94 camry v6 transmission drain and refill question

[bronzemaxell]

i was trying to drain and refill my 94 V6 ATF, drained out about 3.6 qt, but when i refill through filler tube, took about 3 qt, then the dipstick is already 1/2" above hot mark, i did all the P R N D 2 L for 10 minutes, and check while the vehicle is running idle.

the manual, page AX2-68 said when refilling through filler tube, use the cool mark as reference.
total ATF fluid is 7.1 qt
drain and refill is 3.7 qt,
differential is 0.9 qt

should i refill 0.7 more, but it is already more than full
is differential share with ATF? i did see a drain plug, and refill plug for differential.
when i drain ATF, does it also drain differential?

[96ToyoCam164K]

You were shifting from Park to Low for 10 minutes? Sounds a bit extreme.

I think what you actually have to do is drive it around for a few miles, the highway is even better...and then check it in park on a level surface when its hot.

I did what you're doing earlier this month. I have a 96 2.2., so not sure how different they are...but mine were separate.

Another thing, look at your dipstick. There should be engraving reading 'check and fill differential fluid thru fill hole". So many people miss that, I did too.

[bronzemaxell]

Originally Posted by 96ToyoCam164K

You were shifting from Park to Low for 10 minutes? Sounds a bit extreme.

I think what you actually have to do is drive it around for a few miles, the highway is even better...and then check it in park on a level surface when its hot.

I did what you're doing earlier this month. I have a 96 2.2., so not sure how different they are...but mine were separate.

Another thing, look at your dipstick. There should be engraving reading 'check and fill differential fluid thru fill hole". So many people miss that, I did too.

i was stepping on brake, shifting from P to R for 10 to 15 seconds, then to N for another 10 to 15 seconds, then to D, 2, L, and repeat the process for a total duration of 10 minutes

i did noticed the dipstick, and it said check differential through refill plug, not filler tube, that is why i want to confirm to see if my V6 has a separate differential fluid.

[toyomoho]

If the dipstick states to check the diff fluid via the refill plug then use that method. The fluid should be level with the filler hole opening. Sometimes it is a little higher and some start to drain out but this is OK, just put the plug back in.

If you are going to drain and refill the diff make sure you can loosen both plugs, filler and drain before draining the diff fluid. More then one person after draining the diff has found out the filler plug is frozen in place.

Fill the trans to the cold fluid line on the dipstick. Then recheck when fluid is hot. Move the gear selector from Park to Low and back, check fluid with engine running and trans in Park.

Some V6 trans did not have a separate diff filler. On these trans there is a drain plug on the diff housing but no fill plug, just a boss where it would have been machined into the trans.

[bronzemaxell]

Originally Posted by toyomoho

If the dipstick states to check the diff fluid via the refill plug then use that method. The fluid should be level with the filler hole opening. Sometimes it is a little higher and some start to drain out but this is OK, just put the plug back in.

If you are going to drain and refill the diff make sure you can loosen both plugs, filler and drain before draining the diff fluid. More then one person after draining the diff has found out the filler plug is frozen in place.

Fill the trans to the cold fluid line on the dipstick. Then recheck when fluid is hot. Move the gear selector from Park to Low and back, check fluid with engine running and trans in Park.

Some V6 trans did not have a separate diff filler. On these trans there is a drain plug on the diff housing but no fill plug, just a boss where it would have been machined into the trans.

i don't knwo if i did it correctly
i noticed my 94 V6 1MZ-FE transmission has atf drain plug, differential drain plug, filler tube for ATF, and filler plug for differential.
i jacked up the car and removed the differential drain plug, atf came out,
then i also removed the atf drain plug, more ATF come out, roughly about 3.7 qt to 4 qt total.
then i put the ATF drain-plug back, leaving the differential drain plug open, and start refilling ATF through ATF refiller tube, to my suprise, after refill about 2 qt of ATF, the new ATF starts pouring out from the differential plug. this further confirm my V6 transmission ATF and differential indeed shares fluid.

normally, with the vehicle level on ground, topping off filler differential plug until it overflow is the correct level for differential, i know the dipstick said check differential through filler plug but it is kinda confuse if i should use dipstick or filler plug for differential.

but anyway, i did not even bother to undo the differential filler bolt and mess with pumping atf in there, i just refill about 3.5 qt of ATF through atf filler tube, and went for test drive, every gear seems shifting ok.

the factory service manual never mention 94 v6 transmission share ATF and differential.
and it even said the differential uses 0.9 qt while the atf uses 3.7 qt on drain/refill.