Camry, Differential, and Transmission fluid

Roger Redford · 2003-09-20T22:57:05+00:00

Dear Experts, A number of months ago, I made a posting about a strange faint noise in my car. Search for: Strange, faint noise in Camry, andHow long do CV joints last in Camrys? The noise started after I had the transmissionfluid changed last winter. I had the CVJ joints, and the wheel bearingschecked. They were fine. The best they could say was perhaps the tires had too aggressive a tread. The tires and wheel balancing was perfect. The car has continued to run fine, albeit withthis noise. Recently I called an alignment expert. He said itcould be the differential might need rebuilding. So I looked this up on the net, and found that Camrys require ATF TYPE IV transmission fluid. Confirmedby the dealer. Dextron III is not recommended. I called the shop who change the fluid. They saidthat they used "transmission fluid", meaning Dextron III. Does it make sense that the wrong fluid is the cause of the noise?Now, I'm wondering about the fluid in the torqueconvertor. What percentage of all the transmission fluid is in the torque convertor? I'm told that flushing the system, like Jiffy LUbe and Aamco does, might just flush debris around the system. If I just do a regular transmission change, with no flush, it will leave some fluid in the torque convertor. The problem I have with Aamco and Jiffy Lube, is that they don't stock Type IV. They use Dextron III, and then use additives to change the properties of it to TYPE IV. So, I'm thinking for the Aamco price ($190.0, I could get two services from the dealer, and get rid of most all of the fluid. Ideas? Thanks

Sep 20, 2003 21 Replies

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PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read this, Roger Redford! You seem like a nice person that just wants straight answers. Here they are from an honest Toyota tech who wants to help....

I checked out your previous post to find out you have a 1997 V-6 Camry.

Your car has the A540E series transaxle which uses DEXTRON DEXTRON DEXTRON!!!!! Thats DEXTRON III! DEXTRON 3! I swear it does, its not a lie. Its common knowledge among anyone who works on cars (and cares about their job).

Important point #2: Your transaxle DOES fill completely from the dipstick if you wish to fill it that way. This is very important, because there have been many cases (even ones I've seen come into my shop) where a quicklube establishment has drained the differential compartment but didn't know to fill it back up. On many of the older Toyotas, you had to fill the diff through a seperate plug in the case, or 5 miles out the door and it was new trans time!! But YOUR MODEL CAN'T BE SCREWED UP THAT WAY because the pan and diff chambers are not sealed internally. As long as your quicklube tech checked the dipstick level, your trans is completely full. This is a good indication that your diff is in fine condition.

Point #3: Type-IV fluid is a more refined (more friction-modified) fluid that is used on the Toyota "Super ECT" trans units starting in

96 with the RAV 4 and 2000-2003 with all other models. It so far seems to be a longer lasting fluid in terms of quality, but is not designed with the friction components that you need for your car. This can translate into weak shifts and excelerated clutch wear.

Point #4: Your noise is probably not diff related. If it is a droning sound above 30-40 mph its probably chopped rear tires. That is very common. The pliant rear suspension will chop up tire tread around turns and that is 50% of why tire rotations are SO important on smallish FWD cars. You should be able to feel uneven tread as you run your hand over the rear tires if this is the case.

I hate to say this now as it doesn't help you much, but you could have gone to a good shop, paid a half hour of labor, and they could tell you where the noise was coming from. That would be an experienced guy doing a road test and puting the car on his rack for about $40 - $60 (at a dealer) or $35 - $50 independant. The dealer would most likely find the problem easier and quicker with more accuracy due to their familiarity with the Toyota line, that's the rationality in spending more.

Please have your trans fluid changed back to Dextron III and figure out what the real cause of the noise is.

Toyota MDT in MO

Camry, Differential, and Transmission fluid

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