First ATF change at 125000 miles? 96 camry

[redoo2000]

should i drain and fill or flush or do nothing? the ATF fluid is brown but doesnt smell. i bought this car a 1996 camry a year ago with 110000 miles on it. i had timing belt changed and all oil leaks fixed, and just put a new radiator in. the tranny drives great. im very good with maintaining my cars, im just not sure what i should do, i dont want to mess the tranny up..
ANY SUGGESTION APPRECIATED.... thank you

[JohnGD]

There is always the talk about how new ATF's new detergent is going to clean the varnish off and plug the valve passages. And the clutch packs may slip more with new, fresh fluid.

I dont' know. I would think new fluid (such as Walmart's SuperTech Dexron II/III compatible fluid) should work.

I would drop the pan to clean off the metal sludge, clean the magnets, and install a new strainer. A plugged strainer can have the same effect has low fluid and low line pressure. This will cause accelerated wear of the clutch packs.

*Personally*, I'll drop the pan, wipe it clean, install a new strainer, and put dino ATF in there. Cleanliness and fluid level accuracy are important. No Dexron VI or synthetics yet, we are just having a Mobil-1/Mobil-3309 (T-IV) discussion on that.

Originally Posted by redoo2000

should i drain and fill or flush or do nothing? the ATF fluid is brown but doesnt smell. i bought this car a 1996 camry a year ago with 110000 miles on it. i had timing belt changed and all oil leaks fixed, and just put a new radiator in. the tranny drives great. im very good with maintaining my cars, im just not sure what i should do, i dont want to mess the tranny up..
ANY SUGGESTION APPRECIATED.... thank you

[arlo]

I agree with John here. I just drain/refilled my 1997's after 150k miles. I measured the amount drained and refilled with Castrol High milage ATF fluid (I always have trouble reading the ATF dipstick).

[islandboy57]

If you do a search, many people come here asking the same question. Personally - I think new fluid is always the better solution, so I'd do several drain/refills spaced out a week or two apart. I can definitely feel a difference when my trans has new fluid.

Keep in mind that there is a crush gasket for the drain bolt, so pick up one of those from the dealer. I like that Toyota uses the same crush gaskets for a lot of their cars - I can use the same crush gasket for the oil drain bolt for my mom's '95 Camry, my friend's '99 Corolla, an uncle's '06 Corolla, along with my own '05 Camry.

[arlo]

Hmm my drain bolt didn't have a crush gasket on it. I replaced the bolt with no gasket and it hasn't leaked yet (...3 weeks).

[carsrus]

I say drop the pan, clean it up and install and new strainer and gasket. Refill it with some high mileage dex3
( i personally use Valvoline). Drive around with that for 3-5000 miles and then drain it and continue to drain and refill it when you change the oil. It only takes 5 more min and 2 quarts of fluid.

[flyeri]

I had basically the same situation, brown with no burnt smell. It did shift firmer than I thought it should and at 110k I could not tell if the fluid had ever been changed. I drained, removed pan, changed screen, and then refilled. I ran it for 10 min on the rack moving the gear selector through all gears P-L. I then drained and refilled. It looked better but still dark in color. I drained and refilled about 2-3 more times over the next month or so. Now it looks red and transluscent. It shifted smooth as soon as I drove it off the rack.

[JohnGD]

You can get a Fram ATF kit that has a strainer and cork-rubber gasket for about $12-15. When you replace the magnets make sure they don't block the strainer pick-up port. So remember the original positions.

[dz63]

If you only drain and re-fill the transmission, the existing dirty fluid in the cooler and torque converter will quickly contaminate the new fluid that you just added. I know this from personal experience. You can continue to drain and refill as some have suggested above, but it only takes about 15-20 minutes longer and an extra 6-8 liters of clean transmission fluid to get all of the old fluid out in one shot. Simply remove one of the transmission cooler lines and pour new fluid down the dipstick hole while you run the engine. It is a much better method in my opinion. Refer to Steps 15-17 in the link below.

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

Note that on the '96 4 cylinder Camry, the differential fluid is separate from the transmission fluid. You should also consider a drain and refill of the differential at the same time. Refer to the link below for instructions

DIY : Differental Fluid Change

[masteryota1]

dont mean to hijack a thread, but wanted to try to get some answers, i wanted to try to do a drain and refill myself, i had one done at dealership a year ago, and didnt take too long. I was suppose to do one myself a few months ago, but never happened, Since i recently changed my oil myself i was gonna be brave and try to do the transmission fluid.

I had to call pep boys just to see if i can get pricing for Timing belt change. (whew their prices sucks hard $785 including oil pump change also, i think my quote 2 years ago from dealer was less than that) so i also asked how much would it be on JUST A DRAIN and refill of transmission fluid. As usual they ask year make model, and which engine. Dude told me $99 and i was like "WHAT?" i said that must include dropping the pan and cleaning strainer etc. he said yes. I said i just wanted to drain old fluid out and add excact amount back in. He said he didnt know of any transmissions that had a drain plug. I said i was pretty sure it could be done, he said if it could be done, they would do it for just the price of the fluid.

