Took 4 hours for a Tranny Fluid Drain/Refill

[mareakin]

Extended Subject Line: Took 4 hours for a Transmission Fluid Drain/Refill/Pan Drop/Clean Plan/Transmission Filter Change, Let me tell you about it.

Car: 2007 Corolla CE
Mileage: 27,000

So, the moment was right: I found a parking space downstairs on the street of my building, drove the car onto a set of RHINO ramps and got under the car and using my Craftsmen wrench I removed the drain plug and the transmission fluid

Here's what I have noticed:

1. The Fluid was dark, not black, but dark red and not vibrant like the new ATF (Toyota Type T-IV). This fluid is in fact..... AN OIL!!!!! I didn't realize this until I did this job. I thought it was a water type liquid.

2. The pan wasn't very dirty at all. There was a thin layer of that silvery grime but a very thin layer.

3. I probably did not need to drop the pan at 27,000 miles. I think at this mileage for my car and with my driving habits, a simple drain then refill would've been more than sufficient.

4. The transmission filter doesn't seem to perform a very important function. It's very clean. there are a few traces of silvery grime stuff but nothing nasty at all. I probably didn't need to replace it, but I did, with an aftermarket transmission filter I got from RockAuto.com (Beck/Arnley brand0

5. re-attaching the pan with a new gasket proved hardest, the main reason being that the gasket simply would not sit properly on the pan because the gasket came out of the box all bunched up, this makes it very difficult to align it properly between the pan and the under-side of the transmission: oh, and tehre are 18 screws to work with.

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Lesson learned: a simple drain/refill every 10,000 miles to 15,000 miles for the next 60,000 to 90,000 miles is more than sufficient!

 

[drewjp]

Congrats on changing it yourself! I love the feeling I get after doing a job like that myself. It never gets old(except in the winter).

I have sped up this process when I do by a) using carb/choke cleaner to clean the pan and b) using a thin layer of grease around the edge of the pan to keep the gasket in place while I reinstall the pan.

My car has 60,000 miles. At 30k, I drain/refilled with Redline C+ ATF and new filter, then at 50k, I repeated the process with Supertech ATF+4, and probably at 70k, I will do the Redline again.

The fluid/filter are not that expensive compared to the price of getting your transmission fixed. I like changing them every 20-30k miles.

 

[crinkles]

on these toyota transmissions with a drain plug and dipstick a simple drain and fill is really all you need. anything you do above the official line of "change only as needed" will probably mean the transmission would last a very long time.

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: mareakin

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Lesson learned: a simple drain/refill every 10,000 miles to 15,000 miles for the next 60,000 to 90,000 miles is more than sufficient!


I plan on doing every 30k km or 20k miles

 

[03cvpi]

Congratulations,

It's hard to find the right moment in the middle of winter. It sounds like everything went ok. I think the normal trans service interval is 30k for these cars. If the car is under warranty, save your receipts in case there is trouble with the trans later on. After the warranty is up, you could move to a synthetic transmission fluid and extend the changes to 50k.

I hate the way most companies pack the gasket, I usually go to carquest and get the felpro gasket, it comes packed flat and makes it a breeze to replace.

 

[SZR48207]

Fun stuff, huh? How'd you like the smell of ATF?

I had the same observations when I change mine at 55K. I wish I had installed a drainplug into the pan when I had it off because it seems like a drain/fill is sufficient.

Also, did you use a torque wrench when you put the pan back on?

I think what took me longest was getting the fluid filled just right. I'm so used to oil changes where you can pretty easily tell if you have the level right, but since you have to check ATF when it is warm, I had some issues. I didn't measure the fluid I took out so I had to guess on the initial fill and then spend the next day or two getting the level just right.

 

[mareakin]

The smell? Not bad! ACtually, it reminded me of Engine oil, I even got it all over my hand and it was VERRRRRRYYYYY hard to clean off...

I didn't use a torque wrench, I think I may have OVER-torque'd it a bit.... however everything seems ok.. so i'm not TOO worried

Right now, i'm in the process of determining if I need to add more ATF.... checking the ATF fluid level is verrrrrrry tricky.

I think I'll go AMSOIL next time, just to play

 

[Spector]

on my 92 Camry I gave up dropping the pan after a couple of times, the screen was pretty much useless (not a filter but a screen) and pan clean. Never have done a flush, drain and fill with syntetic every 30,000 and now 400 miles short of 200,000 on it.

 

[Kestas]

Congrats and welcome to the club! I usually spread out the gasket a day before and weigh it down with something to flatten it out before using it.

 

[mareakin]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Congrats and welcome to the club! I usually spread out the gasket a day before and weigh it down with something to flatten it out before using it.


! good idea!!!