a colour change to deep brown (best tested with oil dropped on some paper towel) - or a burnt smell from the oil, is a good indicator that an oil change would be of benefit in prolonging transmission life.

However, the oil colour change test only applies to vehicles using Dexron-type transmission fluids.
If you are running a Ford using Mercon automatic transmission oil, then the colour change is not a valid test, as Mercon is already a deep brown colour to start with.

Cheers, Ron.

Mine's done 400,000 kms without a change. Perhaps I should schedule one.

I have a 2003 V8 cruiser, and just recently had the trans serviced at 200,000Ks. Nothing wrong with the trans, but wanting to do some towing now into remote places around WA, so need to ensure it keeps on going