3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
hello, i just got a 97 camary 4 cyl i love its smoothness ,i checked all the fluids all wre fine except the tranny fluid ,it was greyish colored. so took it to a garage they had to send out for toyota fluid, so they got it in i guess , after i got it home i checked it again it was still grey what gives, cant find answeres to color of dex 2 fluid color. thanks in advance
toyota ATF (dexron-III) fluid is crap. they use regular conventional (dino) fluid, not worth a broken dime.
anyways, as above it should be nice and red anyways, right after change.
if it's still discolored or dirty, then it's recommended to drop the pan, replace strainer and refill with a decent semi-synthetic or fully synthetic fluid which lasts much longer than rectified dinosaur's crap.
had same problem with discolored fluid on wife's 5s-fe car right after drain and refill. it turned out to be lots of mud in pan, dirty strainer and lots of crap floating around in system and killing all fluid additives in no time.
A140E transmission (used in pair with 5s-fe engine) is one of most dirty units I've seen, much dirtier than V6's A541E. change the fluid a few more times often, e.g. every week or so, change the strainer, it won't last long if you don't.
__________________ '02 Solara SLE V6 1MZ-FE/A541E Coupe .: Denso/NGK : Akebono SP : Philips 9011 HIR (low+high) : Toshiba HIR2 9012 (fogs) : Magnefine :. @ 131k
'00 Solara SE 5S-FE/A140E Coupe .: NGK : Hawk HPS : Philips XP : RCEng : Magnefine :. @ 82k
4SALE: connectors for Camry Headlight Wiring Harness and ECU
The color for all Dexron fluids is RED. Specifically ASTM D-1500 Color 7*.
I'd recommend Mobil-1, Castrol Import Multi-vehicle ATF, or Walmart SuperTech Mercon-V. All are suitable for Dexron II/III applications. All are better than plain dino fluids.
Dexron II has loooooong been superseded by Dexron IIIh. And when GM stopped licensing IIIh, the aftermarket has to call their ATFs "suitable for Dexron-III". However, I wouldn't use the thin Dexron-VI (6) meant for the new generation of Hydramatic clutch-to-clutch transmissions.
(*BTW, that's what Castrol IMV ATF spec sheet says )
If your ATF looks grey then it has clutch material floating around. These transmissions best get a drain/refill every 15K miles or less if it's a keeper. You can do 3 drains/refills yourself and the color should improve unless it's slipping. It's also best to drop the pan, clean the magnets and pan, and change out the strainer while at it. The strainer/gasket kit is about $20 at your NAPA and other parts stores.
Quote:
Originally Posted by long27
hello, i just got a 97 camary 4 cyl i love its smoothness ,i checked all the fluids all wre fine except the tranny fluid ,it was greyish colored. so took it to a garage they had to send out for toyota fluid, so they got it in i guess , after i got it home i checked it again it was still grey what gives, cant find answeres to color of dex 2 fluid color. thanks in advance
The color for all Dexron fluids is RED. Specifically ASTM D-1500 Color 7*.
I'd recommend Mobil-1, Castrol Import Multi-vehicle ATF, or Walmart SuperTech Mercon-V. All are suitable for Dexron II/III applications. All are better than plain dino fluids.
Dexron II has loooooong been superseded by Dexron IIIh. And when GM stopped licensing IIIh, the aftermarket has to call their ATFs "suitable for Dexron-III". However, I wouldn't use the thin Dexron-VI (6) meant for the new generation of Hydramatic clutch-to-clutch transmissions.
(*BTW, that's what Castrol IMV ATF spec sheet says )
If your ATF looks grey then it has clutch material floating around. These transmissions best get a drain/refill every 15K miles or less if it's a keeper. You can do 3 drains/refills yourself and the color should improve unless it's slipping. It's also best to drop the pan, clean the magnets and pan, and change out the strainer while at it. The strainer/gasket kit is about $20 at your NAPA and other parts stores.
thanks for the quick and helpful responses ,i decided after 12 years of none stop problems with the big 3 vehicles to go toyota, i love the way it drives has 138248mi on it and drives better than all the cars i had with half the miles on it hope to run it past 200,000 thanks again
My question was trying to figure if they just changed the volume in the pan, which would explain the same gray color, or if they flushed the entire system.
__________________
1995 Camry Wagon LE. 2.2 4cyl, 5S-FE, Auto, 187K
Yeah, if they only change out about 1/3 by a drain/refill OP wouldn't see that much of a difference, especially on a transmission that was never maintained.
My question was trying to figure if they just changed the volume in the pan, which would explain the same gray color, or if they flushed the entire system.
as said above, it takes 3 or 4 drains and refills at short interval (every week or so) on transmission to change most of the fluid out.
one single drain and refill replaces around 1/3 of fluid, so if the rest was crap than you have around 1/3 of new fluid mixed with 2/3 of crap still... not much of a change to notice.
__________________ '02 Solara SLE V6 1MZ-FE/A541E Coupe .: Denso/NGK : Akebono SP : Philips 9011 HIR (low+high) : Toshiba HIR2 9012 (fogs) : Magnefine :. @ 131k
'00 Solara SE 5S-FE/A140E Coupe .: NGK : Hawk HPS : Philips XP : RCEng : Magnefine :. @ 82k
4SALE: connectors for Camry Headlight Wiring Harness and ECU
The toyota dealer here told me last week they only used type 4 now and advised me another (Castrol) would be cheaper for my '99. My old '98 w/189k when I bought it was like mud, I dropped the pan and drained it hot twice after the initial cleaning, still running strong at 245k, I change at 30k.
The Toyota T-IV is relabeled Mobil 3309 dino fluid. Check the discussions on BITOG, people in general don't like it much. It turns brown around 20K miles.
Castrol Import Multi-vehicle ATF would be a great choice. It was advertized as synthetic-blend but for some reason no longer, just like the Walmart SuperTech Mercon-V that's also suitable for D-II/III applications. Maybe they went from Group II/III blends to II+? Dunno.
For fully synthetic I'd go Mobil-1. I wouldn't use Dexron VI (6) because it's thin. However, D-6 is a great fluid for the new generation of GM clutch-to-clutch Hydramatic transmissions.
The toyota dealer here told me last week they only used type 4 now and advised me another (Castrol) would be cheaper for my '99. My old '98 w/189k when I bought it was like mud, I dropped the pan and drained it hot twice after the initial cleaning, still running strong at 245k, I change at 30k.
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97 camry trans fluid color
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