About a month ago, I bought my first Camry, a 1989 4 cylinder LE with an automatic transmission and 134k miles. It's a true fixer upper, more than I realized, but I got a good deal on it, and I intend to keep it as long as possible.

Most of the parts appear to be original. The engine oil was newer (Car Quest oil filter), but the transmission fluid was dark brown, as was the coolant. There were no problems with the transmission shifting. I couldn't remove the tranny cooler lines to flush the fluid, so I drained via the tranny pan and refilled it (also dropped the pan and changed the filter, too), about 5 times, such that the fluid is constantly pink a day after the change.

For the transmission fluid, I switched to Valvoline Dexron IV full synthetic, which says it works in Toyotas.

My radiator leaked and I found a 4" hairline crack, so I replaced the radiator, radiator cap, hoses, and thermostat. I used Prestone Coolant Flush TWICE and left it in for a week each time. I flushed and flushed and flushed until the water was clear. I then added the Toyota Long-Life (5 year?) 50/50 antifreeze, on sale for $18.95 x 2 containers. Any other antifreeze brands okay to use in the future? I looked at the MSDS for the Peak Lifetime and compared it to the Peak 5 year; the only difference was a small % and presence of inorganic acids in the former.

As to oil, for the past 5 years, I've always used Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil, so I put 5W-30 into the engine and used a Toyota filter. I've read that the oil filter should be changed about a month later due to the new synthetic oil removing gunk. Is that true? I checked the oil and it looked fine, but I changed the filter just to be safe.

Is 5W-30 the best, or can I use 0W-30?
How do Toyota oil filters compare to other brands. Any recommendations?

I drive 60% city, 40% freeway in Northern California with ambient temp in the 40'-60' F range and a series of steep hills to and from my house. And the big question: giving my driving conditions, how often should I change my synthetic oil and oil filter?

Thanks!

 

Welcome to CF.

There are products such Asian coolants. Zerex has an Asian coolant. Zerex G-05 is OK for Toyota's older then 1996. The coolant requirements of newer cars has changed over the years.

The Toyota coolant is a hybrid OAT or HOAT.

Given the coolant is changed say every 5 years, a few dollars more in price is not a large factor.

As to oil weights, depends on how cold your area is. 5W-30 is recommended down to -30F. 0W will pump better at cold temps and is also called out because it slightly increases MPG for CAFE standards. If your temps are 40-60F either one will work. For your car 10W-30 was originally recommended.

Synthetics allowed lowering the first number such as 0W. Automakers like them because they also slightly improve MPG.

Opinions on oil filters has been discussed to death. No doubt the Toyota brand is good.

Wix makes good filters including those rebranded for NAPA. NAPA Gold was NAPA's best but now there is a Platinum. Wix now has an XP filter for extended oil changes which be 10K miles.

As to oil and filter replacement intervals. Some new car manuals are recommending 10K miles when using synthetic. If going this route use a filter designed to last 10K such as WIX XP.

Unless otherwise specified most DIY'ers use 5K regardless of oil type. This again a matter of opinion, the oil could go 10K just make sure you change it. And check the level regular as the engine burn some, leak, etc.

 

Thanks for your reply, Joey.

I forgot to ask a couple of questions about ATF.

I want to protect the transmission, given its apparent neglect. When I dropped the pan, it was filled with silver shavings, esp. the magnets. The transmission filter had a few shavings.

How often should I change the newly installed synthetic ATF?
Are there any brands better than the Valvoline MaxLife Fully Synthetic Dex/Merc IV, part number VV322?

Valvoline/1 gal. high mileage Dex/Merc automatic transmission fluid VV322 at AutoZone.com - 1 reviews

 

MaxLife is fine.

As to changing interval don't know. Your in new territory in using synthetic in this trans. For conventional fluid and normal driving every 30K miles is good. Might be able to double this with synthetic.

Later model Toyota's use synthetic. The dealer has a color card to compare fluid color to. The darker the fluid, the worse the condition.

How big and how many of these shavings? Typically there is some non-metallic material and a little bit of metallic grime, but shavings are not a good sign. When driving take note if trans starts slipping in forward or reverse gear.

And has happened when trans fails car will not move in F or R or either.

 

Thanks again for your reply.

The color of the residual fluid in the bottom of the transmission pan was gray and floating in it were numerous, about 1 cm long gray slivers. Each of the three magnets on the pan was completely SATURATED with similar type slivers. I did not see anything else there.

It's my understanding that even the Toyota dealer doesn't change the transmission filter, so I would not be surprised if I'm the first to change the filter and drop the pan in this car, with 143k miles on it. I wonder if 143k miles of driving without cleaning the pan and changing the filter might explain all the slivers, as opposed to transmission damage?

After cleaning the pan and magnets thoroughly, I added two more magnets to the inside bottom of the pan and ensured that they would have enough space.

Under my car, the transmission has always acted fine, e.g. no slipping and is very responsive to reverse. I want to avoid expensive repairs or replacement, so I'm focused on preventing and mitigating any damage that might be going on. Autozone sells the synthetic ATF for only $20 per gallon, which I consider a bargain considering the lost time and cost of repairing/replacing the transmission. I appreciate any other thoughts you or anyone else has.

 

The filter is a screen and doesn't retain debris like an oil filter.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Based upon my experience with this car, if I buy another car with 144k miles that appears neglected (e.g. brown transaxle fluid), I will drop the pan and clean it.

The screen and magnets did their job of blocking shavings from entering the transaxle via the transaxle fluid. As preventive maintenance, I will probably change the transaxle fluid more frequently than 30k for the following reasons: it's easy (remove the transaxle drain plug), costs about $20, will give new fluid to the transaxle, and takes about 15 minutes, and offers no disadvantage for the car.

However, reinstalling the transaxle pan was a pain. How often would it be prudent to drop and clean the pan?

 

Did you also change the differential fluid?

As to trans pan cleaning. If nothing was found in pan, would state every other fluid change, if that.

In your case might do this sooner to determine if more shavings appear.

What caused your trans pan installation to be difficult?

 

Thanks again for your reply.

I changed the differential fluid, and found it to be dark brown and with a few slivers on the metal drain plug.

Dropping, cleaning the pan, and changing the filter were easy.

Reinstalling the transmission pan was difficult, because I had to push it upward, fighting gravity, and hold it while installing the screws. I had to have a friend hold it and it was hard for me to align the bolt screws.

It is not leaking, but I didn't use gasket sealer. In the future, should I use gasket sealer?

thanks

 

If the gasket is not leaking, no need for sealant. However it might aid in holding the gasket to the pan for better alignment when installing the bolts. But some sealants require 24 hours to cure before contact with fluid.

Might try something called Aviation Form-A-Gasket. Put a couple of dabs on the pan to hold the gasket in place, it doesn't need curing.