I'll be putting this on my 2004 Toyota Sequoia soon. I understand that the OEM transmission filter is of the screen variety, so it's not doing a lot of filtering.
So, any helpful hints, tips, or tricks before the install? What about replacement filters? I'm going to do this simultaneous with changing the ATF, so I figure I'll change the filter that came with it in a few hundred miles to catch anything knocked loose by the fresh ATF.
That is actually a cool thing to do. I don't know why I never thought of doing that.
If you haven't already, stick an external cooler on there, while you have stuff un-plumbed.
WildScotsRacing wrote: If you haven't already, stick an external cooler on there, while you have stuff un-plumbed.
It actually shipped from the factory with a separate external oil cooler. In addition to the oil cooler the ATF runs through the engine radiator before going back to the transmission.
After I install the external filter it should go: transmission->external oil cooler->engine radiator->external filter->transmission
Having seen one pop off before and rust proof the car at 70mph, double clamp everything and/or use the "fuel injection" style clamps.
Hmmm why did I not think of adding one of these? Following along.
dean1484 wrote: That is actually a cool thing to do. I don't know why I never thought of doing that.
Thanks, it took me a while to come to this conclusion, but I think it's the best option.
BrokenYugo wrote: Having seen one pop off before and rust proof the car at 70mph, double clamp everything and/or use the "fuel injection" style clamps.
That's a good idea. Can I just pick them up at Advance/Auto Zone/etc?
In reply to ShadowSix:
Yeah I think most carry them. You know, these.
What don't any manufacturers besides Saturn just build them into the trans from the beginning?
In reply to BrokenYugo:
Oh. Those. Yeah, I'm all over that, thanks again!
I've had a Derale filter kit for a long time, and a Flex-a-Lite cooler for even longer on my Volvo 850. The AW50-42 in the 850 doesn't have a serviceable filter, I had done a series of drain-and-fill "flushes" with some expensive transmission fluid, so I decided to add some extra filtration for peace of mind.
There was some debate about flow restriction on one of the forums some time ago, so I made this video.
I put one in my car, here's a pic with the motor out, added fins to it to get a bit more cooling also, I've since replaced the hoses and use the FI clamps.
I ran a regular Mr Gasket remote oil filter for the 727 in my Dodge for years. The only concern was finding the right filter, full pressure rated without a check flap. That particular base is configured with two input and two output ports, and with a couple of fittings I was able to hook up a temp gage to one of the ports.
In reply to oldopelguy:
Yeah, this company makes a kit with a temp gauge, but the Sequoia has one built-in that can be accessed via the OBD2 port, so I passed on it.
I'm also concerned about picking the right filter. The kit comes with a short list of filters that interchange with the filter they use, but no commentary on what is an appropriate filter for this application.
I notice some different filter placements... I'll have to pop the hood and think about that.
I'd guess you just need a run of the mill hydraulic filter with the right base on it. Bypass wouldn't be an awful idea, but I don't think you really need it.
Wix has a good tool for this sort of thing. http://www.wixfilters.com/Lookup/filterlookup.aspx?
I will add a counterpoint. Not poo-poo ing the idea, just counterpoint.
I was going to do this back when I ran tranny repair shops and had access to all the lifts, fittings, spare parts, etc. My builder told me not to. I was even going to add a bypass and a temp sender. I was afraid of restriction so I was going to do the double filter mount and put one high-flow filter on along with a super filtering slow-flow. The high-flow would prevent restriction, but the low-flow would eventually cycle all of the fluid through and keep it super clean.
My builder's basic argument was that it added complexity and too many failure points for next to zero benefit. In his (very extensive) experience, the little tiny particulates in the fluid don't cause the failures. Its the breakdown of the additives and burning of the fluid. I countered that the little particles are potentially damaging to the pump, servos, and pistons, but he contended that (since clutches are made of paper) they don't damage. He said that the only time he's ever found damage to a pump is when he found evidence of metal being circulated.
I'm not saying yes or no, but he had 24 years of build experience with every box on the planet. He could even do Jatcos and Mercedes spot on. According to him (I'm paraphrasing) "its adding 10 lbs of problem to get 10 ounces of cure."
And in many ways, I can't argue with him. There are many ways we can improve things that the manufacturers left on the table, but its hard to argue with Toyota's $50M R&D budget. Just not sure that lack of filtration is the issue.
Again, I'm not saying it, my former builder is saying it. Counterpoint.
But I'd probably do it anyway 
In reply to curtis73:
Simpler point, when you do a pan drop on a healthy trans with nice looking fluid there's still a layer of very fine metallic sludge settled on the bottom of the pan you have to wipe out, the additive package in ATF isn't conducive to carrying particulate matter around. Hell, even with an oil that carries stuff around, VW did't run oil filters on the Type 1 engines until the 1993 MY and they'd still go 100k+ miles between rebuilds.
That said, a filter probably won't hurt, unless as we both mentioned, it loses a hose at speed or something to that effect.
Yup. As far as I'm concerned, a good magnet in the pan will do just as well. The only particulates the fluid is good at suspending is the burnt clutch material which doesn't really harm anything (and is likely too small to be removed by a filter) and the metal will stay on the magnet.
I just tend to follow the engineer's KISS code. And the IIABDTTFI code.
I'm going to offer a counter, counterpoint to Curtis. First I need to point out that Curtis has volumes more experience in this subject than I do, and my experience is probably an oranges to grapefruits comparison.
Nearly all the forklifts that I work on have large spin on trans oil filters. They do somewhat regularly suffer from clogged filters. The newest models have several trans system pressure sensors built in, and I can access the live data and see when changing the filter makes a tangible difference. Sometimes the filter doesn't solve the problem and I have to pull out the suction screen and soak it in solvent to get all the crud off of it. When that doesn't work, it's time for a rebuild.
These are automatic transmissions with torque converters, clutch packs and valve bodies, some also have governors and more than one gear-set. Some run UTF, some ATF. They are more like scaled down heavy equipment transmissions than automotive units, but I promise that an automotive trans tech would recognize what they were looking at if it was on thier bench.
Going back the OP's filter in the cooler line, assuming that you were starting with a clean filter in the pan, would this filter in the cooler line pick up all, or at least the majority of the crud that would eventually land in the trans sump? If so, I don't see a down side. If not, I don't see the point.
I can see where this is a great idea and I can see it can be bad. The good is the extra volume and filtration, the bad being more places to leak.
It's a shame that auto transmissions don't come with a removable filter like the engines do. I would gladly add another quart every 10,000 miles if I could replace the filter in 5 minutes
Just a little explanation. I'm installing this filter because I am going to do a full replacement of the ATF, and I don't know how long it's been in there. Since the transmissions built-in "filter" is just a metal screen, and the current ATF if of unknown vintage, I want to filter out anything that comes loose with the fresh cleaning additives of the new ATF.
In reply to iadr:
Can you explain what you mean by "risk of routine drainback"?
In reply to ShadowSix:
Due to line routing and internal pressures, on shutdown or when sitting, fluid can flow/siphon backwards through the filtration system. This pulls the debris off the filter surface and back into the fluid/lines/pan, which kind of defeats the point of having a filter.
In reply to gearheadE30:
Thanks! Here are the instruction (downloads a .pdf).
Do you think I'll have an issue installing as directed? Should I try to make the filter low in the system? Is the anti-drainback valve in the filter going to help with this?
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