1988 camry trans fluid help!! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

tom42nm · 05-31-2011, 05:43 PM

I have a 4 cyl 5 sp manual wagon.
Need to replace fluid in diff and tranny.
All I see on the car is a 23 mm drain plug on the diff (driver side not on bottom of diff but up on vertical side.
No drain on tranny.
One 17 mm (looks like fill plug) on front side of tranny about halfway up from bottom on driver side of bell housing.
Searched and searched for how to replace fluid, looked in haynes worthless manual, seen that diff and trans are seperate fill (maybe for auto not manual?)
Any help here?
Thanks Tom

white90dx · 05-31-2011, 07:40 PM

Separate drain/fill is only for the auto. The FWD manual uses a single drain bolt as a drain and a single bolt as a fill.

Use Dexron III ATF (yes, ATF for the 4-cylinder manual trans) and fill fill until fluid comes out the fill hole when the car is on level ground. As long as you can remove the fill and drain plugs (remove the fill first, just in case!), it is a very easy project.

-Charlie

tom42nm · 05-31-2011, 08:15 PM

So the 1988 camry 5 speed manual tranny has one fill hole one the front facing side of the tranny and one drain plug on the differential?
Makes sense,
Where can I get a decent service manual for the 88 camry wagon 4cyl 5 sp.?

Tom

tom42nm · 05-31-2011, 09:29 PM

1988 camry trans fluid help!! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car ...

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1988 camry trans fluid help!! 1st & 2nd Generation (1983–1986 ... Searched and searched for how to replace fluid, looked in haynes worthless manual, ...
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white90dx · 06-01-2011, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom42nm

Where can I get a decent service manual for the 88 camry wagon 4cyl 5 sp.?

Tom

The factory service manual is the only good one out there that I am aware of. You can buy the "BGB" version (big green book) or individual sections. They sometimes pop up on eBay for a decent price, or you can order them from Toyota...

-Charlie

Tatohead · 06-01-2011, 12:02 PM

I had a similar problem on my 5-speed. I accidently pulled the transaxle out (pesky passenger side) and lost all the ATF. Made a spectactular puddle.

When I eventually replaced the axle and seal, I went to fill the diff and trans back up with ATF. I tried and tried to budge the fill plug. I even used a breaker bar and felt that I might twist the head off of it. I gave up on the fill plug and improvised.

Now, I don't particularly recommend this, but......

Since I couldn't get access to the normal fill location, I pulled out the reverse switch below the starter. It leaves a threaded hole on top of the trans. I filled through this hole using a tall funnel. Because I wasn't able to check the level, I found the capacity of the trans from documentation in my Chilton manual and filled 1/2 quart less than this amount (assumed that some had remained in there somewhere....).

That was 15,000 miles ago. I suppose it's very possible that I over filled it or underfilled it. It seems to drive very nice and shift very nice. Hopefully lots more life left in it.

Good luck.