84 Camry dlx model hatchback

10

Asked by hardyrxp May 03, 2015 at 12:17 PM about the 1984 Toyota Camry DX Liftback

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

84 Camry dlx model hatchback
Hello to all on the forums 1st off......
I need some help here on my 1st generation 84 Camry hatchback deluxe model automatic transmission.
THE PROBLEM(S)
To be clear on the problem I am having is this: My transmission is shifting hard and rough intermittently and sometimes when going between the speeds of 40-55 mph I will feel a shake and cluttering from the transmission or the axle going into the transmission. Note the car does not do this all the time just sometimes. The car just started doing this so I am sure it will get worse. Also to be noted the car shifts rough when coming to a stop so that would be downshifting from 2nd to 1st at about 15 mph. Also when I took a long road trip some of the transmission fluid would spill out I am guessing it was coming from where the axle meet/goes into the transmission. When this happened (happened more then 3 times) I would have to check and add transmission fluid to the car to get it back up to the full level.
WHAT I ALREADY DID TO TRY AND FIX
I have already taken it to 3 different mechanics and they all said to drive the car until It breaks and then junk it. That REALLY PISSES ME OFF AS I LIKE THIS CAR VERY MUCH AND WANT TO FIX IT. The 1st mechanic sucked 2 quarts out of the transmission dipstick and then added Lucas stop slip and told me to drive the f........... car and see if it helped. It seemed to help at 1st then the hard shifting was back in no time at all. I did check the transmission level and it is at full when the car is hot. One of the other mechanics knows the issue(s) on this car and was telling me to check the transaxle fluid behind the transmission pan. I went behind there and there is 2 plugs 1 filler plug to train (I am guessing gear oil?) and the other plug is a drain check plug. So I looked up the fluid type in my owners manual for the filler plug behind the transmission pan and it says to put in the same type of fluid as in the transmission is this correct?
QUESTIONS AND HELP NEEDED
So my 1st question is why would I put the same fluid type (dextron2) in the transaxle filler plug? I would think I different kind of fluid like (gear oil) would go in there as it is a completely separate compartment then the transmission dip stick and transmission pan and filter? What is the correct type of fluid to use in this separate compartment?
Being on these big forums there must be several people who know about this problem and might even be having the same problems. Please let me know what is causing this and what I can do to fix this. I really would appreciate any/all help from you as I know the forums are a great way to share and help each other with information so thanks to all who help in advance.

2 Answers

102,485

Anytime a transmission starts giving you problems, there usually is no simple "fix". Unless you can adjust the linkage. Personally, I would drop the tranny and have it rebuilt. Still cheaper than a new car. As far as the ATF in the trans axle, That should be correct. If the owners manual says to put it in, use it. I had a late 80's celica. It was actually my ex wifes. We had purchased it used from a road side dealership. Car ran perfect until one very bitter cold winters day. The standard transmission failed. Okay, not a big shocker. The shocker was when the mechanic told me that it was filled with 90 weight gear oil. I said, yeah, what's the big deal? All standard transmissions are filled with that. He said, no. That Toyota standard transmissions for my year Celica were supposed to be filled with ATF fluid! Imagine that! The reason my transmission failed was because the 90 weight gear oil turned into play-doh and ruined it. Naturally, I couldn't go back on the dealership because they would say that it was previous owner that did it. Moral of the story: do what the owners manual says. Even if you think it sounds wrong.

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