Should I use dealer tranny fluid only?

Drain and replace only, do not flush the tranny since the build up in the tranny might be holding everything together.

I would drain and refill too. Some people say not to change it but if you change it and the trans fails a few weeks/months/years later it was on its way out already - I think people just don't realize that their trans was on its last legs already so they blame the ATF change.

Anyway just buy generic Dexron III ATF. I actually bought mine at the dealer because I was picking up Toyota Type T-IV ATF anyway which is a Toyota branded fluid..and the Dexron III turned out to be Sam's Club branded! Oh well, I needed crush gaskets anyway. <-- don't forget the crush gasket by the way.

What crush gasket?

Shapeup1 said:

What crush gasket?

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It's the 'washer' or 'gasket' that goes on the drain plug. It crushes when you tighten the bolt.

I found the manual and mentioned dexron 2 not 3 like Island was suggesting, is dexron 3 better? Also is the gasket a must?

The crush gasket is not a must. I didn't even see one on mine. I believe Dextron III is the replacement for Dextron II and can be used where Dextron II is specified.

Crush gasket should be aluminum (washer) so it looks like part of the plug. It is soft and will seat in, so if you have no leaks, no worries.

I usually use a dab of RTV on the threads of the plug.

Dexron 3 is backwards compatible with Dex 2.

Toyota type T-IV can be used, but the friction modifiers in it will give transmission clutches more slip time when shifting. Some opinions from other forum (BITOG) are better shift or no feel of shifting (jerk) but more wear. I am not sure, but do not want that.

I use the cheapest Dex 3

rty said:

The crush gasket is not a must. I didn't even see one on mine. I believe Dextron III is the replacement for Dextron II and can be used where Dextron II is specified.

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That's what someone else told me - no need to replace the crush gasket. So I didn't. I ended up with a slow leak so I did a second drain/refill the next weekend and replaced the $1.50 crush gasket and now it's perfect. So while technically it's not necessary, $1.50 is cheap enough to just go ahead and get the crush gasket if you'll be doing the drain/refill anyway.

Hajoca said:

Toyota type T-IV can be used, but the friction modifiers in it will give transmission clutches more slip time when shifting. Some opinions from other forum (BITOG) are better shift or no feel of shifting (jerk) but more wear. I am not sure, but do not want that.

I use the cheapest Dex 3

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I should have specified I was buying the Type T-IV for my gen 5.5. I would only use Dexron III in other Toyotas that call for Dexron II/III, like the gen 3.

Personally, with fluid that old I'd do a complete drain and flush (see the DIY at http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=280006 ). As others have said, anything that meets the Dexron II/III standards will work for that tranny.

Are you sure the fluid's never been changed? If you pull the dipstick, is the fluid way dark and kind of burned smelling, or is it the more normal pink-ish color?

Thanks for the replies, the color is a little dark, smells weird not like regular oil, but its not redish......

islandboy57 said:

That's what someone else told me - no need to replace the crush gasket. So I didn't. I ended up with a slow leak so I did a second drain/refill the next weekend and replaced the $1.50 crush gasket and now it's perfect. So while technically it's not necessary, $1.50 is cheap enough to just go ahead and get the crush gasket if you'll be doing the drain/refill anyway.

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I agree it may be worth the 1.50.......

Shapeup1 said:

Thanks for the replies, the color is a little dark, smells weird not like regular oil, but its not redish......

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If it's not dark dark black, and more like a dark maroon, chances are the fluid is old but it's probably been changed at one point in time. How does it shift? Okay? I changed the ATF on the gen 3.5 and it really didn't make much of a difference because it was shifting very smoothly anyway. Except it kinda lurches into O/D but I'm sure that's because the motor mounts are all original. I've only changed the torque strut.

Sure, Dexron III should be used in those generation of transmissions. While the new synthetic/synthetic-blend Dexron VI are backward compatible, some said this thinner fluid shouldn't be used on older transmissions.

Alternatively, you might want to try some Mercon-V, which are specified to be Dexron II/III compatible. The Mercon-V is a syn-blend.

The Toyota T-IV is just a re-labeled dino Mobil 3309. Depending on the dealer, the same price is better applied towards a quart of fully synthetic Mobil-1 ATF.

islandboy57 said:

I should have specified I was buying the Type T-IV for my gen 5.5. I would only use Dexron III in other Toyotas that call for Dexron II/III, like the gen 3.

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So how much is a quart of Type-IV these days? $4?

SamKT said:

So how much is a quart of Type-IV these days? $4?

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try $7-9. its expensive!

$7-9!! Ouch, then the fully synthetic Mobil-1 ATF would make sense, instead of the re-labeled Mobil 3309 (as dino Toyota T-IV).

LE05 said:

try $7-9. its expensive!

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Really? The sign on the shelf at my local Toyota parts dept said $5.55 but it rang up at ~$4.75/qt last weekend.

Hey and you're the one who told me I *should* change the crush gasket but I didn't. Ha ha! I did another drain/refill (I decided to do it annually) this weekend but it looks like my fluid is still a little bit on the low side when I check it while the trans is cold. Not sure why because I put 3.7qts. I'm hesitant to add more but I guess I will.

I drain/fill both tranny and differential annually and clean the pan&filter every other year. But I'm too cheap to buy Toyota ATF, instead I use the Walmart Supertech brand of Dexron ATF. It's "good enough" since I change it out every year before it gets really used. Haven't had any problems with it yet in the 6 years since I got my Camry. I never changed the crush washer either, reuse the old one torqued to spec and so far no leaks yet.