How to Change Front & Rear Differential Gear oil on GX ( Tutorial )
08-04-10, 12:44 PM
#16
Apologies for reviving this old thread, but I went to the Lexus dealership today and was advised of something about the gaskets.
The guide provided says to buy the following gaskets:
QTY 2, 12157-10010
QTY 1, 90430-24003
QTY 1, 12155-10010
Total of 4 gaskets.
What I ended up actually walking away with at the dealership:
QTY 3, 12157-10010
QTY 1, 90430-24003
The service guy there has never heard of the 12155-10010. Was this a typo in the PDF guide?
Turby
The guide provided says to buy the following gaskets:
QTY 2, 12157-10010
QTY 1, 90430-24003
QTY 1, 12155-10010
Total of 4 gaskets.
What I ended up actually walking away with at the dealership:
QTY 3, 12157-10010
QTY 1, 90430-24003
The service guy there has never heard of the 12155-10010. Was this a typo in the PDF guide?
Turby
08-27-10, 05:00 PM
#18
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gear oil leak
Hi guy i had gx470 2003 my car now 135000 mile on it now gear oil is leak from my driver front down , can you help me what i need to buy to change this leaking and do i need change all gear oil front and back too please help thanks
10-09-10, 08:14 PM
#19
Hi everyone,
I finally got off my lazy butt and changed my rear diff oil (as a start). I have ramps, but I didn't want to ramp the car up backwards in my garage, so I simply laid down my trusty blanket, and crawled under the car to check out the rear diffs. Guess what, the GX has so much clearance, I was able to get under there, spot the fill and drain plugs, put the socket onto the plug, and use a rubber mallet to tap the plugs loose. I then used my trusty oil pump to refill once the oil had drained out. I did not replace the plugs but did replace the crush washers instead. I wiped the magnetic drain plug of any particles, there were only a few, not a lot. Vehicle is at 31K miles right now. Took me 1 hour to get the rear done, most of that time was waiting time, waiting for the old oil to drip out into my oil pan. Good times. I took some pics of the process but with the process so well documented, I'm not sure we need more pics.
Anyway, went well, I'm satisfied, and now I'll set aside another weekend to tackle the front. I'm going to do the oil, diffs, and transfer case all at the same time, since it's all up in front. Cool.
Sounds like you may need to replace the drain plugs and the washers, but who knows. Maybe there's a crack in the case somewhere. You may want to get this type of thing checked out by the dealer, unless someone else more knowledgeable than me can offer you some advice. Good luck!
Turby
I finally got off my lazy butt and changed my rear diff oil (as a start). I have ramps, but I didn't want to ramp the car up backwards in my garage, so I simply laid down my trusty blanket, and crawled under the car to check out the rear diffs. Guess what, the GX has so much clearance, I was able to get under there, spot the fill and drain plugs, put the socket onto the plug, and use a rubber mallet to tap the plugs loose. I then used my trusty oil pump to refill once the oil had drained out. I did not replace the plugs but did replace the crush washers instead. I wiped the magnetic drain plug of any particles, there were only a few, not a lot. Vehicle is at 31K miles right now. Took me 1 hour to get the rear done, most of that time was waiting time, waiting for the old oil to drip out into my oil pan. Good times. I took some pics of the process but with the process so well documented, I'm not sure we need more pics.
Anyway, went well, I'm satisfied, and now I'll set aside another weekend to tackle the front. I'm going to do the oil, diffs, and transfer case all at the same time, since it's all up in front. Cool.
Turby
10-16-10, 04:04 PM
#20
In case you weren't already tired of hearing from me and my adventures on my GX... Did the oil today, replaced with Mobil 1 synthetic 10W30 and a FRAM TG3614 filter from Walmart. That was easy, as I had done this before and knew the steps already.
Took off the center skid plate to access the front diffs today. With both skid plates off, I took the time to get some soap and water to clean them up. While they dried off, I worked on trying to get the front diff bolts loose. Wowee, those were really tough. The fill bolt was pretty tough, but I managed to get that one free. The drain bolt was another story. I had a cheapo 3/8" extension that I was using, and while I was trying to loosen the drain bolt, the extension actually warped! It wasn't an expensive one, so I hopped in my other car and went to Sears to buy a Craftsman 3/8" 3" extension as a replacement. While I was at it, I grabbed a 1/2" drive to 3/8" drive adapter, to allow me to drive the 10mm hex driver with my 1/2" Craftsman socket wrench. Finally, grabbing the front suspension with my two hands and pushing with my foot, I was able to break the drain bolt free. No damage to the bolt or to my tools, and I was happy.
Used my oil pump to put in approximately 1.5 quarts of the 75W90 synthetic gear lubricant, until it started to stream back out of the fill hole. Replaced the washers on both the drain and the fill, and put everything back together.
Next, the transfer case. The fill bolt was pretty easy to break open, and the drain bolt wasn't too hard either. Used the 24mm socket with my 1/2" socket wrench. Good to go here. Filled up until the 75W90 oil started to stream back out, then quickly plugged it up. The transfer case is located in the middle of the car, and didn't seem to be directly under the driver's seat as I've seen some postings suggest.
Total time spent on this project was about 6 hours, most of it being waiting time letting the oil drip out, this included an hour for lunch, plus going to the store to replace my bent 3/8" extender. I do think that next time I could do this a bit faster now that I have everything lined up.
