I’m doing a tranny job on an '05 Toyota Camry LE with a 2AZ-FE engine with a U250E transmission. I picked up four (4) quarts of Toyota ATF Type T-IV for $5.29 a quart at Carquest where they wanted about $7.00 a quart at Toyota. I picked up a filter and gasket set at the same time. My plan is to do this project in the A.M. I’ve done a couple of these tranny fluid jobs so it’s no big deal.
Question I have is for @Transman…I picked up a bottle of B-12 CHEMTOOL. I do recall that you have mentioned that this is about the only thing you add to the fluid when doing your transmission magic. Am I correct on this subject and if so, do you put the whole 15 oz. bottle in while filling with fluid? Maybe 1/2 or 1 & 1/2? Do you just leave it in until the next change 30,000 miles later or does it need to come out sooner? (it does say fuel treatment on the bottle)
The Camry only has 42,000 miles on it and according to the owner, She says this is the last car she wants to own/buy so I’m trying to help her reach this goal.
I wouldn’t use any additives in a 2005 car with 42K miles on it, just the fluid change. BUT I am NOT transman.
On the same note, since I have the same car, it is actually a screen and not a filter. Toyota recommends just cleaning it. I changed mine (same car) with aftermarket filters and it wasn’t holding as much oil on the next drain and refill, so my OCD kicked in and I bought a new screen from Toyota and put it in.
The drain plug is 10mm hex and very easy just to drain and refill. The pan drop is a royal pita because of the part that is under the crossbar. I have gotten faster with it due to practice (had one gasket fail on me…). There is no way you are getting a torque wrench on 4-5 of the nuts. A ratcheting wrench is very helpful.
@galant…Should I just change it cold or maybe drive it down the street to warm it up a little bit? I could not find any torque specs in the owner’s manual. Do you happen to know what the specs are for the pan bolts?
Cold or hot would not make much difference. You get 3.5 qt if I remember correctly. I do not know the specs, just change the crush washer ($2 at the dealer) and you should be good. I just do it by feel. Heck, I ended up doing the pan bolts by feel too. 5 of 18 can’t get the torque wrench on and whatever specs I found on the pan bolts, was crushing the gasket I had.
I’m not transman, but I wouldn’t anything other than the correct transmission fluid to this transmission, or any other for that matter, unless there was sort of problem that I was trying “limp along” until a proper repair can be performed.
Why did you choose the Carquest fluid over the Toyota?
It is genuine Toyota fluid in a bottle that says Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. Part No. 00279-000T4. Black bottle with Toyota emblems and logos. I did also notice when I was there, they also carried Genuine Honda fluid also. I called all the parts houses in town and they were the only ones that carried it besides the dealer.
Here’s a previous discussion on this forum on the use of B12-CHEMTOOL.
Note Transman’s comment at the bottom of the first page, where he clarifies that he uses B-12 in transmissions that suffer from hardened clutch piston seals to soften the seals and bring back hydraulic integrity, and not as a regular every day additive.
I use that on older transmissions with hardened seals. It softens the seals and makes the transmission run right. For servicing, I always use a product called Lube-Gard. Use the one in the RED bottle, this is a conditioner. The other bottle (Black) is a friction modifier, dont use that one.
Got the project completed and all went well. Did not use the B-12 CHEMTOOL but I did put in a bottle of Red Lube-Gard. I noticed the smooth shifting immediately and running great. While reading all the info on the Lube-Gard bottle, it says it can be used in almost all trannys except Type-F and also some CVT trannys. Also assists in keeping trans temps down and all kinds of other wonderful things.