hey everyone, my buddy gave me his 97 celica GT convertible It has the 5 speed manual. Fun to drive and loving it so far. I wanted to check fluids though. I don't see the red dipstick to check the manual transmission fluid level... Can someone point me to where that is? I see in the upper right of the engine bay 2 different reservoirs with DOT 3 on the caps, but it doesn't tell me what each is for. I assume one is brake fluid. I see the power steering is on the passenger side. I see where the coolant is and engine oil, but i'm stumped with the transmission fluid. Any help? I searched on here, but did not see anything. Also, does anyone have an engine diagram labeled with what everything is? Thanks!

The manual trans doesn’t have a dipstick to check the fluid level. Unfortunately you’ll need to crawl under the car to check it. The S54 has a drain plug and fill plug. Both take a 24 mm socket, if memory serves correctly. The drain plug is on the left side of the car, by the axle. The full plug is identical to the drain plug, just so you know what it looks like. It’s on the front of the transmission, kind of down from the slave cylinder. I don’t have any pictures of it right now but maybe someone else can chime in with one. To check the fluid, remove the fill plug. If the gear oil starts pouring out of the fill hole, you’re good. If it’s down much farther than the fill hole, time to drain and refill the trans with 2.7 quarts of Redline MT90, Syncromesh, or your preferred 75W-90 gear oil.

Awesome man, thanks for the info!! Next oil change I'll try to tackle this with the synchromesh!

I can't think of any manual transmissions that have a dipstick, except for maybe a Subaru that even has a dipstick for the front differential. Ideally manual transmissions are sealed, so barring some kind of failure that blows a seal or cracks the casing then you don't need to check the fluid level. As far as getting a new to you car then changing it and making notation of the mileage you won't need to check condition either. Also the fluid reservoir with DOT3 not attached to the brake booster is for your clutch fluid.

read my guide for removing the engine, it has a pic of the drain plug

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Thanks!!!