Where's the damn gear box fluid go?
 

Hey guys,

I've got a Toyota Camry CSi 1996 (XV10 ??) which is a hand me down from the parents, but my dad shares it with me as I live close by. I'm an undergraduate student and not working so not able to afford servicing the car, which I've been driving for almost two years and only been topping up the general fluids (oil, coolant, brakes, etc.).

Is there no dipstick for the gear box fluid? And do I need to take a bolt out to check levels with my finger?

There is a vibration only in the pedals, which seems to occur when accelerating and slowing down, not at constant speed. I was thinking this might be linked to low transmission fluid, hence the reason for trying to work out where gear box fluid goes.

Yesterday, I bought the Haynes service & repair manual for Toyota Camry, though not really sure it was worth it.

I normally drive a 1979 Holden kingswood (HZ) which I fully service myself, but the toyota is really cheap to run considering its a 2 hour return by car for university and I don't really know anything about Camry's!

Its starting to stress me out, as I am currently doing industry placement upon friends farms and haven't been able to go this week, its my semester break and I have next week left then back to university again which I expect will be a very hectic semester.

What sort of automotive service would be useful if the problem is not simply low fluids? Expected/estimated costs appreciated (rebuild/replacement with reco parts).

Regards

Jesse boy

If you have the Haynes manual look through the front portion of the book covering routine maintenance. There should be a drawing under the category of manual transaxle lubricant change showing the filler and drain holes.

fill and drain hole/bolts
 

Hey joey thanks for reply.

I've had a look at that section, it doesn't give away too many hints on which is the fill and which is the drain hole unfortunately.

I attached two scanned pages, if I loaded them properly. I'm thinking the fill might be the one titled 'Plug' on page 7A-5 (figure 6.4a) and I was wanting to check the fluid level in the fill hole before draining, though want to make sure I don't accidentally drain instead before checking.

A friends dad took the car for a test drive late last night, having prior thought the clutch plate could possibly be on the way out, though upon driving he said as the clutch pedal is easy and smooth, then something may just need adjusting.

So just need to workout if the fluids are low first, if they are not low, then I plan to take the car to a family friends place who is a former mechanic for his opinion.

regards,

Jesse boy

I took some photos of the camry (here) and took it up to a local mechanic who confirmed the location of the bolt. I'd had the same mechanic assess the vehicle for the vibration in the pedals, although he was able to determine what the problem is.

The plugged marked by the arrow is the fill plug.

The drain plug is on the opposite side of the trans. Look for the same type of plug but now facing forward instead of sideways as with the fill plug.

In the exploded drawing, the drain plug is between the rear retainer bracket and diff side bearing retainer exploded parts areas.