Hello,
I have conflicting information. Should I change the transmission fluid on my 1990 Toyota Supra Turbo? It has 101K miles, and I'm NOT 100% sure if the fluid has been changed before. I assume it hasn't. I contacted a local Toyota dealer and they mentioned that I SHOULDN'T change it and doing so would mean I was "asking for trouble". They added if I don't have any issues with the transmission, don't change the fluid. That's all they explained to me. I also asked other mechanics and they claimed that the fluid should've been changed out at 60k miles, but hell, I've only driven it since it was on 85K miles.
Also, what about my differential fluid? Is this something I should change out as well or leave it alone?
Can someone help me understand what the best course of action is for me?
- Branden
If you have a manual, change the trans and differential oil just because it's 30 years old. If you want to be super-cautious with auto trans fluid, drain a sample, put in that much fresh, and send the sample to an auto trans fluid testing service to get an idea of its condition. There are a lot of places that will do that for you - see
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=transmission+oil+testing
Me, in my experience Toyota trans don't shed clutch material like American cars do, so I'd go ahead and drain, clean the filter, and refill. Scotty has recommended this for Toyota trans in several videos.
@Glen_stet
Sorry, I should've specified that my transmission is an automatic transmission. Thanks for the suggestion in sending in a sample, I'll take a look into that.
It's your car. If you want it to self destruct, don't do anything. If you want it to last, maintain it properly by changing the transmission fluid and differential oil at the manufacturer's specified mileage.
