Thanks!

You fill it until it begins to back-flow out of the fill hole, yes? With the car on ramps or stands, the fill hole will be pointing a bit up, so it should be plenty full at that point.

So how's it shift with the MT-90? I'm jealous. I think I'll do mine this winter. Maybe I'll ask for the oil for Christmas.

 

You fill it until it begins to back-flow out of the fill hole, yes? With the car on ramps or stands, the fill hole will be pointing a bit up, so it should be plenty full at that point.

That's right, but you can just pour in exactly two quarts, because that is how much it takes. After I finished my second quart, the fluid started to slowly drip. The car wasn't raised much, so it was pretty much horizontal. I added the info to the DIY.

So how's it shift with the MT-90? I'm jealous. I think I'll do mine this winter. Maybe I'll ask for the oil for Christmas.

I drove less then 10 miles after the oil change and I didn't feel much difference. Maybe it was little smoother, but it was perfectly fine before that, too, and it could be just that I expected to be smoother. However, my wife just got home from shopping; she drove 16 miles and she says it shifts definitely smoother now.

 

Cool, thanks. Mine shifts very well also. The only "problem" I have is a rough engagement into Reverse when cold. Even with the clutch fully depressed, it'll clack as it goes into Reverse with the engine running. To get around that, I just shift into Reverse before I start the engine.

I'll be interested to know your impressions as the new fluid wears into everything. Is the drain plug magnetic? Did you notice a lot of trash on it, or in the old fluid? Is this your first fluid change? I know the owner's manual says that no change is necessary, but I just can't live with that. I'm addicted to changing oil. I figure I'll do 25k mile OCIs on the transaxle.

 

GL-5 safe for the tranny? I know that is somewhat of a hot topic.

 

^ Do you have an owner's manual with the oil specification? GL-5 is not "backwards compatible" with GL-4 and should not be used in applications that call for GL-4. GL-5 can cause corrosion of yellow metals like brass.

My Camry calls for GL-4 so my guess is that the Corolla will be similar.

 

I do not have the manual, but the GL-5 is a hot topic on the "other site" where they claim the manual specifies either or, but I cannot confirm. There have been problems with the GL-5 fluid in the 9th gen trannys.

 

I know it is a hot topic, so I just quoted from the User's Manual, which calls for GL-4 or GL-5. As you can see, I used GL-4 myself to be on the safe side.

JasonA: I will reply to you, too, but let me drive the car for a few more days.

 

i could use some of those. Great DIY :clap:

so how much do those cost? hope its not too expensive

 

Two quarts of Red Line MT-90 is about $30 with shipping. Very few places will stock it, it is impossible to buy it in retail around here.

 

Is everyjthing the sdame for the 6spd manual on the xrs?

 

AFAIK one of the plugs is different size and the amount of fluid is different. Also, the torque specifications may be different. You can find a DIY at "9th gen corolla . com" (no spaces).

 

jasonA, going into reverse will usually "clack" when its cold, not because the tranny isnt warm, but its because there are no synchros in any reverse gears. the other reason is that when your engine is cold, it idles higher, therefore its harder for you to engage into reverse. my tip is, if you need to back out of a parking spot or something, start the car with it in reverse already.

 

I have redline MT-90 in my 6 speed XRS for the last 25,000 KM and I highly recommend it to the 2ZZ crowd.

It makes the shifts a lot smoother. Yes, the notchiness of the C60 is still there, but the shifts are much smoother especially when doing redline runs.

Biggest difference I feel is in the winter weather where the stock oil made the gearbox crunch and hard to shift on cold oil. It shifts now like butter even when it is cold and - 15 C outside.

 

no wonder its so hard to shift when its around -39 C outside

is 2 quarts gonna be enough? or should i get 3 quarts to be on the safe side. gonna have the dealer do it when i get there for a free oil change.

 

Also, make sure to use conventional oil. I've heard of people having clutch slippage problems using synthetic.

 

Conventional vs. synthetic has nothing to do with the clutch. It's a dry clutch, actuated by the brake fluid. Most folks recommend synthetic fluid for the 5-speed tranny because it tends to help the synchros work better.

 

Conventional vs. synthetic has nothing to do with the clutch. It's a dry clutch, actuated by the brake fluid. Most folks recommend synthetic fluid for the 5-speed tranny because it tends to help the synchros work better.

I guess those folk's clutch problems were due to something else then. That's good, now I can put syn in my tranny and not have to worry about it. My tranny's syncros could use some help as it's very notchy feeling. Thanks.

 

If their clutch is slipping or something, it wasn't due to the fluid...the fluid is completely internal to the transaxle and the clutch is "on the outside" of it (mates with the engine's flywheel). In fact, Redline MT-90 (a synthetic fluid) seems to be the most oft-recommended fluid for these transaxles.

 

I drained the factory fluid out of my tranny at 2200 miles and there were visible swirls in the drained fluid.

Replaced with two quarts of Coastal 75W90 and when i got to 10K on the car drained that and refilled with two quarts amsoil MTG 75W90. Shifts are a lot smoother now, although every now and then when it is cold I still get the 2nd to 3rd gear grind or whatever you want to call it, not all the time but sometimes.

When the fluid is warmed up all shifts are smooth as can be. Still get the grind going into reverse sometimes but not always, think it is like mentioned, when the car is idling high it grinds sometimes goin ginto reverse.

The DIY steps is how I did it but without the ramps. Like he mentioned, always undo the fill plug first or just crack it and screw back on finger tight, cause you would hate to undo the drain screw first and find you cant get the fill one off after you already drained the fluid.

Have 17540 on the car now (7540) on the amsoil and all is well. When I had my 62 Mile round trip commute with 55 of those miles on the highway with the cruise set at 65mph, I was going to go 50K on the fluid, even though it says 100K guaranteed, and do 50K drain/refill intervals. But now that I do severe service with 1.5 mile trips to work and short trips to the base, I am going to do 30K intervals which will be several years for me at my pace now.

 

Don't forget to look for washer for drain plug

I just did my 5 speed, refilled with Redline MT90, and it already feels a little better, yay!

It's easy to overlook that there may be a flat washer that goes with the drain plug. After the old fluid has stopped gushing out, take a moment to see if there's a washer in there somewhere.

I got all the way through and while cleaning up found a washer...doh!!

 

Should have read through your post cause I just realized I did the same thing. Found the washer when I went to recycle the oil. Can any problems arise from not having that washer on the drain bolt? Don't really want to drain my new Redline to replace the washer. No leaks from the plug so hopefully its all ok.

The Redline did smooth out the transmission a bit defiantly falls into gear and shifts smoother. The old oil was dark as coffee and had a terrible smell god only knows when it was done last. Just bought the car with unknown service history. Thanks OP for great detailed write up on this.