Auto Trans Fluid Change Question

[Isophorone]

My 1999 Corolla just turned 120K miles. One of the jobs to do is to change the auto tranny fluid. Do you all have any tips besides what is in the Haynes manual? Specifically, what kind of gasket do I need to buy, and do I need to put some sort of grease on the gasket before installation? Thanks.

Ron

[Donald]

If your car has a drain plug, you don't need to pull the pan, and so won't need a gasket.
If you do pull the pan, any general purpose grease on the gasket will do, just don't put too much so it gets inside the tranny.

[Isophorone]

Thanks. Don't I have to pull the pan to change a filter?

The Haynes manual also says to clean the pan with a solvent. What do you recommend?

Ron

[Donald]

Originally Posted by Isophorone

Thanks. Don't I have to pull the pan to change a filter?

The Haynes manual also says to clean the pan with a solvent. What do you recommend?

Ron

The filter doesn't need to be changed unless you have a tranny failure (in my opinion). It doesn't have to deal with the same kinds of conditions as the engine oil filter.
Just drain and refill (about 2 quarts) the rest stays in the torque converter. You can never get it all out. You probably wouldn't want to anyway. I have heard horror stories of people having their trannys flushed after never changing the oil for 100K + miles, and then in the next few weeks, the tranny dies. That is because the varnish that was helping the old, worn seals to do their job is now washed away and so the clearances around the seals grow, and hydrolic pressure is lost.

I do a drain and refill twice a year.

I highly reccomend Lucas transmission treatment. It is like honey, and very tedious to get into the tranny, but it has help extend the time on my Camry's tranny. I thought I would have had to change it many miles ago, but it is still going. After using the Lucas, it slips a lot less.

[dandxg]

There is no filter on Toyota, just a screen, this comes from a toyota tech I asked. I am not sure about your spec corolla though. My rolla loves the Valvoline Max life Dex . Make sure you do it more often than you have been. Auto trans on corolla run hard. Unless yours comes OEM with semi synth trans fluid you really need to do it every 30k, along with a full coolant flush and your car willl last forever. Mine is 11 years old with 175 and runs great.

[Isophorone]

Thanks. The car has received regular maintenance; I just want to start doing more of it myself to save over going to the stealership.

Ron

[Crowbar911]

When I did my trany service on my 01, this is what I did.

drain pan
remove pan - the haynes manual says that the bolts must go back in the same order.
uninstal old filter
instal new filter
put gasket on with white lithium grease to hold that gasket in place.

and then fill though the dipstick until at proper levels.

[meazz1]

what is the recomended tranny fluid for our corolla?

sorry for hijacking your thread.

[SaidiaDude]

I too need to change the Auto Trans Fluid on a Corolla ('98 with 120K miles).

I'm thinking of using the "Cooler Line Flush":
http://www.gadgetonline.com/TransFlush.htm

But I'd modify it as such:
- Drain the exisiting fluid first via drain bolt
- Fill up Transmission fluid (replace drain bolt first!)
- Use the method in the link above (use cooler lines to circulate/remove fluid)

This should get the majority of the fluid out. I dont want to drop the pan or change the filter at this point.

I'm also going to replace the cooler line hoses (2). Are there any other rubber Transmission hoses that need to be replaced?

Has anyone tried a flush through the cooler lines on a Corolla? Comments/Suggestions?

BTW, I wont be using Synthetic on a Tranny this old.

Thanks!

[90 GP]

If you drop the pan you can clean the magnets inside that collect small tranny particles and give the tranny pan a good cleaning. When installing the gasket I use some tacky sealer on the four corners of the pan to hold the gasket in place while reinstalling it. Also I use a 1/4 drive rachet to avoid overtightening the bolts. Don't forget to drain and fill differential while your at it. It has two plugs. One plug on bottom to drain fluid and another on the side to refill. When refilling the differential will probably need a length of flexible tubing as the fill hole is close to the steering rack. I also use some teflon tape on the plug threads to avoid leaks.

[dandxg]

Originally Posted by SaidiaDude

I too need to change the Auto Trans Fluid on a Corolla ('98 with 120K miles).

I'm thinking of using the "Cooler Line Flush":
http://www.gadgetonline.com/TransFlush.htm

But I'd modify it as such:
- Drain the exisiting fluid first via drain bolt
- Fill up Transmission fluid (replace drain bolt first!)
- Use the method in the link above (use cooler lines to circulate/remove fluid)

This should get the majority of the fluid out. I dont want to drop the pan or change the filter at this point.

I'm also going to replace the cooler line hoses (2). Are there any other rubber Transmission hoses that need to be replaced?

Has anyone tried a flush through the cooler lines on a Corolla? Comments/Suggestions?

BTW, I wont be using Synthetic on a Tranny this old.

Thanks!

I tried this procedure, it would work, but since I couldn't firmly connect the flex plastic tube I got a garage floor full of trans fluid. It comes out with alot of pressure and fast. So make damn sure that thing is sealed tight to the cooler line. The one to use is the passenger side line, not the driver for the flush. The driver side is the intake. I just went and did 3 drain and fills and called it at that over the course of 1k miles.

[SaidiaDude]

Originally Posted by dandxg

I tried this procedure, it would work, but since I couldn't firmly connect the flex plastic tube I got a garage floor full of trans fluid. It comes out with alot of pressure and fast. So make damn sure that thing is sealed tight to the cooler line. The one to use is the passenger side line, not the driver for the flush. The driver side is the intake. I just went and did 3 drain and fills and called it at that over the course of 1k miles.

Update: I did it last night. The "intake" cooler hose would not pull any tranny fluid. I used this procedure:

- Engine off
- Disconnect the cooler hoses
- Fill the tranny fluid from top (dipstick)
- helper starts car. I used an extra long (2') cooler hose and held it in drain bucket.
- Turn car off after 15 seconds (I got air and froth first time when it "ran dry")
- Refill tranny
- Repeat till reasonably clean

Tip:
- I went through 2 gallon sized bottles to flush and most of 1 to fill. I could have used another one to flush.
- Use a short long tub to catch tranny fluid. Alot of fluid will come out at a very fast rate!

[SaidiaDude]

Originally Posted by 90 GP

If you drop the pan you can clean the magnets inside that collect small tranny particles and give the tranny pan a good cleaning. When installing the gasket I use some tacky sealer on the four corners of the pan to hold the gasket in place while reinstalling it. Also I use a 1/4 drive rachet to avoid overtightening the bolts. Don't forget to drain and fill differential while your at it. It has two plugs. One plug on bottom to drain fluid and another on the side to refill. When refilling the differential will probably need a length of flexible tubing as the fill hole is close to the steering rack. I also use some teflon tape on the plug threads to avoid leaks.

Does the '98 Corolla have a seperate drain plug for the Diff? I only saw one drain plug, not two.

[toyomoho]

If a second drain plug it would be on the diff housing. Look under the area where the axles come into the housing. If you have this drain plug, make sure you find and loosen the diff fill plug first. A few members have drained their diff only to find the filler plug was frozen.

The trans dipstick should have the fluid type stamped on it, the diff takes the same type fluid.

If doing a drain and refill, the torgue converter holds about 2/3 of the fluid only 1/3 of the total trans fluid will drain out. To do a better job, over a few miles repeat the drain and refill process several more times.

[SaidiaDude]

Thanks toyomoho. I couldn't find the torque converter drain bolt. Anyone know if the '98 Corolla has one?

BTW, the car shifts incredibly smoothly now.