Maintenance on 2004 Highlander 2.4L

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My Highlander is due for several maintenance items, and one of those things is a cooler line ATF flush. It has the U241 Aisin tranny, but my question is which side of the radiator is the "in" from the tranny and "out" to the tranny after being cooled.. the driver side or passenger side. I'm going to be using T-IV fluid that I already have and got for a good price, though I might use the T-IV for my Tacoma since it might be still under warranty? (Isnt powertrain 5Y/60k?) If I don't use the T-IV I'm going to use Castrol Import.

Anyone know off the top of their head which side of the rad to pull the hose off? Thanks in advance!
 
Just a side question for you:

HAve you check to see if yours come with the infamous intermediate shaft popping issue? (TSB ST001-06)

Just had mine done about 6mnths ago, I believe over 1/2 of the Camrys, Hilanders and Solaras are suffering from this and my firm believe has something to do with OEM shaft supplier quality issues..

Q.
 
Nope, we haven't had any issues with it since we bought it used at 75k, except the oil pan leaking which I solved by snugging the bolts up, and the condition of the ATF fluid, which I had a shop drop the pan, clean and change the filter.
 
Quest,

I have a bit of a pop when I'm steering in reverse at low speeds. I only notice it about once a month, and it's very slight.

The new TSB for this has them grease the ends of the shaft, they don't replace them anymore. It's about a 200 dollar part at rock auto.

As to the ATF, I don't know. I'm a drain/refill guy. Sorry.
 
Originally Posted By: bepperb
Quest,

I have a bit of a pop when I'm steering in reverse at low speeds. I only notice it about once a month, and it's very slight.

The new TSB for this has them grease the ends of the shaft, they don't replace them anymore. It's about a 200 dollar part at rock auto.

As to the ATF, I don't know. I'm a drain/refill guy. Sorry.


While shopping for a used Camry (ended up bought a 1 owner 04 camry with 2AZFE, low mileage (only got 56,000kms when bought last year), we came across over 70% camrys of that generation with pops, and even my wifey's low mileage camry is of no exception, meaning that it would "clunk" lightly when coming to a braking stop, and the steering is rather "vague" at best.

I know most Toy tricks in town is to lube the splines on this intermediate shaft but that only serves to delay the symptoms until it becomes very significant, esp. when the cars got past 100,000kms to clock or more. My colleagues who own Hilander/camry/solara all have this problem and their mechs told them to either spend (a) 600bux CAD to get it fixed at the dealer, or (b) live with it.

In my case, I bought my replacement one from Mossy Toyota online and had it done (by yours-truely) for 200bux USD (parts only). NOw the vehicle is runing nicely and no more pops. Most important of all: no more wandering on the highway due to taut steering.

My investigation indicated that insufficient induction-hardening applied to the splines on the intermediate shaft where it "telescopes" as the shaft in-action. The replacement unit is a revised unit (version II) meaning that the original revised one for the TSB also suffered from the same failure as mileage creeps up on them.

So much for US-sourced OE components for those US built Toy camrys and highlanders....

Q.
 
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Well, if that and the heater control knob are all I need to fix before 150,000 miles I'll be satisfied. I'm thinking I'll need new struts beforhand as well, but we'll see.

There aren't many issues with these, but those that exist seem to hit a very high percentage of people, at least from what I see at tundrasolutions.com.

Oh, not sure the source/origin of the intermediate shaft, but all Highlanders 01-07 were made in Japan.
 
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Quote:
So much for US-sourced OE components for those US built Toy camrys and highlanders....


Mine was built in Japan. So it is not affected correct? I have not heard the pop...
 
Originally Posted By: MysticGold04
My Highlander is due for several maintenance items, and one of those things is a cooler line ATF flush. It has the U241 Aisin tranny, but my question is which side of the radiator is the "in" from the tranny and "out" to the tranny after being cooled.. the driver side or passenger side. I'm going to be using T-IV fluid that I already have and got for a good price, though I might use the T-IV for my Tacoma since it might be still under warranty? (Isnt powertrain 5Y/60k?) If I don't use the T-IV I'm going to use Castrol Import.

Anyone know off the top of their head which side of the rad to pull the hose off? Thanks in advance!


Use the T-IV for now. AFAIK the return line would be the upper hose/pipe going into the tranny, meaning the passenger side for you on the radiator. it would make sense that fluid leaves in the lower hose at the transmission and returns in the higher hose.
 
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