DIY: 5S-FE Transmission Fluid & Strainer Replacement Procedure

[FishyMan]

Originally Posted by fenixus

yes, the engine must be running and transmission must be hot and also you need to shift back and forth through all gears one by one for the reading to make any sense

good luck

I finally got to this! I had to torque the drain plug out. When I did, I saw the color difference and realized how slippery ATF was. haha.

I drained out about 2 quarts, although the manual suggested 2.5 qts. I'll run the car for a week and repeat this next weekend. By golly, the color difference is what really stuns me. haha.

Do you folks know how many times I should repeat this? Or what the actual capacity is for our cars? I figured 2-3x would be good?

I used Chevron DEX 3.

Thanks again.

[JohnGD]

How's the ATF level now? If you only check with the engine off then the fluid level will be way high, which means you will be low on ATF if you fill only to even the hot marks.

You should look into draining the differential as well. If you have an Advance Auto nearby you can use their ~40% off coupon to buy Mobil-1 ATF and use it. It comes out to about $5.65/qt.

Otherwise Walmart Supertech Mercon-V and Castrol Import Multi-Vehicles ATF are good alternatives to dino. But dino works fine too. SuperTech has a gallon for about $11.

[FishyMan]

Originally Posted by JohnGD

How's the ATF level now? If you only check with the engine off then the fluid level will be way high, which means you will be low on ATF if you fill only to even the hot marks.

You should look into draining the differential as well. If you have an Advance Auto nearby you can use their ~40% off coupon to buy Mobil-1 ATF and use it. It comes out to about $5.65/qt.

Otherwise Walmart Supertech Mercon-V and Castrol Import Multi-Vehicles ATF are good alternatives to dino. But dino works fine too. SuperTech has a gallon for about $11.

Oddly, I was able to get a good read of it, by leaving the car over the weekend. So this morning, I read it and it was within range. I'll probably do the same.

I wasn't able to find syn atf, so just went chevron atf for about $4 something. Picked up a bunch, grabbed the free funnels as well LOL. I've heard good things about it, but should be fine IMHO. I'll be doing this for our van as well!

I'll repeat this in about a week. I feel good doing this job, and accomplished. haha. I didn't even need to raise the car! Thanks to the crew here.

[fenixus]

it takes around 3-4 drain & refills to replace almost all of the ATF. the trans can hold anywhere between 9-12 qts total and even more in V6 version where the diff chamber is internally connected (up to 15qts total).

4cyl has a separate diff chamber so drain & refill it also, because there could be already some bad gritty mud in it which can actually slow down rotational speed of axles LOL no kidding, my 5s-fe car started accelerating faster after draining and refilling the differential

[Dodgertown]

Originally Posted by dz63

10. Install the new strainer. Ensure that the longer bolt goes in the correct position. Slide the cable under the clip on the strainer. The recommended torque for the strainer bolts is 96 in.lbs.

Originally Posted by dz63

13. Bolt the transmission pan to the transmission and evenly torque the bolts to 48 in.lbs. Note...this is INCH-pounds, not FOOT-pounds! Be careful not to over tighten the bolts, or it may squeeze the gasket out, causing a leak. 48 in.lbs is a very low torque. My ½” torque wrench did not go down this low, so I had to borrow a ¼” torque wrench to do this step. I recommend that check your torque wrench prior to tackling this job. Install the drain plug. Recommended torque for the drain plug is 36 ft.lbs.

Great write-up, thanks dz63!
I found some small difference between your and FSM's torque spec.
For the oil strainer bolts the torque is 84 in.lbs (7 ft.lbs)
For oil pan 43 in.lbs.

But thats barely any difference at all.

[dz63]

Originally Posted by Dodgertown

Great write-up, thanks dz63!
I found some small difference between your and FSM's torque spec.
For the oil strainer bolts the torque is 84 in.lbs (7 ft.lbs)
For oil pan 43 in.lbs.

Dodgertown - thanks for your kind words and input. The procedure has been updated to reflect the torque specifications that you have provided from the FSM. For some unknown reason, the FSM torque specs are slightly lower than those listed in my Haynes manual for both bolts. The FSM always takes precedence over Haynes.

[NapalmFTW]

I did this today thanks to the DIY/write up it was pretty easy.

I think I ended up torquing the pan to 48in.lbs and the strainer to 84in.lbs.

The previous owner or whoever did their maintanence had put too much ATF in last time from what I can gather. Every time I checked the fluid level with the dipstick it would be way high, no matter what I did. When I drained the pan I got well over 3qts. It nearly filled a 1gallon milk jug.

I've only put 2qts back in there right now - I suppose the extra .7 qt will make a difference so I'll do that tomorrow.

Didn't get chance to do the diff yet but that's for another time. I have found my fill plug but I'm going to soak it in PB Blaster for a few days before I attempt it.

[bronzemaxell]

i just changed my ATF on my 2002 camry 4cyl over the weekend by following the DIY procedure here,
my vehicle currently has 134,700 miles, i've drained and refilled 2 or 3 times over last 2 years, and when i check the fluid through dipstick, and wiped it on a piece of white napkin, it has a little gray and cherry red color.

1st i loose the drain plug on transmission pan, about 3.7 qt came out, then i tighten the drain plug, and fill back 3.7 qt through filler neck.
without starting the engine, i disconnect the atf cooler return hose, you can tell by trace the hose, it shoudl lead back in to lower part of the transmission, near the oil pan area.

i went to homedepot and bought a 7/16inch OD clear tube, and i reused my 3 quart deer park spring water bottle to collect the old ATF.
i got my brother as the helper, open 3 bottle of new ATF ready, as soon as i start the engine, pour the ATF through the filler neck using the funnel,
what i observed is the old atf pumping out from the transmission through the clear tube was pretty dark,
as soon as i poured 3 bottle of ATF type IV , my deer park spring bottle was almost full (3qt volume), so i shut off the engine, and get another empty deer park bottle and started engine again, poured another 3 qt of ATF in, now i was seeing red see-through on the clear tube.
my guess was i poured in almost the same amout it was pumpped out, after i reconnected the atf cooler return hose, i started the car and shifted through all gears, and check the atf level through dipstick, it was at the cool notch. went for a test drive, i instantly feel the car shift a lot smoother, infact, i can't feel the car has shifted in higher gear, what i saw was rpm dropped while shifted in higher gear.
i am very light footed, i don't floor the gas pedal lot , but after the atf change, i feel the car is very responsive, and it seems like the car is very easy to move, drove 20 miles highway, and check fluid again, it was at 1/4" above the hot notch.

before i changed the atf, the car ran fine, i was able to feel the gear shifting, and a little jerk. now after atf change, they are all gone, amazing result.
i went through 10 bottle of type IV, the service manual said the fluid capacity for U241E is 9.1 us qt.