00 camry tranny flush

[pudgerod15]

Hi all,
I just had an oil change done to my 00 camry (82k) and was told that the transmission fluid is dark/burned and I need to get it taken care of immediately. The tranny doesn't slip or anything...drives just fine to me. I'm assuming this means I just need to get the transmission fluid flushed and refilled. Anyone have any ideas? Also, seeing as this isn't THAT cheap of a job (about $100 at the toyota dealer), is this something that I could easily do myself?

Thanks,
Doug

[cman2000]

hey

i have a 2000 camry too, and i USED to follow toyota's recommended tuneups, but they were so expensive. yeah, tranny flush is expensive. i hardly go to the dealer now for stuff like that. try jiffy lube, etc, bec they ususally do a good job and are a bit cheaper.

[cnn]

and posted the 60K service at:

2000 Camry Maintenance Diy Tips

Remember to do both:
1. Transmission, 3 cycles is sufficient.
2. Differential, just flush and fill

You will need a case of 12 qts of Dexron-III (I used Castrol but Quaker State is also good).

Much easier if you drive a car up a low ramp like mine.

Good Luck.

cn

[cam2Xrunner]

I've seen alot of places that do it for 70 bucks, look out for coupons or just tell the service guys you found it for 69 bucks at the other place. They'll usually match it.

[itzsteven]

My car only have 28k miles on it, do I really need one too? My dad did it for me one, but it wasn't a full tuned up. He only let the old fluid out and refilled with the new one.

[cam2Xrunner]

I used to do a flush every 15k on my camry. But I drove it pretty hard. A good rule of thumb is to have it flushed at least every 30k. In your case I would do it.

[Diehonda]

How could I flush it myself? Rather then just draining and refilling? I hate to pay people to do it as I always find something they did wrong or get oil on my leather.

[crah]

You can't do a complet flush unless you have a machine. If you want to do it yourself, the best you can do is drain and refill a couple of times after driving it a bit to mix up the fluid in the torque converter.

[Diehonda]

yes thank you, as the search button was also helpful. ahhhh the search button, that's what the mean by that.

[jhbhatia]

For those who haven't done it, do it every 30K miles...and do a flush; if you haven't done a flush; don't be fooled by drain and fill...its a different kind of service (cheaper too), but some shops call that minor tranny service. The flush is also called major tranny service.

[cnn]

I agree, A single Drain and Fill only replaces 50% of the old ATF fluid,

BUT a repeat (usually 3 cycles) of Drain and Fill will replace most of the old Fluid.

This is basic high school chemistry math that you drain half of some fluid, add half, mix it up and drain half and repeat the cycle etc.

The key thing here is the word "mix", after drain and fill, run the car through gears. Better yet, drive it around the block for a good 5 minutes in different gears. Then drain and fill again etc.

This is the "poor man" way of doing a "flush" for lkack of a flushing machine.

cn

[amerikim]

A single drain and refill replaces less then that in my tran.

Dry Fill is 6.9 US Qts
Drain and Refill is 3.3 US Qts.