Toyota ATF the best?

[importcar]

Is Toyota ATF specially formulated for our cars? Or can I use any other Dexron III ATF? I will be doing a drain and fill for the tranny and differential but I'd like to know if I can use something else besides the red yota atf.

[Yuko]

On my 2001 Camry, I used Valvoline Dex/Merc ATF and Maxlife in the diff, feels the same which a good thing. Some say the Type-IV is backward compatible but I wouldn't mess with it. The only time I used Type-IV are for newer transmissions that requires it.

I went ahead and drop the pan to change the strainer, it's about $10 for strainer and gasket at Napa. These two DIY below helped me a lot.

DIY: 1996 Camry Transmission Fluid & Strainer Replacement by dz63
DIY: 5S-FE Transmission Fluid & Strainer Replacement Procedure
DIY : Differental Fluid Change by Maim Menu
DIY : Differental Fluid Change

[deadrx7conv]

Toyota ATF is not the best. It might be the opposite as typically, the order goes to the lowest bid from whatever company's product meets the required bid spec.

I always use full synthetic. Since Dex/Merc is not a licensed spec anymore, a great upgrade for those that can't budget Amsoil, Redline, Mobil1, or Royalpurple... is ANY Mercon-V.

[fenixus]

another good one is between Mercon-V and synthetic ATF is a Castrol Import Multi Vehicle ATF (synthetic blend), it's around $4ish per 1qt. Better than both Dexron-III and Mercon-V, still at less price than what you pay for any synthetic ATF out there.

I'd love to have Royal Purple ATF, but their price of $13/qt kind of repels me

[Zembonez]

Toyota ATF is the best if you are a dealer making profit off of it. Otherwise... buy a good name brand and be happy.

[importcar]

Since a drain and refill replaces only 50% fluid in the tranny, is it safe to mix other brands with the yota fluid?

btw, are all ATF red?

[deadrx7conv]

Yes, its safe to mix.

[TedL]

Originally Posted by fenixus

I'd love to have Royal Purple ATF, but their price of $13/qt kind of repels me

If you're that interested, I'm pretty sure I saw it for under $9 at Pep Boys the other day.

While mixing is Ok, why not flush to get a complete change? It'll take 12-15 qts.

Since my three family Toys list Dexron as an alternative, I've upgraded to Dex VI in all of them. Excellent performance, especially shifts.

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by TedL

If you're that interested, I'm pretty sure I saw it for under $9 at Pep Boys the other day.

While mixing is Ok, why not flush to get a complete change? It'll take 12-15 qts.

Since my three family Toys list Dexron as an alternative, I've upgraded to Dex VI in all of them. Excellent performance, especially shifts.

yeah, flushing with like 12qts should make it almost all new fluid in tranny.

in my 4cyl Solara I flushed the tranny after dropping pan and changing strainer. Used Castrol Import MV ATF, but used only like 3qts for flushing after transmission and differential refill hehe, so ended up probably with like 75% new fluid (I hope).

Now thinking what to do with 1mz-fe, because I haven't flushed it yet, only drained, refilled 2 times (Castrol IMV ATF) and dropped pan for cleaning and changing strainer last time.
the cooler line is hard to access (and hose is stuck) ... so I may need to remove the rad fan to get better access for hose removal... will definitely be flushing it with something, but I think I will stick to cheaper synthetic blend (Castrol) than full synthetic ATF products ... it gets a tad expensive when using 8-10qts, not even mentioning it should be done with like 12-15qts ...

$9/qt doesn't sound too terrible, will check my local Pep Boys for this deal, IIRC Advace Auto had it at $13/qt

on the other hand RP motor oil is cheapest around here in Advance AUto at $8.50 while NAPA has it for like $10/qt (PB had it for like $9ish/qt)...

[Hajoca]

Most brand named DEX III compatible/approved/meets specification will be good.

Mobil 3309 is the Toyota T IV exclusive, so unless the owner's manual or dip stick says Type T IV, I would just use a Multi vehicle or DEX III / Mercon V fluid.

I personally have been using Valvoline Dex III/Mercon in my two Camrys because it is the lowest cost, but not store brand fluid. Previously I used Petro-Can because it was conveniently supplied to my job site.

Fenixus- remove hose from transmission.

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by Hajoca

Fenixus- remove hose from transmission.

that's what i tried doing, bt this bastard is stuck on the steel pipe
need to play around with it and get it loosened somehow. hard to twist it around with little clearance for my first down there.

[JohnGD]

All Dexron type ATFs are red as specified by GM. Some ATFs are clear/amber.

Your 01 Camry is the last year with the Aisin A140 series transmission. Which is more reliable than the newer U-series clunkers out there. This transmission will work fine with dino Dexron like the Walmart SuperTech for about $11/gallon (this was like $9 months ago). Better fluids, like others said, are Mercon-V (SuperTech for example), Castrol IMV, Mobil-1, etc. When getting Mercon-V, make sure you get the new formulation that's suitable for D-II/III and not some old bottle on the shelf. But just about all multi-vehicle ATFs these days are D-II/III compatible.

Your 05 Sienna has the U151E (FWD) or U151F (AWD) Aisin "clunker" as I call them. This should take the T-IV (Mobil 3309) dino ATF. The Toyota T-IV is considered an inferior fluid that turns brown in as little as ~20K miles according to BITOG discussions. Castrol IMV, Valvoline MaxLife, Mobil-1 or other fluids suitable for T-IV should all be better.

I however would not use Dexron VI in these transmissions. The D-VI is a very thin fluid and had some problems with older GM Hydramatics that were better off on thicker D-II/IIIs. So I'd use D-VI only in the new (and excellent) Hydramatic transmissions designed for it.

Originally Posted by importcar

Since a drain and refill replaces only 50% fluid in the tranny, is it safe to mix other brands with the yota fluid?

btw, are all ATF red?

[JohnGD]

BTW the U series should be using felt type filters. These should be replaced 15-30K miles as they can plug up with time.

The A series use a strainer without real "filtering" function.

[importcar]

I bought 4 qts of SuperTech High Mileage ATF because my Camry has 160K miles. Does that make a difference or would I be better off getting Mercon V or regular Dex III ATF?

I thought Toyota ATF was specially formulated because it stays red for thousands of miles. My last drain and refill was at 123K and the fluid is still red.

[JohnGD]

High Mileage ATFs usually have a slightly thicker viscosity for better wear protection, some seal conditioners and maybe more cleaner. So that should be fine. Many here use Valvoline MaxLife ATF. I personally don't go the High Mileage route unless there are some minor problems I try to solve.

The most important thing is to make sure the label says suitable for your specific application.

The price of dino ATF is not that much cheaper than SuperTech Mercon-V. But Mercon-V can stand the heat better and is more shear stable. This ATF is certified by Ford to the new tightened standard, so Mercon-V certified fluids are quite consistent across brands. It's also a good fluid for the PS system.

Originally Posted by importcar

I bought 4 qts of SuperTech High Mileage ATF because my Camry has 160K miles. Does that make a difference or would I be better off getting Mercon V or regular Dex III ATF?

I thought Toyota ATF was specially formulated because it stays red for thousands of miles. My last drain and refill was at 123K and the fluid is still red.