i didnt know 98 avalons were rear wheel drive?

 

The presence of a transaxle typically implies front wheel drive unless we're talking about a corvette or a vehicle with an engine not mounted in the front.

 

Ezwingert,

If my '95 service manual applies to your '98, both the drain & fill plugs are 10 mm hex. New fluid is ATF Dextron II & is filled to within .20 in of bottom edge of filler hole. You will need to rent/purchase a hand fluid pump.

Hope this helps.

Tom

 

Thanks Tom

My Haynes manual shows the filler plug is a "bolt" but the diagram stinks and doesn't fit with what I see under my car. The 95s & 98s are different in this regard.

Erich

 

Hi ya Chicken!

No, its front wheel drive. The transaxle differential is what I'm taking about.

Erich

 

On a lot of Toyotas, it is a common chamber with the main trans case. It depended on year and model. The 96 Camry V6 was a common chamber design.

 

Differential and tran are separate. Diagram anyone for the filler plug?

 

This transmission should have a separate differential fluid housing. Known locations for the filler plug are the back of the differential housing facing firewall. You will need to look under the car and up at the housing to see this plug. The other is the driver’s side of the housing.

Use a funnel with a long flexible neck to fill the housing and the same type fluid as the trans.

 

I just looked at my 99 Avalon owner's manual. It only shows one fliud capacity for the transaxle, no seperate listing for the diff. I asked the Toyota dealer they said the same thing. I do not have a TSRM, I do have a Haynes manual which I find spotty on it's accuracy. The Haynes lists a seperate capacity for the diff. On page 1-24 of that manual it shows the drain and fill plugs. On my '99, the spot where the fill plug should be does not have a fill plug. You can see in the casting where one should be. It faces the left front wheel about 4 inches up from the drain, almost directly rearward of the left drive shaft. If you have one it will be the same 10mm allen wrench type bolt as the drain plug.

As I said before, it varies by year and model. The Haynes makes note that 99 and later ES300 trans do not have a seperate chamber.

 

Sloopercat,
Thanks. Your description is exactly where I thought the filler plug should be. I have the cast hole that you mention also. That's why I posted because I just couldn't figure it out. My vehicle (1998) is supposed to have 2 separate chambers. When I had the tranny pan off, it was quite obvious that the two are separate.

Toyomoho,
Your second location on the housing sounds like the spot Sloopercat was talking about. I see nothing facing the firewall other than bolts holding the housing on, and the drain plug of course. Thank you.

Keep the ideas coming guys. I don't want to let a silly little thing like this defeat me!

Erich

 

ezwingert,
I have a 96 Avalon and a 99 Avalon. There is definitely both a drain and a fill plug on the 96 (I have drained and refilled the dif on my 96); but, the 99 is as Sloopercat described it. There is a 10 mm Hex drain plug on the firewall side of the differential but no fill plug above it. There is a recess several inches above the drain plug that is located where my 96 fill plug is. But there is no fill plug. I don't understand why the factory would provide a drain plug but no fill plug unless the 99 transmission and differential share the fluid supply.

 

The chambers are "seperate", but there is a passage that connects the two, is how I understand it is on the 6cyl cars. The 4cyl cars, that use the same casting, have seperate unconnected chambers.

I looked around the Camry forum and the consensus seems to agree with what I think is the case. But, I do not have the TSRM.

 

if you ever do a tranny flush or even a drain and refill every 15k as an example, new fluid should get into the differential from the transmission...or so have I been told about my 97 avalon.

Keep us updated on what you decide.

 

Need to change my differential fluid. Can anyone provide a diagram or photo where the filler plug is for the differential? Drain plug is obvious but the filler plug is not. Thanks.

'96 Avalon is the same. Drain plug is located (I hope I'm correct) but not the fill plug.

 

My 99 Avy has separate drains for the trans and differential but both are filled through the dip tube.

 

artbuc,

Given that the transmission and the differential have the same fill port (the ATF dip stick tube) then there must be a connection between the fluid supply and they must share the same fluid. This is apparently different than my 96 Avalon.

Thanks, I feel better about not being able to drain and refill the differential.

 

I think this is kind of sticky material....people really get confused on this.
Maybe we should just make a new thread stating it so people don't have to read through it.

 

My car is a 97 avalon with 296k miles. I found there is a drain plug for the transmission, and ALSO a drain plug for the differential(as pictured in the Hanyes manual). After draining the fluid from the transmission pan, I dropped it and replaced the filter, and put the pan back up with the new gasket. I *over*filled (oops) the transmission housing through the dip stick tube at top of engine. According to the Haynes manual, the next thing to do was remove the fill plug on the differential, then remove the drain plug on the differential. Well, removing the drain plug, out poured the blackened fluid. The manual states there is 1.7 qts of fluid in there, separate from the transmission fluid. I watched the fluid fill my oil drain pan, carefully watching the marks along the side of the oil drain pan to see it rise up to 2 qts. Lo and behold, the fluid almost instantly changed to the bright red color of the new fluid at 2 qts , and it kept pouring out! I put the differential drain plug back in, and re-checked the transmission fluid through the dip stick. It lowered on the dipstick(still overfull though ) So even though the Haynes manual states that the differential and main transmission housings contain separate fluids, I think the manual may be wrong for the 97 regarding the filling procedures. The differential contains some fluid that can't be changed when you take out the transmission pan drain plug. That is why both must be off to drain the bad fluid. But to fill both the differential and transmission is just through the dip stick tube. Does this sound right?
Simply said:
Take off both the differentail and transmission drain plugs. Drain the old fluid.
Then simply fill transmission up with fluid through the dip stick tube until at proper level. (Some how fluid flows from the transmission to the differential?)
Thoughts?

 

Thank you, Clutchcolton, for your helpful post. I agree with you about the idea of "Take off both the differential and transmission drain plugs. Drain the old fluid. Then simply fill transmission up with fluid through the dip stick tube until at proper level."

At next transmission fluid change, I will:
1/ Check the old fluid level before draining it. Fill it up to the proper level
2/ Take off both the differential and transmission drain plugs
3/ Measure the drained old fluid, for example 4 qt
4/ Put the plugs back in
5/ Pour in 4 qt of new fluid through the dip stick tube
6/ Check the new fluid level

If the fluid level is right, then I am done. If the fluid is too much, over filled, then it 's a different story. I 'll tell you soon.

I 'm not a mechanic, and I even never remove the differential plug before, but I believe we just simply fill transmission up with fluid through the dip stick tube.

Again thank you for telling your experience.

 

So what is the consensus? I have inherited a 1996 Avalon and there is definitely a separate diff. drain (10 mm hex) and fill (19 mm. bolt). Are the fluids shared? The stuff from the diff sure looks dirtier.

 

Its dark outside but I managed to snap a picture of the fill plug for the differential fluid for those of you still wondering where the hell its at. Its on the drivers side next to the axle.

 

I have had a chance to "play around with" my transaxle. At least for my '96 Avalon the differential compartment is entirely separate from the main transaxle.

 

Just wanted to add my experience for anyone digging up this old thread. I just purchased a 98 Avalon (made in Kentucky) and was worried about not finding a fill bolt. So I kept the drain plug open while I put in some new transmission fluid in the dipstick. First couple quarts, nothing. Then as soon as I was adding my 3rd quart, new pink fluid starting draining out of the drain bolt of the transaxle (not the transmission pan). So at least on my car, I can confirm that they are connected and both filled through the dipstick. Thanks for the info!