89 Camry ATF and filter change

[Gonz]

The Camry in question is a four cylinder model with 230k miles. I don't know the history of it before a couple years ago, but the fluid was very dark and smelled burnt. I dropped the pan and changed the filter, and did a cooler line flush. I went through 8 quarts of Supertech Dex/Merc and 2 quarts of Max life. My plan was to drive it like this for a little while and then do a drain and refill with Max life. Does this sound like a good plan? Any advice?


I also took some pictures of the pan after removal, there was no sludge build up at all, but the magnets looked crazy.
How many miles does it take to make a magnet look like that?

 

[[email protected]]

Haha!! Ive never seen trans pan magnets grow in a 'stalagmite' form before....lol.

 

[FusilliJerry82]

Personally I wouldn't use Maxlife, I think its probably a bit too thin for an older transmission that specs Dex II/III with that many miles. Castrol High Mileage might be a better choice.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Gonz
The Camry in question is a four cylinder model with 230k miles.
...
I also took some pictures of the pan after removal, there was no sludge build up at all, but the magnets looked crazy.
How many miles does it take to make a magnet look like that?


230k miles, sounds like.

Valvoline Maxlife, Castrol High Mileage, Schaeffer 204, Mobil 1 or any other quality ATF should do you just fine.

 

[unDummy]

Sounds like a good plan. Maxlife will work well.

Does your trans have a separate drain/fill plugs for the diff?

 

[AzFireGuy79]

I just did a Corolla with similar mileage and used maxlife. Shifts are buttery smooth now!

 

[Gonz]

Originally Posted By: unDummy
Sounds like a good plan. Maxlife will work well.

Does your trans have a separate drain/fill plugs for the diff?



It does, but I'm not sure how to change it. Does it use fluid from the transmission, or is it completely separate?

 

[Gonz]

Originally Posted By: [email protected]
Haha!! Ive never seen trans pan magnets grow in a 'stalagmite' form before....lol.


I expected to see sludge and sediment and other horrors when i dropped the pan. The last thing i expected was modern art.

 

[unDummy]

Its completely separate if it has its own fill plug.

Grab some new washers from the dealer. Pull the fill plug and drain plug. When empty, install drain plug, and add ATF into the fill plug until ATF pours out of the fill hole. Vehicle must be on a level surface for accurate amount level. Then reinstall fill plug.

 

[trynew]

My 91 v6 Camry has a separate plug for the differential, but as far as I can tell, it shares the fluid. The case had to rise over some obstruction, so Toyota put in a plug on the diff so you could drain out more of the fluid. You need to fill the diff again through a fill plug to get enough fluid in there for the startup. You can't just let it splash fill.
The four cylinders might be different, though.
I put in Dex 6 a couple of years ago, and have not had any problems. I would also recommend a bottle of red Lubegard for an older transmission.

 

[Bama]

I have a 1990 Camry w/ the 4-cyl 3sfe, it's a gen2 Camry essentially the same as your 89. The differential on the 4-cyl Camry is definitely separate from the trans, although it takes the same fluid (Dexron II ATF). The fill plug for the diff is up on the side & is kind of a booger to access, not a lot of space between the diff & the cross member for someone with fat hands like me. O'reillys had a little hand pump dispenser like those on lotion/shampoo/liquid-soap bottles that would screw onto a quart bottle of atf that was nice for refilling, though the 1ft of plastic hose that came with it was pretty worthless. With the car on the ground, it's too low to get an upright bottle of atf under it. If you decide to use one of these, take it to a hardware or an aquarium store & pick up 3 to 4 ft of plastic tubing that fits the pump spout. That way you can set the bottle of atf upright next to the car & snake the tubing up to the fill plug. Also make sure you can get the fill plug out BEFORE you remove the drain plug. Manual says the diff capacity is 1.7 qts, just add fluid until it starts to run out of the fill hole. One last gotcha I ran into with the little lotion pump thingy was that it would start to suck air after only pumping about half a quart out, so even though the dif only holds a little under 2 qts, get yourself at least 3 qts so you can keep the bottle you're pumping from full. I used Castrol Domestic multi-vehicle when I did mine, it was pretty reasonable at Wal-Mart and was recommended for the older flavors of Dexron.