Fluid Question

Haven't heard of Wolf-s Head brand in some time - must have been atleast 20-25 years. I still have some of the old type oil cans, the ones that have to be pierced by a specialty funnel - non-detergent motor oil.

That said - it is a universal fluid, but surprisingly does not indicate that it is JWS 3309 compliant - which is Toyota Type T-IV that you need. The specs of the fluid seem to point at a slightly thinner fluid, that seem more conventional in specs - not synthetic. Doesn't mean that it isn't synthetic - but its specs are worse that the OEM Toyota T-IV ATF that is known to be conventional or semi-synthetic (depending on who you ask).

Maybe that the fluid is perfectly fine. Might be worthwhile to just drive around and see how it works, all up to you. Personally, if it was my car - I would be pretty upset. Universal fluids vary wildly in performance - a one fluid for all makes doesn't much sense to me, especially with the wide range of required friction modifiers and viscosity variances. Some cases - it is perfectly fine to use (ie, Dexron apps), other cases - could be something that shortens the life of the transaxle, unfortunately won't know for some time. You never know - this fluid could be awesome in the transaxle - on the other hand, it could completely burn up the clutches tomorrow - like they say, your mileage may vary.

To be absolutely sure - have to drain all of the old fluid out and replace with spec fluid. That means pan drop, replace filter, and pump the existing ATF through the transaxle pump. They make special machines to do this - or you can do it yourself from the cooler lines. Lots of documentation online to show you have to do this yourself. If you want a shop to do it - make sure they use the inlet pump type flusher - not the line flusher or dipstick flushing machine. You want the transaxle to move the fluid on its own, don't want to pressurize the system. Might consider doing a short fluid run and flush again.

Only had one previous case where the dealership put different fluid than what I asked for (house fluid + friction modifier) - took three flushes and two months before I was satisfied that all the wrong fluid was out. I was fortunate, as I've pulled prior UOAs on the car before the fluid was flushed out. I was able to quickly determine if the fluid was working correctly or not - original fluid showed little wear metals, good additive package - immediately after the fluid change, wear metals increased 200-fold, oil looked like silver slurry. The car only ran about three days on this fluid before I convinced the dealership this was a bad thing. This was on my old Camry - quick action saved its transaxle - and it ran the most common fluid, Dexron ATF.

^^^ That must have been something. I did something similar with a flatbed truck - just finished a custom paint job a project car and was bringing it back home when I tried to ford a freshly flooded road - didn't realize it was that deep until the flatbed got light, stalled, and floated off to the side. Swam out to a telephone pole and used a winch to pull the truck up - drove home without any issues after that.

Anyway, probably didn't get too much water in the transmission. Getting water in the differential and wheel bearings - that is a different story.

It says it is compatible, but it didn't say anything of being JWS 3309 compliant. It speaks of being JWS 3324 compliant (Toyota WS) - but that is NOT back-spec'd to previous ATF requirements. I'm also going by the spec sheet that I found online http://wolfshead.com/specsheets/universalsynthetic.pdf - if they can provide the spec sheet for their fluid, that would be better.

Wrong fluid will make the transaxle fail sooner. How soon, how much damage it will cause, depends on how close the fluid is to the spec fluid. Since you ran around a fair amount of time with that particular fluid in there - even a flush now may not return it to the pre-Wolf's head condition. Best thing to do now is to flush it, fill with Toyota Type T-IV or compatible - run the car until it fails. It it runs for 500K miles or 10 miles - I don't have any idea.

As for the coolant, depends on what type of Turbo Power Coolant. Assuming this is it (cheapest variant - green, purple, or red in color) http://www.recochem.com/us/media/uploads/downloads/TP_OEM_AFC_USA_Selection_Guide_0114.pdf

That is definitely not spec'd like the Toyota coolant. That uses a low amount of silicates as an additive package, borate for corrosion resistance. Toyota coolant does NOT have any silicates, borates, amines, nitrates = the chemistry is totally wrong.

If it one of the global import or extended life variant (yellow for global, orange for extended) - harder to say. No Silicates or Phosphates in those + HOAT tech, which is similar to Toyota coolant. But additive package is different. Toyota is an ethylene-glycol-based coolant that is non-silicate, non-borate, non-amine, and non-nitrate and has a surprising dose of phosphates + HOAT tech.

If the fluid used is like one I found spec'd - then yes, it is not a compatible fluid. If it will kill the transaxle faster - only time will tell. But there is a reason why engineers spec a specific fluid - if you use the wrong type, can't expect the best performance from that component.

