Repair Manuals / Oil Filters / Online store questions ('95)

[Heat]

Hi, I was just given a ’95 Camry, about 150,000 miles, 4-cylinder, automatic transmission, in good working condition. It was my mom’s, she just bought a new car and rather than take a beating on the trade-in she just gave it to me. My main car is a ’99 Honda Accord LX, my current commuter is a ’93 Volvo 940 turbo station wagon – I’ll probably be selling the Volvo sometime this summer. I’ve done most of the maintenance / repairs on both of them and will be doing the same on the Camry.

Had a few questions:

1. What repair manuals are out there? The online manual is nice but I want to pick up a hard copy of something. Before buying a Haynes manual I was wondering if there was something like the Honda Accord’s Helms manual (a very comprehensive repair manual for about $80).

2. Oil filters – in another thread somebody had recommended NAPA Gold (rebranded Wix) or Purolator Pure One. I’m seeing the NAPA Gold filter runs $6.69 before tax (per the website), where are Purolator Pure One’s sold and more importantly, how much do they cost? And is there anything wrong with a Toyota brand oil filter, from the dealer? Those are priced at $4.95 ($4.75 in bulk).

Speaking of oil filters, at the website http://www.toyotaparts4u.com/ they list a “TRD” oil filter for $14. What does “TRD” stand for? (Toyota something something) What is special about the $14 oil filter?

I’ll be using Castrol GTX, which viscosity is recommended?

3. Online stores – a good online store is worth it’s proverbial weight in gold. What are some good online stores to buy parts and aftermarket parts for a ‘95?

I see http://www.toyotaparts4u.com/ but their selection for a ’95 is pretty limited, are there other good stores?

Thanks!

[DAMON]

There should be a sticky in the general section with a repair manual for your car. I had a haynes for my gen 3 and it helped me with everything I ever needed to do to the car.

I prefer to use toyota oil filters in my car, I think those would be your best bet and you can get good deals on them online if you buy them in cases of 6. TRD stands for toyota racing development, so that would be an upgraded filter, probably with better filtration, but it is hard to say. You should run 5w-30 or 10w-30 depending on the climate where you live.

As for online stores, there really isnt much camry specific since there arent many parts to have. Read all of the stickies in both the gen 3&4 forum as well as the general camry forum, use the search feature as much as possible, and enjoy your new ride

Damon