Corollas2019-23ToyotasTech

Search Corolland!

2004 Transmission Oil

elopomorph, December 7, 2009



I just bought a my first corolla (2004 sport model with 80,000 miles) last week and am so far very happy with the purchase. This is my first time on this forum so I apologize if I am bringing up an old topic. I searched the site but did not find the answers that I need.

Since I don't know the history of car I have done some work to get a "clean slate". I changed the engine oil, air filter, and cabin air filter and got the brakes and engine checked out. I am interested in changing the transmission oil but don't know the difficultity of the project. I am very familiar with changing the engine oil on cars and would love to hear some suggestions on changing the transmission oil of a 2004 corolla. I have never changed the transmission oil of anything.

Mike

Difficultly level is similar to an oil change. For most cases, a drain and refill is all that is necessary. A drain and refill takes a little less than 4 quarts of Toyota Type T-IV ATF or similar. If you opt to drop the pan, not than much harder to do, just messier. If you open the pan, probably a good idea to clean/replace the transmission filter as well. Don't forget a drain plug gasket (crush washer) for a drain and refill or pan drop, and a gasket for the pan - if you plan on dropping it. A large, wide drain pan can also come in handy - though if you are careful with the drain pan, you can "tilt" it slightly, by leaving a few bolts on loosely, to help reduce the chance for a mess. Removing the filter (basically a metal screen) - will also cause some fluid to drip out. Just clean off the little magnets inside the pan and the pan itself throughly. When you toss the pan back on there, make sure to not to put so much torque on the bolts that you distort the pan lip - just a little at a time, until the snug up, then give them a little more. I don't use a torque wrench on them anymore - just a small 1/4" drive wrench that I just grab the head to minimize the torque I put on the bolts. I just go back a few weeks later to give them a final check to make sure none of them have worked loose - never had a leak in any of them.

thanks!!! This is very useful!!! Especially since I have never done this before.

I have some follow up questions:

Where do you recommend I puchase the transmission oil, crush washer, and filter? Should I go to my nearest toyota dealer?

How do you recommend cleaning the pan? Take a shop towel and remove all the oil in the pan?

How often should I change the transmission oil? How often should I change both the transmission oil and the filter?

Toyota dealership would be the most convenient, as they will have the exact parts you need. No guesswork there, assuming the service person looked up the correct part number (hence why most places are asking for the vehicle VIN number when you order parts).

Toyota ATF runs about $5 a quart, where I'm at. Pan gasket and crush washer usually sets me back about $20, filter they might have to order, as they generally will just clean and reuse the original one (assuming it is in good shape and be cleaned, it will be pretty obvious if it cannot be reused).

To clean the pan, paper towels and some solvent (brake system cleaner works pretty well - inexpensive and no residue leftover). Pour most of the oil out, a few paper towels to get the rest of the old oil and whatever chunks are on the bottom of the pan (note - normal to have some very fine metal shavings stuck to the magnets and the bottom of the pan, but bigger chunks are a problem). Spray down with some solvent, left it air dry or wipe down with a lint free cloth (doesn't have to be clean room spotless, just don't leave big bits of material in there.)

Good idea to do a drain and refill every 30K miles - as you only will be able to drain about 1/4 to a 1/3 of the total system's capacity. Most of the oil is inside the torque converter and the rest of the transaxle. Every 30K miles is often enough that you can ensure some fresh fluid gets introduced in the transaxle. I like to do a pan drop every other drain and refill, to clean up the bottom of the pan and verify the conditions inside. Replacing the filter every 60K miles is fine, I generally clean it at least once. You'll understand once you see it. More of a metal screen strainer, than a filter. Designed to keep large chunks of debris from getting pulled into the pump. Even with occasional towing that I do from time to time - this is a pretty conservative schedule.

thanks again. Very useful.

What do you do with the old transmission oil? Can you drop it off to get recyled somewhere?

The autoparts store in my area takes engine oil but will not take transmission oil.

Check with local fire departments, auto salvage yards, quicklube places. They might take it or give you an idea on where to go. Some autopart stores allow you to mix waste oils, some do not - though again, they might point you in the right direction.

Do you know where the transmisson oil should reach on the dipstick? The owner's manual does not discuss transmission oil at all. My dipstick has 4 notches so I assume you want the level between the bottom two notches and below the top two notches?

The two sets of notches refer to the "hot" fluid level and the "cold" fluid level. Upper set denotes the min/max for hot ATF fluid - lower set denotes min/max for cold ATF fluid.

Check the fluid level by the car idling, shifter in park and parking brake set - yank the dipstick out and read the level. If you just started the car - aim to have the fluid level between the lower notche sets. Transaxle can be damaged if you put in too much fluid. If there is too much fluild, you'll have to crack open the drain plug to drain some out or use a siphon to draw out the excess fluid from the transaxle pan.



Topic List: Go to Toyota Corolla, Chevy Prizm (1998-2008)