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I need an oil change and I thought a Tranny fluid change is in order (50,000 miles).

I am thinking about changing to Mobil 1 Synthetic fluid for the ATF.
Though every time I look for ATF it always come in small 1 quart bottles.
I am trying to find a something larger than a quart.

Any suggestions where to buy Mobil 1 0w-20 and Mobil 1 ATF would be appreciated.

BTW any suggestions on how to change ATF fluid is also appreciated!
I am searching sites, but I dont have a firm grasp on it, since many different sites have different suggestions on how to do it.

Try a warehouse club (Sam's/Costco). If not, Walmart is probably your best bet for 1 gal jugs.

Kurz, the RAV4 trans seems a little tricky to me, so you should keep googling and checking at specialist forums until you have the entire picture.

At least through 2006 the specified fluid was Toyota Type IV, later than that I don't know. If yours is more recent and does not have an ATF dipstick, that means it's full of Toyota type WS. Toyota considers WS a lifetime fluid, but many others do not (especially in Prius).

If there is no dipstick, then there will be a fill hole somewhere (up high). Since this is a conventional automatic trans, one must be very careful not to let any particles, lint etc. enter along with the new fluid. Getting oil fluid out of the torque converter is typically not easy.

Here is one link from google to add to your confusion :)

http://rav4world.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17109&start=15&sid=f7db649bd08cbf35d013a8e3e4bcee92

The engine oil should be simple by comparison. If 0W20 is not a secified acceptable viscosity, you may still ocnsider using it, but (as always) I suggest used engine oil analyses to confirm that it is not increasing metal wear.

DAS

The engine oil should be simple by comparison. If 0W20 is not a secified acceptable viscosity, you may still ocnsider using it, but (as always) I suggest used engine oil analyses to confirm that it is not increasing metal wear.

DAS

I use the same engine as my friends Scion tc. It says 5-20 or 0-20 is fine.
So if the Toyota engineers say its fine it must be fine (I4 engine).

The transmission has a dipstick. And the transmission is loosing its characteristic red color.
I guess Walmart is the best place to buy oil.

The ATF is T-IV btw.

There is at least one other brand that claims full compatibility with Toyota T IV but I forgot which. I'd stick with the Toyota ATF but it's your call.

Have absolutely nothing against low-visc engine oil, but it represents an oppotunity to ask for used oil analyses. It's My Mission.

DAS

There is at least one other brand that claims full compatibility with Toyota T IV but I forgot which. I'd stick with the Toyota ATF but it's your call.

Have absolutely nothing against low-visc engine oil, but it represents an oppotunity to ask for used oil analyses. It's My Mission.

DAS

I've read about a few people at rav4 world who don't have any issues with Mobil 1.

I see what you mean.
I will be keeping an Eye on my Oil.

The only place I could find Mobil 1 0W-20 down here was at Pep Boys. Nobody else local carried it. Too hot, no market for it.

On the transmission fluid you are definitely better off trying to buy a large container if possible. However, for import cars the only places that usually carry specific manufacturer fluids are the dealers, particularly in large quantities.

When replacing the transmission fluid there are a couple of approaches. You can do a drain and fill which involves draining fluid through the drain plug and filler through the dip-stick hole. However this will leave dirty fluid in the torque converter. To replace a majority of the fluid you would have to repeat this 2-3 times depending on how much fluid you drain compared to the total volume that tranmission uses.

Another method involves dropping the transmission pan. This is similar to the drain and fill method, but you can clean out the pan of any metal debris that has collected int he bottom of the pan. Although, most import tranmissions do not use a transmission pan, so you can see the problem with this method.

The third method is to take your car to an Ammco for a transmission fluid. They'll hook your car up to a sort of transmission dialysis machine and pump in new fluid while removing the old. This is the most expensive option, but gives you the most complete flush. The service tech will run your car through all of the gears while flushing out the transmission.

I use method 1 to change my tranmission fluid, but instead of doing it all at once (multiple drain in fills in a row) I'll do a drain and fill every other oil change. With this method your fluid will never be 100% clean, but it won't be completed burnt out and dirty. I'm sure at 100k I'll do at full on swap of the fluid, but for the time being it's been working fine for me.

Amsoil ATF and a cooler-line flush. Disconnect the cooler lines, pour in a quart or two at a time while the engine is on, then kill the engine. When the color changes you've flushed the unit.

And M1 is a good oil. Also consider Pennzoil Platinum, which is just as good as M1 from the analyses I've seen.