Turbo Power extended life (orange) - that stuff is OK. More like Dex-cool that Toyota red / Toyota pink - same with the transaxle fluid. Flush it out and replace with the appropriate fluid and distilled water. If it will cause problems - look at the drain water than comes out from the flushed cooling system - if there are any "chunks" in there - you're likely to have trouble down the road.

Has to say both - if not, has to have the number. JWS 3309 is what says it is Toyota Type T-IV compatible. JWS 3309 is also a specification for other manufacturers - like Volvo, Ford, Chevy, etc. - it basically lays out what the viscosity, friction modifiers, oxidation, deposit control, etc should be to work well in that particular transaxle. Toyota Type T-IV just happens to be one of those products - but since it doesn't list JWS 3309 but it does list JWS 3324 (Toyota WS) - makes me highly skeptical that this is fully compatible.

As for the coolant, as mentioned, should be OK. Not ideal - but I don't see it turning to gel or similar in the short term. Personally, I would flush it out and refill with the right stuff. Why take a chance. But it should be OK until you are ready to flush it out anyways.

I see it now - at the top, under Aisin Warner transaxles. If this is "the" oil they used at the shop - he should be alright. Specs are still off from Toyota Type T-IV, but considering how many transaxles this has to formulated for - not totally surprising.

One is the compliance standard, the refers to the end user product. JWS 3309 compliance is what makes it Toyota Type T-IV ATF compatible, but saying it is Toyota Type T-IV ATF does not automatically mean that it is JWS 3309 compliant. JWS 3309 is the spec that the oil should be at, so many manufacturers can follow this spec. Doesn't always mean that you can use a Toyota Type T-IV ATF in a Volvo or Chevy if they say JWS 3309 compliance required. There are enough differences in the finished product that can cause issues with other manufacturers. In most cases - the differences are minimal and nothing to worry about. But I don't want to allude to that, as I've seen enough cases where a small variance can completely kill a component. Best to stick with the manufacturer recommends - if you want to sway from this, completely up to you, but you have to own up to any issues down the road.

Toyota Type T-IV ATF is known to have a medium level of friction modifiers, you can find other aftermarket oils that also have a medium level of friction modifiers, but they can be completely unusable in the Toyota transaxle. Problem is, they won't tell you what the actual level of friction modifiers and/or additives you need - that's why there is the spec. If they state the spec and the product they are compatible with - you should be OK. If they don't state the spec but say it should work - wrong answer.

Aisin Warner (Aisin AW) is the parent manufacturer of the Toyota transaxle (combination of Aisin Seiki and BorgWarner transmission manufacturers). Toyota has more than 1 50% state in Aisin AW - so they are the sole source manufacturer for pretty much all the current Toyota transaxles/transmissions. Since it is listed under Aisin on the tech sheet, in this instance, the fluid is likely compatible with your car. Little confused why they didn't list it under Toyota - but that could have been a typo or oversight.

Best thing to do is find out if this "IS" the fluid that they put in or not. Just stating they are using Wolf's Head universal synthetic ATF is not enough information - as the online spec sheet might be for a completely different oil.

At this point - no sense worrying about it and just drive on.

Whenever you plan on getting the transaxle serviced next - just have it flushed out and the appropriate fluid pumped in its place. Same with the Coolant. If this is something that is really bothering you - setup up an appoint ASAP to have everything flushed out, right fluids put in - that way you know the fluids are correct.

This is precisely why forums like these exist - help owners trying to take on some simple DIY tasks so that they can change their own fluids. Do it yourself, and you'll know exactly what went in the car. Generally have no control over other shops unless you provide them with the fluids up front. Even then, the quality of work may be questionable. DIY first - if you screw something up - then you can go to the garage.

Depends the shop and their equipment - some shops will have this sort of machine, some do not. You'll have to ask. You can tell if shop uses this type because they can only attach it to the transaxle after removing the transmission pan and pulling the filter of. This is the key - most common machine is the cooler line flusher, where they don't even touch the pan. You want them to drop the pan - need to clean off the bottom of the pan and the magnets. Note how much slurry is on the bottom, then the next time you change the fluid - see how those deposits increased/decreased. Just by the nature of the transaxle, there will be some deposits on the bottom - all part of normal wear and tear. Where you have to worry is there is a LOT of stuff on the bottom or large chunks. You'll know if you see it - if it will be a problem or not.

