96 Corolla Transmission

How often do I have to change the Trans fluid in a 7AFE? Is it every 50,000 miles?
Thanks

The general rule of thumb for all auto transmissions is every 30,000 miles.
The owners manual will give you the manufacturers recommendation.

I'll add that the transmission and differential have separate reserviors, so each has to be done separately. 30k sounds conservative but probably in line with mfr recommendations for what they call "severe" driving conditions. Diff fluid changes are more like every 60k I think...I'll check & post back if different.

New fluid should be bright red and clear. If the fluid looks pale pink or colorless, it's due. If it is clear and slightly brown, or opaque and smells burned, it's overdue. If it hasnt been changed in a long time, consider doing a double change...drain, replace the filter, and refill, then drain/refill again after a few thousand miles. THis will get most of the old fluid out and cost alot less and at a lot lower stress on the tranny than a fluid flush offered by quick change shops and dealerships. Finally, don't skimp on the fluid...use a good certified brand (I prefer Valvoline myself) designed for high-mileage vehicles. Hope this helps!

Hey, great info! I was just going to ask if the tranny needs to be flushed out every time? But you seemed to answer most of the question. It is expensive to flush ($150 easy) but like you just said to just drain, fill, and drain again... though this does require a lot of bolt screwing, torque and all.

"It is preferable to flush the transmission and replace all the fluid this way, rather than just draining the small amount of fluid in the pan. The vast majority of the transmission fluid is trapped in the torque converter and the valve body and is not changed by draining the pan only. I have been told that it is unnecessary to change the filter in the transmission. It is wire mesh and only meant to keep chunks of stuff out of the valve body."

The above info was posted by BrianR in his "Corolla FAQs and Information" link. He posted on how to flush the tranny simply by removing one of the hoses and starting the engine for ten to 15 seconds to drain some fluid into a milk jug, etc, stop the engine, replace an equal amount of fluid, and so on and so forth until the fluid comes out red. I just need to see a diagram of those hoses so I can be sure to remove the correct one.?

All you have to do is disconnect both hoses from the cooler (radiator) and place them in jugs to catch the fluid (messy - have a drip pan). Idle the engine for a moment and find out which one spits out fluid. This will drain the transmission cooler also. Then you can either leave the hoses off and collect what comes out of the output hose, or reconnect it to the cooler and catch what comes out of the cooler on the return line connection (then you need a second hose to direct the fluid from the cooler into a jug.

It is not necessary to flush the transmission, but I am just anal about some things. Replacing what is in the pan periodically is also fine. I just don't have a feeling for how often is acceptable when you are leaving 75% or more of the used fluid in the box.

In my case, I replaced all the fluid with (expensive) Mobil 1 ATF - hoping to avoid this for a long time. Synthetic fluid is very heat stable and should last a really long time in the tranny, where air oxidation is not as significant a degradant as it is in the engine to engine oil.

Thanks Brian, for your reply. I'm sure it is better to flush because the first time I only had my tranny drained but it still had problems shifting into the high gear. Only when I had it flushed is when I never had any problems again and still haven't (except one cold morning last week it took a few moments longer to shift into overdrive when on the freeway). A friend told me I didn't have to flush it out every time, so, I wasn't sure about this.

I'm going to try the synthetic oil over the regular as well although most of my driving is usually "stop and go".

In both of "my" Toyotas ( mine when it comes to maintenance, daughters when it comes to driving)) '91 Camry{210K}, '95 Corolla{167K} I have used the drain plug that(uses an Allen wrench) is one the trans pan. Drain the tranny fluid about every 4th or 5th oil change. About 3 quarts drain out. On the older Camry started adding Lucas last time. Buy the fluid a gallon at a time. Use the remainder of the gallon and do a replace on the power steering fluid. Take the old stuff to the Recycle Center { the oil and trans fluid in separate containers.} Often wonder why the Big 3 don't have tranny drain plugs. Makes it quite easy to do the job.

Thanks usedranger! I'll give it a try though I've always had the dealer do the tranny stuff but their prices today are way overboard (I don't know how they stay in business) so I'm going to have to do it myself although I'm not as young and flexible as I used to be.

Well, I drained my transmission over the weekend and am surprised that there is a drain plug under there which uses a 14mm wrench just like the engine oil. I never paid much attention to it before until you guys said something--- thanks! It sure is a lot easier than removing all those bolts and pan gasket (like my old chevy I used to have).

I decided to wait with the flushing idea as it is quite cramped down there. The fluid wasn't in that bad of shape though, for being a little over 30,000 miles; still red color; a total of 3 and a half quarts came out. The Toyota dealer where I had it flushed out last time must have used a good brand of fluid. Anyone know if they use a cheap brand or not? I ended up having to purchase the Walmart brand of Dextron III; a gallon for ten bucks! This was the only brand they had too so, next time I will have to buy from the dealer or auto parts store.

Just like engine oil some brands have a few more additives than others. And most shadetree mechanics develope a favorite. One guy likes Valvoline another Castrol. Some add conditioners (me I add Lucas) others don't. The important thing is to do the change.
Most chain autoparts stores have their store brands like Walmart. Whether they used a name-brand or Toyota trans fluid may not make as much difference as does the kind of driving you do and the location. Hills vs flat, for instance.
At some point you will have to drop the pan and change a filter. If you have been doing regular changes at the dealer your transmission is probably getting the attention required, and may have had a filter change. Check back on your reciepts or ask them. Most have the information in a computer database. Good luck.

My transmission only has a metal screen and not a filter so I'm wondering if I ever have to remove the pan at all. It doesn't look like it has ever been removed.

The flat, rectangular metal piece that holds the screen is the tranny filter and should be changed at least occasionally. There is filtering media inside that will eventually become saturated. But for those who are fastidious about fluid changes, I'd say replace it maybe every other or every 3rd fluid change (since my drain plug is frozen, I do it with every change since I have to drop the pan).

I also tend to change all the fluids whenever I purchase a vehicle just because I like to: a) get a better look at the car's maintenance condition, and b) peace of mind in having fresh fluid in there.

Hope this helps!