Transmission level

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4doorVIP
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My tercel:: 1988 SR5 Wagon
Location: Vancouver Island

Transmission level

Post by 4doorVIP »

Hey guys I can't seem to find where to top up the fluid for our transmission. I have an 87 SR5 6speed.
Most cars I've worked on have a filler stick right in the engine bay. Right now I'm in the middle of replacing my drivers side cv axel, and she has leaked quite a bit of fluid (axle out over night... part store gave me the wrong axle :( )

thanks
2JZGTE-powered Tercel SR5
xirdneh
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My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Transmission level

Post by xirdneh »

there are two places to "TOP OFF"
one is just above and aft of driver side axle
its a 24mm plug and a socket is required

the other is on passenger side of tranny and is a bit hard to get to
exhaust pipe is close by
its about 12" aft of the first tranny/exhaust mount clamp
use a 24mm or 15/16" boxend wrench

the proper way to fill a empty tranny is thru the hard to get drivers side hole
and you have to loosen the 19mm bolt on the bottom right of the tranny 8 full turns
and remove the front plug for a vent and when fluid comes out this hole you know its full
make sure car is level
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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ARCHINSTL
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My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: Transmission level

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Did you change the axle-to-case seal? If it keeps leaking - and before you buy one - see the part number and PHOTO in the OE and
Part Info Forum
.
And - remove the filler plugs before the drain plugs...These are soft metal and many are rounded off. Be cautious using a non-modified socket or boxend with chamfers.
Tom M.
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Re: Transmission level

Post by takza »

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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Transmission level

Post by Petros »

There is no dip stick on manual transmissions, they use the filler hole as the correct "level". The easiest way to fill the trans is to jack up the front left side (so the front filler plug is "high"), pull the filler plug on the left side of the front diff (just aft of the CV axles), and use a long clear hose to fill from the engine compartment. Fill it slowly, when it is full it will drip out of the hole. All of the three transaxle compartments are interconnected and will fill from any hole, but it will be slow because the openings are not very large.

While you are at it you should drain all the old gear oil and put fresh 90w gear oil in it. You want to take good care of the trans with frequent gear oil changes, these trannys are hard to find and costly, they have not made any in over 20 years. Use the above method, make sure 4.2 quarts goes in, that way you know it is filled.

I am thinking of making some fittings to replace the front diff filler plug to install a trans dip stick and filler tube, it would make oil changes and top ups much easier. it would come up at the fire wall and be mounted next to the distributor on the fire wall.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
4doorVIP
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Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:59 am
My tercel:: 1988 SR5 Wagon
Location: Vancouver Island

Re: Transmission level

Post by 4doorVIP »

thanks you guys - this forum is the best!
2JZGTE-powered Tercel SR5
4doorVIP
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Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:59 am
My tercel:: 1988 SR5 Wagon
Location: Vancouver Island

Re: Transmission level

Post by 4doorVIP »

Just replaced drivers side ball joint and cv axle. Car is running better than ever, shifts smoother with nice fresh gear fluid :)
2JZGTE-powered Tercel SR5
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