Changing ATF...

[arcasmachineracing]

Hey guys...

I have been having this problem with "violent shifting" in my slushbox auto 94' i4 Camry... It is getting annoying, and I know that it can't be good for my transmission/car! Yesterday, I was just seeing if it did it in all gears, well, first gear it dosen't seem bad, seccond with the gas down some will kick and tuck/dive the nose down a little, (you know the feeling if you drive a manual and ya get crazy on that clutch ) and then shift abruptly, but when I let off on the gas as it reaches the "shift-point-rpms" and almost totally let off, it will shift much smoother. I had a disscussion with ChrisCorollaS about this topic, I initally thought that the violent-shifting might be due to the gasket in the tranny cavatating or something to that effect... but Chris explained that he thought changing my ATF would be a good place to start. I checked it the other day, and it could use a change, eventhough it is at proper operating levels... it has turned from the "bright red" to a light brown!

Do you guys think this would solve all muh worries???

I took a look at my diffrent gen 3 manuals yesterday... it looks like it will be a little bit of a task to change... do you guys think my small ass will be able to fit underneath my car w/o jackstands? (I have no drop on the Cam as of now) How hard is it? Its their any special precautions I should take?

I had the gas on the floor yesterday, and it wouldn't even SHIFT untill I let off to about 60% to the ground.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide me!

[88 LE]

Originally posted by arcasmachineracing
I took a look at my diffrent gen 3 manuals yesterday... it looks like it will be a little bit of a task to change... do you guys think my small ass will be able to fit underneath my car w/o jackstands?

Maybe. Try crawling underneath.

How hard is it? Its their any special precautions I should take?

You need a 10mm allen wrench to remove the drain bolt.

You can also drop the pan and clean the filter screen and magnets.

Either way it won't be a full drain cos theres fluid left in the torque converter.

[VVT-i Owns]

Originally posted by arcasmachineracing
... it has turned from the "bright red" to a light brown!

Yea this should help, although go for a tranny flush if u want a complete drain and a clean torque converter

[arcasmachineracing]

Yeah, lol... how much money would an ATF flush cost me??? Would it drastically help with the "shitty shifting?" (As compared to me doing it on my own)

Thanks guys!

[88 LE]

Originally posted by arcasmachineracing
Yeah, lol... how much money would an ATF flush cost me???

$80 or so.

Would it drastically help with the "shitty shifting?" (As compared to me doing it on my own)

A flush would be better then a drain and fill. New fluid is pumped in while the old fluid is pumped out.

With a drain and fill you'll only get a few quarts out. So theres still old dirty fluid left in the tranny and torque converter.

[Rasco]

I think the flushing technique is much easier. I use to do this with my Eclipse because it didnt have any drain plug. It was b*tch to change the ATF...had to always drop the pan and remove everything. The shops do the same thing to flush & clean the whole system but they use a special machine and some kind of cleaning treatment.

All you have to find is the Transmission's "in and out' lines from the radiator and get some extra extended hoses. Put the "In" hose the one going to the trans in a bucket full of fresh ATF Fluid. And put the exiting hose into an empty bucket. Once you start the engine....the car will be sucking in the new ATF and the old one will be coming out. Just let it run until all the brown/black fluid come out. I did a write up for my eclipse a while back...I'll go look for it and i'll post it up.....its basically the same thing.

[Nick]

or you can undo the line from the cooling circuit, pull the ignition coil off and crank for a second and while refilling, repeat until you get nice fresh fluid

try driving up one side onto the curb, when i change my motor oil i drive up the left so the drain plug is on the bottom

i don't think toyota builds the greatest auto trannies, but they seem to last a damn long time, even clunking lots

[1GR-FE]

change the fluid and check to see if the kickdown cable is adjusted properly

[arcasmachineracing]

Originally posted by 1GR-FE
change the fluid and check to see if the kickdown cable is adjusted properly

Ok, it is sitting at A-1 Japanese Auto Service, this good guy Rocky Caneles is gonna do it for me, I think it will be about $110...

How hard is it to change the rear-drum pads? (What is a reasonable price for them to swap them for me?) (My e-brake is not working, I can only imagine that my pads must be worn down to the metal ) (yeah, I know, greeeat...)

Well yea... I wish I could do all of this on my own... but I dunno what happened to my jack stands... where be muh boro cinder-blocks when I need em?

[arcasmachineracing]

Originally posted by 1GR-FE
change the fluid and check to see if the kickdown cable is adjusted properly

What is the "kickdown cable???"

I feel so stewpid!

Well yea... thanks SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING GUYS!

[idrivemyself]

How hard is it to change the rear-drum pads?

i recently did it for my gen 1... took about 1 1/2 hours from the time i jacked the thing up to the time i tightened the last lug. granted, i did do alot of snooping around and took a small break, so i'd imagine if you stuck right to it, it could be done in an hour or less. the actual work isn't that difficult at all. the hardest thing has to be getting the drum off.

[nobrainer]

let me know if that helps the transmission... I think mine is doing the same thing... sometimes it "jumps" or "kicks" the car.... and I think my auto tranny fluid might be brown too so I will take a look at it...

[arcasmachineracing]

NO it did not help, my transmission is fucked... please refer to this thread... I need some serious suggestions and help...

This is the new thread:

http://www.toyotanation.com/showthre...threadid=19896