Was i not asking the correct question or something, or did he not know what he was talking about? for some reason i feel even if there is a drain plug they would come up with some BS charge and not just do it for the price of the fluid. Unfortunately i already got like 5 quarts i didnt purchase from pep boys lol

[JohnGD]

For simple drain and refill:

1. Check and make sure the ATF level is between HOT lines, with the engine at operating temperature.

2. Measure drained ATF amount and add same amount of new ATF back.

3. Don't forget to drain the differential too. But open the fill plug first. You don't want to open the drain and find out you can't open the fill plug!

These might come in handy:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=35183
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...Itemnumber=744

Originally Posted by masteryota1

dont mean to hijack a thread, but wanted to try to get some answers, i wanted to try to do a drain and refill myself, i had one done at dealership a year ago, and didnt take too long. I was suppose to do one myself a few months ago, but never happened, Since i recently changed my oil myself i was gonna be brave and try to do the transmission fluid.

I had to call pep boys just to see if i can get pricing for Timing belt change. (whew their prices sucks hard $785 including oil pump change also, i think my quote 2 years ago from dealer was less than that) so i also asked how much would it be on JUST A DRAIN and refill of transmission fluid. As usual they ask year make model, and which engine. Dude told me $99 and i was like "WHAT?" i said that must include dropping the pan and cleaning strainer etc. he said yes. I said i just wanted to drain old fluid out and add excact amount back in. He said he didnt know of any transmissions that had a drain plug. I said i was pretty sure it could be done, he said if it could be done, they would do it for just the price of the fluid.

Was i not asking the correct question or something, or did he not know what he was talking about? for some reason i feel even if there is a drain plug they would come up with some BS charge and not just do it for the price of the fluid. Unfortunately i already got like 5 quarts i didnt purchase from pep boys lol

[MKB]

Originally Posted by dz63

If you only drain and re-fill the transmission, the existing dirty fluid in the cooler and torque converter will quickly contaminate the new fluid that you just added. I know this from personal experience. You can continue to drain and refill as some have suggested above, but it only takes about 15-20 minutes longer and an extra 6-8 liters of clean transmission fluid to get all of the old fluid out in one shot. Simply remove one of the transmission cooler lines and pour new fluid down the dipstick hole while you run the engine. It is a much better method in my opinion. Refer to Steps 15-17 in the link below.

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

Note that on the '96 4 cylinder Camry, the differential fluid is separate from the transmission fluid. You should also consider a drain and refill of the differential at the same time. Refer to the link below for instructions

DIY : Differental Fluid Change

On my 133K '95 Camry, after looking over the detailed service records it looked like the fluid had rarely if ever been changed. It was very dark brown but wasn't burnt. When drained it looked almost like mud. I drained and replaced the fluid, and the car drove fine for a week or so, but the fluid quickly became brown again (I believe from the old fluid contamination) and the shifting became a bit rougher.

So I followed the flush procedure linked above after lots of research (seems like such a procedure is recommended for many different cars). It went flawlessly, took less than 1/2 hour and 5 quarts of fluid, and now the fluid is clear red and the transmission shifts smooth as silk after several thousand miles. BIG improvement.

I changed the differential fluid at the same time, that was easy as well although messy.

Just wish it was easier to read the transmission fluid level. That dipstick is indeed a dipstick.

[Hajoca]

I have used T-IV or 3309 atf in several 98 thru 2003 toyotas I service for a few friends and family.

I use Dexron VI (6) in my 98 camry since 2006, I found it fine but then thought about the lower viscosity of the fluid, and drain/filled with Dex 3.

I still use Dex 6 in the steering system and diff if it is separate.

[islandboy57]

Originally Posted by masteryota1

dont mean to hijack a thread, but wanted to try to get some answers, i wanted to try to do a drain and refill myself, i had one done at dealership a year ago, and didnt take too long. I was suppose to do one myself a few months ago, but never happened, Since i recently changed my oil myself i was gonna be brave and try to do the transmission fluid.

If you can change your own oil, your ATF will be a piece of cake. The only thing is that there is a lot less leeway as far as under/over-filling. I did the drain-and-measure method the first time around but since then I just drain and refill at the spec'd capacity in my owner's manual. Actually, I underfill a bit and use the dipstick as a guide and add as necessary.

[redoo2000]

I changed my diff fluid with Mobil 1. The fluid came out black and there was metal on the drain plug magnet. I also dropped the tranny pan and replaced the filter. Fluid was also very dark. The magnets were dirty. I replaced the pan gasket and fill ed with 2.5 qts. Then i proceded to flush the tranny. It took around 9 qts. I used Mobil 1 for everything. The car has been running fine since i changed it.