differential oil on '98 automatic

[139booth]

Can someone tell me how to change the differential oil on a 3-speed. ie; where is the drain plug and fill plug. A pic would be great. also what is the oil capacity and type.

thanks in advance.

[cheesep]

You should get a Haynes manual but it's quite obvious just by looking from underneath. The differential is the part that the driveaxles go into. You need a large allen key to undo the drain plug. The fill plug is up on the side of the differential that faces the firewall. It's a bolt head. To fill it I stick a funnel onto one end of a piece of 1/2" diameter flexible plastic hose and stick the other end of the hose in the fill hole. An assistant would help to hold the funnel, pour, and to stop when fluid starts flowing out of the fill hole.

[cheesep]

The fluid is the same as the Auto Trans fluid. I forget specifically. Easy to find out at the dealer or any auto parts store or in your Haynes manual.

[139booth]

Thanks, Cheesep. I shall have a look for said plugs.

Martin

[JoeKneale]

Hey Martin the fill plug on the 3 speed auto is a little wierd, there is no dipstick. Wait til the car is cooled down then drain the fluid using the drain plug on the bottom. Next find the fill plug (on the side), undo it and fill the differential with fluid just until it starts to dribble out the fill plug, then your all set.

[139booth]

Thanks, Joe. She's all good.

[DMC6453]

I was unaware that the differentail has a fill plug. I have a 4 speed automati on my 98 corolla. Is this the same as the 3 speed as far as having a fill plug is concerned. My mechanic told me that the differential fluid is just Dextron 3 ATF, but I thought that changing the tranny fluid would take care of the differential fluid as well. Please correct me if I'm wrong

-Chris

[139booth]

Don't know about the 4 speed. Mine is a 3 speed and they have a seperate differential and therfore a seperate fill plug as described in an earlier post. It's possible the 4 speeds use one common oil sump for the tranny and diff.

Martin

[oscaryu1]

Originally Posted by DMC6453

I was unaware that the differentail has a fill plug. I have a 4 speed automati on my 98 corolla. Is this the same as the 3 speed as far as having a fill plug is concerned. My mechanic told me that the differential fluid is just Dextron 3 ATF, but I thought that changing the tranny fluid would take care of the differential fluid as well. Please correct me if I'm wrong

-Chris

The transmission and differential are 2 completely different things. The transmission uses a much lighter fluid than the differential, which is much heavier than any other fluid in the car. Differential fluids range from 75W-90W, and the transmission fluid is as light as Marvel Mystery Oil...

Changing the transmission fluid will not do anything to the differential. They are 2 different things, requiring 2 different sockets, requiring 2 completely different types of fluid.

[Crowbar911]

My write up applies to the 4speed.

How To: 2001 4 speed auto Transmission filter change

[cheesep]

Just to bury any further speculation on what type of fluid to put in the 3 speed differential I just consulted both my original owner's manual that came with my 1998 rolla and my dog-eared Haynes manual. It's the SAME fluid for both the automatic transaxle and the differential. Here's what they say;

Owner's manual - DII or Dexron III
Haynes manual - Dexron III ATF

[oscaryu1]

Originally Posted by cheesep

Just to bury any further speculation on what type of fluid to put in the 3 speed differential I just consulted both my original owner's manual that came with my 1998 rolla and my dog-eared Haynes manual. It's the SAME fluid for both the automatic transaxle and the differential. Here's what they say;

Owner's manual - DII or Dexron III
Haynes manual - Dexron III ATF

I beg to differ! Differential fluid is MUCH thicker than ATF! Most likely even the old and used fluid in your differential isn't even as thin as the ATF you're about to put in! I suggest otherwise. Differential oil come in 75-90W. My 00' Camry for example, uses Dexron III for it's automatic transaxle fluid. HOWEVER, it uses 75W-90 in the transaxle...

Imagine how bad of a condition your differential would be in with ATF It'd probably seize within 50miles of running.

[cheesep]

So what's your point? This is a COROLLA - not a Camry. Look in the COROLLA manual. Please stop misleading this poor guy - It's DEXRON III!

[rollatuner110]

The Corolla uses the same fluid for both just to confirm so you're not confused. Camry's are different.