So i bought a used camry and i dont know what has been done to it. So im fine tuning it, changing fluids, flushing, just a little maintenance. It has 170,xxx miles on it and i have no idea when the last time it was done. Ive heard that changing it at high miles could be bad. Since i just bought it, i would rather it continue working for a good amount of time. What do you guys recommend?

I recommend just what you are doing, changing all the fluids, so you will now have a baseline with which to work. I would include the brake fluid too, although you can take a look at the brake fluid to see how dark it is, and judge from that on whether it needs replacing,

I would advise against having the transmission flushed using one of those flush machines, at your mileage. Just drain the fluid out and drop the pan and change the filter. Put everything back together and refill the trans fluid. Drive the car around 500 miles and then do just the drain and refill portion again. I would then drive another 500 miles and do the drain and refill one last time. That should ensure the you have mostly new fluid in there.

The other thing I would do would be to replace the timing belt, so you will have a baseline on that too. The recommended change interval for the belt when your car was new was every 60,000 miles. I think you are now safe using a 90,000 mile change interval as was recommended with the generation 4 Camry (1997-2001).

Mike

I recommend just what you are doing, changing all the fluids, so you will now have a baseline with which to work. I would include the brake fluid too, although you can take a look at the brake fluid to see how dark it is, and jusge from that on whether it needs replacing,

I would advise against having the transmission flushed using one of those flush machines, at your mileage. Just drain the fluid out and drop the pan and change the filter. Put everything back together and refill the trans fluid. Drive the car around 500 miles and then do just the drain and refill portion again. I would then drive another 500 miles and do the drain and refill one last time. That should ensure the you have mostly new fluid in there.

The other thing I would do would be to replace the timing belt, so you will have a baseline on that too. The recommended change interval for the belt when your car was new was every 60,000 miles. I think you are now safe using a 90,000 mile change interval as was recommended with the generation 4 Camry (1997-2001).

Mike

Mike


Great! Thanks for your lengthy reply :) Ill check the other things i havent yet when i get a chance.

One more question if i may. There seems to be kind of a metal against metal type noise coming from the front. I hear it could be the brakes going bad, which seems logical since i have to press em down a decent amount to stop. Ideas?

plus when changing run a magnet threw old fluid to check for metal shavings there will be some but cant have chunks of it. and if you change timing belt change water pump because pump go's bad you'll have to tear it back down because pump is behind timing belt. those toyota's are good moters.

plus when changing run a magnet threw old fluid to check for metal shavings there will be some but cant have chunks of it. and if you change timing belt change water pump because pump go's bad you'll have to tear it back down because pump is behind timing belt. those toyota's are good moters.

And thank you. I will get these done on a day when its nice out again.

"One more question if i may. There seems to be kind of a metal against metal type noise coming from the front. I hear it could be the brakes going bad, which seems logical since i have to press em down a decent amount to stop. Ideas?"

If this noise is happening only when the brakes are applied, it could indeed be the brakes. Most brake pads have what's called a pad wear indicator on them. It is simply a metal tang that contacts the rotors when the pads wear to a certain level. This level is close to the end of the useable life of the pad material. As the brakes are applied and this tang makes contact with the brake rotors, it makes a loud screeching sound. If this is what you are experiencing, have your brakes checked out as soon as possible, or check them out yourself if you feel you are capable of doing this. Many places offer free brake inspection. I think Pep Boys is offering this free service right now with a coupon printed from their website.

Mike

yah i call it the warning signal so you don't fry your rotors.

yah i call it the warning signal so you don't fry your rotors.

thanks. can someone tell me where the pcv valve is on my camry? i want to check that while im at it. i dont have a picture handy but this looks pretty similar to mine.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/1991_Toyota_Camry_sedan_02.jpg

should be sticking in top of valve cover and when removed if it rattles when you shake it don't need replaced unless you just want to.

Usually on the driver's side end of the valve cover, with a short tube conecting it to the intake plenum (the big part labeled "EFI"). It's pressed into a rubber grommet that may be hardened from all the years/miles, so be careful you don't crack the grommet and allow pieces to fall into the valvetrain underneath it, though there are some metal baffles in the valve cover to keep any foreign crud contained.

Better yet, buy a new grommet and replace it. I had to pull my old one out a piece at a time, being careful to not let anything drop down.

As scrapper said, it should rattle freely when shaken but should only let gases go from the valve cover to the plenum. Use compressed air to test this.

Good luck!

I couldn't help but to call around to find out how thin my wallet would be if some else got dirty changing the filter and all. Of course I knew they would push for the flush. But as he was throwing me the sales pitch, he said something I need to ask here.

He said he would flush the tranny first. Then after, drop the pan & change the filter.

My question is, if he flush first then drop pan, wouldn't that drain out the gunk from the flush? Or does most still stay inside until it's driven?

Filters work one way. The tranny sucks in fluid from the pan through the filter. When they flush it, they can do it in either normal or reverse flow. Normal flow you're still pushing fluid through an old filter and any contaminants or sludge buildup that has formed past the filter are dislodged and pushed even further into the tranny. But if they use a reverse flow flush, some of the trapped contaminants in the filter can be pushed back out into the fluid, plus the aforementioned dislodging of buildup. The critical area is the valve body (that hunk of aluminum just inside and above the pan)...gunk in the wrong places there can ruin a tranny. If they are somehow able to bypass flow away from that, then I'd almost say okay.

It is not that you don't want to remove the buildup, it is that you need to remove it in very tiny pieces so as to not affect anything else. Power flushing can result in comparatively large pieces being dislodged whereas the multiple fluid change method allows it to be redissolved.

Let's be clear on one point: a power flush is not recommended on a tranny that has already been neglected. Many owners are remorseful about their "sin" of neglect and think that by opting for the flush it will undo all the wrongs...it won't. However, for a car that's been maintained regularly, a flush will likely be harmless since there is a low chance of having any significant buildup.

Ok. I think I get it. There would still be some large particles probably floating around somewhere inside because it was large and wasn't able to flow out from the flush. This in turn would mess it up later on.