Changing Transmission fluid and transmission fluid oil by myself? Hard?

Err.

The 'oil' in the topic title should be 'filter'.

Sorry =P

Guessing you are talking about an automatic then?

The filter I'm not so sure about, I've never owned an automatic. But changing tranny or gear oil isn't really much different than changing motor oil. They all have drain plugs at the low point. Tranny's and rear and front differentials have the refill plugs side mounted. That's why gear oil comes with a needle nose spout. You squeeze it in at a moderate flow until it starts to drip down the case. That's full... But seriously, go get a good manual. Best to get a real toyota manual, but that'll be really pricey, and probably only available at the dealerships parts dept., on top of which they'll probably have to order it. This is however the best investment you can ever make in yourself concerning your vehicle. No one will ever be able to bullshit you, you've got the factory manual. (I used the the factory manuals to rebuild the engine,

5'th gear synchronizers and suspension of a '76 celica coupe back in 1980 or 81. No one has gotten away with any lies to me since then, and I'm now on my third toy. The toyota manual will make a decent mechanic of the lamest through it's step by step easy to read instructions. what you don't have and probably can't get are the specialized tools required to do some of the advanced work.)

Having said all that, I used what I learned from the Toy manualto find myself a very good independent mechanic 6 blocks from my home. We've become friends, I refer people to him, he cuts me slack. we exchange x-mas cards. This is what you want. Do what I said, It's easy.

It is important that you determine whether you have a manual transmission or an automatic. Once you do this, the owners manual will tell you what fluid to use.

If manual transmission, it is simple: drain and fill. There is no filter on a manual transmission. A Chiltons manual should show you how. Get a little pump for the fluid. They'll know what this is at an auto parts store.

If you have an automatic, it is not as simple, but again you should be able to figure it out from a Chiltons. You must keep everything clean. There should be a filter. You ususally have to pull the pan under the transmission to replace the filter. This is the area you have to keep clean. The most important thing with a high mileage automatic is determining if it is safe to change the fluid at all. Some mechanics believe that very old ( particularly burned) fluid cannot be safely changed (at least with new fluid), that the new fluid reacts with the seals and the tranny will fail soon. I don't know if this is crap, but it is a fairly widely followed theory, to the extent that some shops save used oil that they clean up and put in cars that come in with black smelly ATF. Perhaps another poster will know more about this?

Jim

Wow, thanks guys. Sorry, I forgot to mention that it is a manual transmission-- good thing I don't have to worry about a filter then.

Thanks again! I'll look into getting the stuff this week.