New to us car maintenance -95 Corolla 1.8l 5sp

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Hey BITOGer's my wife will be picking up a 95 5 spd manual 1.8L Toyota Corolla with right over 200k miles on it. It looks garage kept and has been maintained with all of the PM. My question is this is a manual, and not having owned a manual, I am unsure of how often to change the MTF. Also with this car are there any known issues or is this one of those cars you can typically drive till it rusts to the ground (provided we keep up with the PM)? BTW I do plan on purchasing the Haynes manual in this next few days.
 
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I would change the MTF now if you don't have any documentation of its last change. How often should you change it? Whatever it says in the manual, or a bit sooner if its something like every 60k miles.
If you get alot of metal in this MTF change then I'd go quite short on the next to see if that much metal returns.
 
Question on the MTF change. Is it pretty much the same concept as changing the diff oil in cars? Take out the fill plug first, then drain plug, drain, put drain plug back in, then fill up till the mtf comes out of the fill hole?
 
These Corolla's are quite easy to work on especially the brakes, tune-ups and lube maintenance(oil&filter, ATF/MTF, P/S, brake/clutch fluid & coolant). I believe some years actually had the fuel filter mounted below the brake fluid resivior and the filter itself is a beast. Anyone want to comment on the fuel filter???

They also made good feeling power considering they were only 115-120 hp(depending on year) and with the manual tranny, could really scoot
laugh.gif
One year, Toyota actually dropped the power from the 120 to the 115 for emission reasons and left it at 115 but, you'd never know it from my driving experience.

Do as much maintenance yourself and you'll save tons of money, have some fun and enjoy the experience & satisfaction.
 
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Originally Posted By: Rtstrider
Question on the MTF change. Is it pretty much the same concept as changing the diff oil in cars? Take out the fill plug first, then drain plug, drain, put drain plug back in, then fill up till the mtf comes out of the fill hole?


That's it.
 
Originally Posted By: KitaCam
I agree...with changing ALL fluids!


+1

Coolant, transmission oil, brake fluid, power steering, engine oil, and etc.......

How's the condition of the timing belt (and waterpump), accessory belts, and radiator hoses?

Don't forget about the air filter.

Wouldn't hurt to replace everything - saving yourself money on labor in the long-run, then you'll have peace of mind and only have to worry about oil changes and maybe the cooling system every couple of years.
 
Pardon the dumb question, remember new to the manual world. How often should the clutch fluid be replaced? Is this MTF also?
 
Forgot to add, googling, youtubing, all the goods on the clutch fluid. Any other recommendations as well?
 
*tried to edit the last response but said the time had expired*

btw looks like clutch fluid is really just dot 3 according to google. Have quite a bit of that in the garage to will be flushing this if needed when we get it home as well. Are there any known issues with this engine? I know the camry's/es300's from this time were known sludgers/oil burners (had one so know from experience). Also plan on swapping this over to 5w-20 synthetic as soon as we get it home. I'm guessing for the coolant, avoid dex cool and use the non dexcool all makes/modles? Or does this use the toyota pink...Sorry so many questions. May be better off just getting the Haynes/Chilton manual and asking to parts peeps when the time comes.
 
The clutch master uses DOT 3 brake fluid. It should be changed every 2 to 3 years just like brake fluid since it will acquire moisture at the same rate as the brake fluid.
I would go to synthetic 5W-30 or 10W-30 oil. I can't see the benefit of using a 20 grade oil in FL in a high mileage car that was designed for 30 grade. If you are really convinced to go
with a better flowing viscosity, then go with a 0W-30 as a better choice than 5W-20 oil.
Your Corolla engine is not a sludger. The V-6 Camrys were the problem engines here. Be sure to replace the PCV valve at every air filter change just to be safe.
You may be OK to wait and change coolant when you do the timing belt/ waterpump service.
 
I'm pretty sure the fuel filter is below the brake res. and is a REAL pain to replace.

I had a 91 Corolla with 5 speed and the same filter location. After I realized where the filter was, and that I'd be battling with decades of rusty fasteners to remove it, I graciously returned the filter to the auto parts store
 
Leave the clutch fluid alone. Too much danger of screwing up the bleeding, if you can even bleed it. It doesn't get hot like brake fluid and can indeed last a lifetime.
 
Any advice for the 7afe engine? Reading it's a known oil burner. Would running Mobil1 Syn 10w 30 not be recommended? I'm reading quite a few people having decent results with Maxlife 10w 40 (which seems pretty thick)
 
Originally Posted By: Rtstrider
Any advice for the 7afe engine? Reading it's a known oil burner. Would running Mobil1 Syn 10w 30 not be recommended? I'm reading quite a few people having decent results with Maxlife 10w 40 (which seems pretty thick)


I'd try 5w30 high-mileage before moving up to 10w40 HM.
 
Originally Posted By: Rtstrider
*tried to edit the last response but said the time had expired*

btw looks like clutch fluid is really just dot 3 according to google. Have quite a bit of that in the garage to will be flushing this if needed when we get it home as well. Are there any known issues with this engine? I know the camry's/es300's from this time were known sludgers/oil burners (had one so know from experience). Also plan on swapping this over to 5w-20 synthetic as soon as we get it home. I'm guessing for the coolant, avoid dex cool and use the non dexcool all makes/modles? Or does this use the toyota pink...Sorry so many questions. May be better off just getting the Haynes/Chilton manual and asking to parts peeps when the time comes.

I'm fairly certain that when your car was built, Toyota Red was what Toyota used in all their cars.

I seem to remember reading that Toyota Red coolant is different from Dexcool and Prestone am/am. I would highly recommend using the Toyota Red, and if the dealer wants a stupid price for it, go to Carquest where there is Toyota OEM coolant, or a version of Beck/Arnley coolant that matches OEM perfectly.

Getting the Haynes or Chilton book is always smart.
 
I'm very much in favor or flushing the clutch fluid. Absorbed water isn't so much of a problem as it is in the brake system; it's the solids. Using a gravity bleed method is easy and so long as you don't let the reservoir run dry it's easy enough.
 
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