Newbie - Opinions needed urgent.

[sundarpn]

Hello All,

I am new to the Camry community and I am here because I am contemplating on replacing my aging 1996 Taurus GL (is still doing great. I mean great) with an 02 or 03 Camry XLE (4 Cyl)


I do most avg mainteannce on my Taurus myself and parts are cheap too. So I first want to know how the Gen 5 (02 & 03) Camry compares on this front.

Some specific questions:

- Myself doing Oil change on the Camry? Is the filter easy to reach and replace? Is the filter expensive at the toyota dealer? Any good aftermarket filter?

- Tranny Fluid - Is it special / expensive compared to the Dextron / Mercon III or even the Mercon V? Does the camry have a stock tranny cooler tube upfront. So that one can disonnect the return line and do an almost complete tranny flush at home? Is the tranny filter a metal mesh?

- Any other fluids that are special and pricy? or difficult to change at home?

- Brake stuff. Rotors and pads. Are they expensive?

- Sparkplugs. Are they easy to replace? Are they again pricy and aer we forced to go with OEM plugs only?

- The 02 and higer Camry come with a timing chain right? So no issues with chagining that I would guess.

- Overall anythings I should look out or watch out for before buying an 02 or 03 Camry (mostly XLE but only the 4 cylinder)

thanks!

[1BADYOT]

This won't help you much, but I know they can't be too hard to work on. My husband does all the work (except timing belt, alignment, and tire rotation) on our camry, and my dad does the work on his. Getting one of the car manuals (sold at autozone, advanced) is helpful for any trouble. I'm sure the camry will outlive the taurus and won't be a regret.

[marc780]

After dealing with a Taurus you may find a Camry to be a welcome change. The engineering of the two is so different it is like night and day when it comesto maintenance.

I own an 01 Solara and an 02 Camry V6. But i work on the I4's all the time at work, so i can tell you the oil filter is simplicity itself to change, its under the exhaust manifold. You can do all the work you mentioned on the Camry easily, except there is one minor wrinkle - if you go to change the ATF, check your owners manual or the dipstick on what kind to use first! Mine calls for Toyota TIV fluid, only, and warns of dire consequences if you try to use Dexron instead. Whatever it says on the ATF stick, just use it and everything will be copascetic

[sundarpn]

ok thanks.

Is that Toyota ATF only avaialble at the dealer? (stealerships)


Any idea on:
Does the camry have a stock [FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]tranny [/FONT][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]cooler[/FONT][/FONT] tube upfront. So that one can disonnect the return line and do an almost complete tranny flush at home? Is the tranny filter a metal mesh?

[drunken_panda]

Lines in front for the Tranny. I have done the brakes and spark plugs on my 04 4cly and they were a piece of cake. Nothing else to really watch for.