If the shop doesn't have this sort of machine or you can find any reputable shop that has this - they can do a cooler line flush - but make sure they drop the pan, clean it, and replace the transaxle filter. You can also DIY - lots of videos online that walk you through a couple of ways to do it.

The one to stay away from is the transaxle filler tube machine - lots of transaxles ended up acting weird or flat out dying afterwards. Many of these setups want to run a "cleaner" through first - do NOT opt to do that. You want to drain out the old oil - not add more "stuff" in an effort to get the old fluid out.

Coolant flush - if the coolant is not compatible, you'll see debris suspended in the coolant (makes the coolant look cloudy) and there might be debris that is flushed out (looks like sand or mud). Might even see chunks of rubber (looks like rubbery sand). Shouldn't see any rust particles - the system is aluminum and plastic - water jacket of the engine is all aluminum. Same way with the transaxle, many of these setups want to run a "cleaner" through first - again, do NOT opt to do that. You want to drain out the old coolant - not add more "stuff" in an effort to get the old fluid out. Water used to top off the system, get it to the right concentration is distilled water. No tap water here, as the minerals will deplete the additive package faster - some cases, you might accidentally introduce a biological element to the coolant, don't need that.

You'll have to ask - not all dealerships have this sort of flushing machine.

You're old mechanic is almost right - most generic green coolant is generally not spec'd for your Corolla, but cannot just look at the color. The color has nothing to do with what manufacturer the coolant was formulated for - that is completely incorrect information. You can get coolant that can be appropriate for use in your Corolla that is red, pink, yellow, orange, purple or even green in color. Color is not the deciding factor, the additive package and chemistry is what you want to check on.

You're on the right track - if in doubt, unsure of what is good for the car, fluid wise - always run the OEM recommended fluids. Can never go wrong with those. Later on, once you get some DIY experience under your belt and pickup information on various fluids - you might want to experiment down the road.

If the pan will be dropped - always a good idea to replace the gasket and replace the filter. Pan is already going to be off, might as well replace the filter while it is accessible.

Like I mentioned, if you can't find a shop that will do it or has the equipment - a cooler line flush will be OK, just make sure they take the pan off to clean and replace the filter. Make sure that you can either see them take the pan off, or provide you with the old parts. Unless it is warranty work - you can always as for the old parts back by law.

My 2002 Corolla - I use Toyota Red - in the others, I plan on running either red or pink. Pink is already prediluted - so it can be a challenge to get all the water out of the system in order to maintain the correct concentration - but it is doable. Which one you should use - up to you and what you can find at a dealership. From what I gather - it can be hard to find Toyota Red now that all Toyotas have switched over to the premixed pink stuff.

Per spec:

From ORIGINAL Factory FILL:

Toyota Red = 50K miles, 36 months

Toyota Pink = 100K miles, 120 months

For subsequent drains and refills:

Toyota Red - 30K miles, 24 months

Toyota Pink - 60K miles, 60 months

I generally try to stick to that schedule to avoid any issues, but many other owners have commented that these can be considered somewhat on the conservative side. I've flushed and refilled with Toyota Red at 36K mile intervals (2 years for me) - with zero issues. The Matrix was recently switched to Toyota Red - plan is to follow the same schedule as the Corolla, or switch to Toyota Pink down the road. It is actually weeping coolant by the water pump, so I'll keep an eye on that. My Rav4 is still running the original fill. Won't worry about that until it gets closer to 100K miles. No weeping like the Matrix - knock on wood.

Yup - that would be pretty much exactly how I'd do it. That write up is pretty decent - he has a lot of good tips in there, so read though it carefully.

Note: This DIY flush process can be pretty messy - just have plenty of paper towels/rags around. Lay down some cardboard to help ward off spills, as there will be some ATF spills. Definitely need a helper with that method, makes it a LOT easier to do. In comparison, this will be similar to how the inlet pump machine flusher works - just that you are using the onboard transaxle pump to move the fluid. With the shop - all the lines and new and recovered fluids are contained in one spot - so they can complete the job relatively spill free and dispense/recover the oil efficiently.

Correct - once you flush out the other coolant, you'd only have to do drains and refills, you don't have to flush it out unless you want to. Simple procedure of draining the system and refilling with the same amount that drained out. Any remaining coolant will have the additive package buffered by the new coolant. Since they are the same chemistry, they wont' "fight" each other and deplete the additives out.