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Sedans Toyota Camry Toyota Camry Basic Maintenance Questions
596 messages, Last post on Oct 05, 2009 at 3:02 PM
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Maintenance calls for trans service  30K on my '02 V6. Dealer wants $130 for a flush and fill. Why not just drain and replace fluid? What's the capacity if I just drain and fill myself. Flushing at 30K just sounds like a money maker for the service dept.
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Does anyone have any information regarding the factory oil filter vs aftermarket filters? They look a little different and I was hoping to get some feedback for my 2002 camry. thanks.
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Replying to: dranzer (Nov 05, 2002 2:41 pm) |
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With electronic ignition and fuel injection, the cars require very little and very simple maintenance. I had a 89 Camry LE (250K) and 93 Camry LE (200K) and had no problem doing all preventive maintenance myself with no mechanic training and mimimum amount of tools. The cars all ran great with no problem. 1. Changing engine oil and filter and transmission fluid to owners' manual schedule is very easy. Just buy a flat oil container to store the used oil and recyle it at the part stores. Use a steel tube to lengthen the wrench handles for extra torgue to open the tough oil lugs. 2. Change front disk brake pads when the sensors start sqeaking. Toyota's OEM pads last longer on the rotors and will not make noise. I do much better brake jobs than any brake shops, spending much less time not having to wait around at the shop. Bleeding the brake fluid every 2 years should improve brake performance. 3. Adjust the rear drum brake. Replacing the shoes is possible but the shoes hardly work and are rarely worn! It's much safer to buy the SE or XLE with 4 disk brakes to take full advantage of the ABS. Save a lot of time replacing pads too! 4. There is no need to service the fuel injector unit. Every 20K miles, give the car a full tank of premium gas (Shell V power with 5 detergents etc...) with 1 bottle of injector cleaner. That should keep the injectors nice and clean, and the cold start sensor and mechanism to work properly. 5. Replace the air filter to schedule to keep the fuel injector clean and fuel efficient. 6. Replace the spark plugs on schedule. Use a small rubber hose to pick up the plugs from the wells. Do not use Platinum plugs for cars specified with resistor plugs, since that will stress and overheat the ingition coil and eventually burn it out. 7. The rubber timing belt is inside the engine head. Most break at about 100K -120K miles. When they break, nothing bad happens to the engine since it's a non-interferent design (unlike Mitsubishi's design). The distributor rotor is gear to this belt and will stop turning and engine just stop running. Call a tow truck to a reliable shop for $150 replacement. It may make sense to replace the water pump at the same time. 8. Buy a lifetime all-wheel aligment policy for about $200 at tire stores (firestone or Sears) to keep the wheels aligned. The car will run smoother, eat less gas and will not chew up tires. 9. I prefer Michelin's all season tires since they are proved to last longer, ride smoother, wear evenly, leak far less air through the rims therefore I dont have to check pressure too often. 10. US-built struts will probably wear out at about 100K. Replace them with Japanese gas struts and they should last a life time. Worn struts can induce instability and chew up tires which can cause extreme hazards, like spinning, skidding and roll over. 11. The US-built plastic-top radiator will probably leak at about 100K miles. Flushing the radiator every 2 years should prebent premature corrosion. Check for water leaks under the car occasionally as overheating can crack the engine beyond repairs. A new radiator should cost around $200 part and labor. I replaced my own for far less by removing a few screws and hoses! 12. If the car is misfiring, there is a chance that the spark plugs, spark plug cables or distributor rotor are worn. Replace them 1 at a time and check progress. 13. Once a year, take the car to the self-service washing station, wrap the distributor cap in plastic to prevent it getting wet, spray the engine with degreasing fluid and hose it down. That should keep the engine nice, clean and shiny, which would point to any oil leaks or any worn belts ect... 14. Spray some of the degreasing liquid in #13 on the rubber boots around the 2 axles and the rack and pinion assembly underneath the engine. That should keep the acids in the engine oil from cracking the rubber and letting dirt into the greased ball bearings etc... so you won't have to replace them. 15. Check engine belts every year. Replace them when there are cracks on the underside. |
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Replying to: peter pan (Nov 05, 2004 7:21 pm) How long did your CV boots and engine belts last? Also how do I determine if I have resistor sparkplugs? (My camry: '99 LE V6 w/ 67k miles.)
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Replying to: 5150 (Dec 29, 2004 4:38 pm) I don't remember ever replacing the axles and their CV boots in this car. The engine belts were replaced once at about 150K miles. Remove a plug and bring it to part stores or your Toyota dealer and buy the exact plugs. Also ask them whether they are resistor or Platinum. Stick with the exact OEM plug brand and model number for best engine performance and fuel economy. Use anything else and you may be taking a chance.
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Replying to: 5150 (Dec 29, 2004 4:38 pm) |
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Replying to: peterpan (Dec 29, 2004 9:28 pm) |
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I have 36,000mi. Should I have the PCV valve and fuel canister replaced? Also, can I just drain trans fluid thru drain plug? I know this only drains 4 quarts. Or should I have someone with a machine drain the entire system? Thanks.
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Replying to: hallage (Jan 09, 2005 5:34 pm) By fuel canister, do you mean the charcoal canister or the fuel filter? I used to change my '97 Camry's transmission oil by just draining it through the drain plug. You can only get about half of the fluid out that way. I didn't want to spend the money on a flush nor risk someone messing up the transmission.
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