[jackies]

Hi everyone! I'm new to toyota and automobiles in general.. :whatwhat:
I drive my wife's old 93 camry, steadily approaching 180k miles.
I use it to go to work (15 min drive) and I would like it to last as long as possible.
This car never had any real problems, my wife said she changed timing belt a couple years ago. So I was thinking what to do in terms of maintenance.
So far - I changed oil in it, and put on 17" wheels with new tires..
Then I was thinking to change differential and transmission oil.
I asked wife, if she ever changed those, she said no, and said that a mechanic at dealership told her that if you never changed tranny oil, you shouldn't, as it will totally destroy it or something...
That sound like BS to me, what is it, an urban myth? old wifes tale??

 

[keba]

ok,

Let me start of with saying "use the search function" ,any combination of flushing and tranny will give you what you need.

That said,flushing will not harm a transmission in good condition(no delay,no jerking,no rough shifts etc..) .A good tranny will only get better with a flush.

Usually old tranny fluids have wear material suspended in them from usage.Sometimes the wear and tear parts are in such bad shape that the only thing that is providing the friction to grab and release components inside the tranny is the fluid...

New fluid is slippery and does not have the above mentioned material in it.Thus you fill it in a vbad transmission and the clutch packs and bands have nothing to bite on .thus failure....

so flushing a old transmission is a moderate gamble.if it aint broke dont fix it...a good hint is when a stealership says you DONT NEED IT ..

Also,180K for a camry is not much...there are a lot of 300k old timers hanging around revving just fine.
YMMV
keba

 

[jackies]

Thanks for answering!
And I ain't no n00b on internet, I know my search function when I see one, I been reading this forum for days!
So, it's not necessary to change transmission oil? Will I be able to make it to 300k without changing it? It seems to work alright, I was just thinking it can help it last longer..

 

[geoff5093]

Im not an expert myself, but from what I hear you should check it to make sure its not extremely dark or have a burnt smell to it.

 

[keba]

asic stuff

fluid color - new fluid is cherry red to dark pink . brown is ageing fluid .black is burnt fluid(and maybe some more parts)

level - engine at normal operating temp,shift thro all gears form Park to Park and hold in each for 5 secs.the fluid should be in between cold and hot.

shifting speed - should shift with no delay (1-3 sec should be ok) "vehicle should want to crawl forward as soon as gear is sihfted to driv"

shift feel - transition between gear should be smooth with no sudden jerk or jarring shifts.

stalling - when in drive or reverse ,rpm goes up but vehicle does not move and then grabs slowly -this is not good

klunking - sometimes there is a clunk under quick starts - this may be internal or external ,but is usually the mounts gone bad ,and not able to damp the shift shock.

cold test - usually the above symptoms are amplified in cold weather so it may be easier to detect.


Drop Pan

once the pan is dropped look for


1 metallic stuff - not good ,gears are grinding copper coloured is bearing ,steel is gears

2 grayish clutch dust - this is normal ,but should not be excessive.

there are some experienced members out there who may add to this,but this is what i picked up from hanging around.

if you still want to do that flush,do the oil cooler method and save the old fluid just in case...

"o, it's not necessary to change transmission oil? Will I be able to make it to 300k without changing it? It seems to work alright, I was just thinking it can help it last longer.."

I quote you and this is what I have to say..diagnosing and flushing a tranny requires some experience ,so without actually looking at your car ,I cant say if you should or should not do the flush.This is a YMMV procedure.The best answer would be a dealer service centre.

keba

 

[toyomoho]

As TN posters state, visually check the condition of the fluid. I have also seen the fluid start to thicken up with age. The health of the fluid depends a lot on driving conditions. Stop and go driving resulting in the oil reaching high temps will cause it to break down much faster.

I doubt if a transmission can go 300K on the original non-synthetic oil. Trans fluid is the major key to long trans life. If the debris in the fluid is really keeping the clutches from slipping, it is also wearing away all the internal precision parts.

 

[abew330]

ok,

Let me start of with saying "use the search function" ,any combination of flushing and tranny will give you what you need.

That said,flushing will not harm a transmission in good condition(no delay,no jerking,no rough shifts etc..) .A good tranny will only get better with a flush.

Usually old tranny fluids have wear material suspended in them from usage.Sometimes the wear and tear parts are in such bad shape that the only thing that is providing the friction to grab and release components inside the tranny is the fluid...

New fluid is slippery and does not have the above mentioned material in it.Thus you fill it in a vbad transmission and the clutch packs and bands have nothing to bite on .thus failure....

so flushing a old transmission is a moderate gamble.if it aint broke dont fix it...a good hint is when a stealership says you DONT NEED IT ..

Also,180K for a camry is not much...there are a lot of 300k old timers hanging around revving just fine.
YMMV
keba

what he said^^^ my cam is at 193KKK o yeah

 

[mandyfig]

I do a flush, means drain and fill every oil change. I drain around 2 quarts and fill back 2 quarts. They are not expensive, so, might as well. Keeps the tranny fluid rejuvenated. I have an IL 4.