Hey Scotty, I love all of your videos and as a DIY guy, you really help me out. So I bought an 04 Camry 3.3L about 3 years ago at 125,000 miles. I have 183,000 on it now and I am going to change my transmission fluid but I don’t know if I should replace the filter or if I even need to. The ATF is not dirty from checking the dipstick, what do you think?
Yes, always change the filter with the fluid when it is a serviceable one. You'll be doing yourself a favor. We keep getting this particular question, and I'll keep asking the topic starter this question: "Do you change the oil filter when you change the engine oil?" The answer should be yes...ALWAYS change filters when they are serviceable.
I understand the engine oil filter need to be changed, but with the ATF filter there is no oil being burned and the fluid has nowhere else to go other than lubricating the clutch
No. Clutches don't need lubrication. The fluid is there to flush debris away. ATF actually has a lot more jobs than engine oil does.
https://jalopnik.com/this-is-how-an-automatic-transmission-works-517581894
ATF can actually be burned too when it is not changed regularly due to high tranny temps and increased load on the tranny. That's the main reason why the ATF needs to be changed, along with getting dirty from metallic shavings and clutch material. The filter is there to collect all that junk within the fluid so it doesn't damage internals and clog valves. You always want to have a clean filter so it filters the fluid as best as it can and not cause any flow problems (dirty filters slow down fluid flow, and automatic transmissions operate with fluid pressure). I would change it for those reasons, which are similar reasons for changing the oil filter.