Turby
Took off the center skid plate to access the front diffs today. With both skid plates off, I took the time to get some soap and water to clean them up. While they dried off, I worked on trying to get the front diff bolts loose. Wowee, those were really tough. The fill bolt was pretty tough, but I managed to get that one free. The drain bolt was another story. I had a cheapo 3/8" extension that I was using, and while I was trying to loosen the drain bolt, the extension actually warped! It wasn't an expensive one, so I hopped in my other car and went to Sears to buy a Craftsman 3/8" 3" extension as a replacement. While I was at it, I grabbed a 1/2" drive to 3/8" drive adapter, to allow me to drive the 10mm hex driver with my 1/2" Craftsman socket wrench. Finally, grabbing the front suspension with my two hands and pushing with my foot, I was able to break the drain bolt free. No damage to the bolt or to my tools, and I was happy.
Used my oil pump to put in approximately 1.5 quarts of the 75W90 synthetic gear lubricant, until it started to stream back out of the fill hole. Replaced the washers on both the drain and the fill, and put everything back together.
Next, the transfer case. The fill bolt was pretty easy to break open, and the drain bolt wasn't too hard either. Used the 24mm socket with my 1/2" socket wrench. Good to go here. Filled up until the 75W90 oil started to stream back out, then quickly plugged it up. The transfer case is located in the middle of the car, and didn't seem to be directly under the driver's seat as I've seen some postings suggest.
Total time spent on this project was about 6 hours, most of it being waiting time letting the oil drip out, this included an hour for lunch, plus going to the store to replace my bent 3/8" extender. I do think that next time I could do this a bit faster now that I have everything lined up.
Turby
Last edited by Turbinator; 10-18-10 at 04:11 PM.
10-18-10, 04:12 PM
#23
Turby
10-18-10, 08:05 PM
#25
Moderator
Thread Starter
That is why I had mentioned in the DIY use a Fibre mallet and tap a few times on the bolt itself, the tensile grip loosens, it is a peice of cake later on.
10-18-10, 08:12 PM
#26
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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In case you weren't already tired of hearing from me and my adventures on my GX... Did the oil today, replaced with Mobil 1 synthetic 10W30 and a FRAM TG3614 filter from Walmart. That was easy, as I had done this before and knew the steps already.
Took off the center skid plate to access the front diffs today. With both skid plates off, I took the time to get some soap and water to clean them up. While they dried off, I worked on trying to get the front diff bolts loose. Wowee, those were really tough. The fill bolt was pretty tough, but I managed to get that one free. The drain bolt was another story. I had a cheapo 3/8" extension that I was using, and while I was trying to loosen the drain bolt, the extension actually warped! It wasn't an expensive one, so I hopped in my other car and went to Sears to buy a Craftsman 3/8" 3" extension as a replacement. While I was at it, I grabbed a 1/2" drive to 3/8" drive adapter, to allow me to drive the 10mm hex driver with my 1/2" Craftsman socket wrench. Finally, grabbing the front suspension with my two hands and pushing with my foot, I was able to break the drain bolt free. No damage to the bolt or to my tools, and I was happy.
Used my oil pump to put in approximately 1.5 quarts of the 75W90 synthetic gear lubricant, until it started to stream back out of the fill hole. Replaced the washers on both the drain and the fill, and put everything back together.
Next, the transfer case. The fill bolt was pretty easy to break open, and the drain bolt wasn't too hard either. Used the 24mm socket with my 1/2" socket wrench. Good to go here. Filled up until the 75W90 oil started to stream back out, then quickly plugged it up. The transfer case is located in the middle of the car, and didn't seem to be directly under the driver's seat as I've seen some postings suggest.
Total time spent on this project was about 6 hours, most of it being waiting time letting the oil drip out, this included an hour for lunch, plus going to the store to replace my bent 3/8" extender. I do think that next time I could do this a bit faster now that I have everything lined up.
Turby
Took off the center skid plate to access the front diffs today. With both skid plates off, I took the time to get some soap and water to clean them up. While they dried off, I worked on trying to get the front diff bolts loose. Wowee, those were really tough. The fill bolt was pretty tough, but I managed to get that one free. The drain bolt was another story. I had a cheapo 3/8" extension that I was using, and while I was trying to loosen the drain bolt, the extension actually warped! It wasn't an expensive one, so I hopped in my other car and went to Sears to buy a Craftsman 3/8" 3" extension as a replacement. While I was at it, I grabbed a 1/2" drive to 3/8" drive adapter, to allow me to drive the 10mm hex driver with my 1/2" Craftsman socket wrench. Finally, grabbing the front suspension with my two hands and pushing with my foot, I was able to break the drain bolt free. No damage to the bolt or to my tools, and I was happy.
Used my oil pump to put in approximately 1.5 quarts of the 75W90 synthetic gear lubricant, until it started to stream back out of the fill hole. Replaced the washers on both the drain and the fill, and put everything back together.
Next, the transfer case. The fill bolt was pretty easy to break open, and the drain bolt wasn't too hard either. Used the 24mm socket with my 1/2" socket wrench. Good to go here. Filled up until the 75W90 oil started to stream back out, then quickly plugged it up. The transfer case is located in the middle of the car, and didn't seem to be directly under the driver's seat as I've seen some postings suggest.
Total time spent on this project was about 6 hours, most of it being waiting time letting the oil drip out, this included an hour for lunch, plus going to the store to replace my bent 3/8" extender. I do think that next time I could do this a bit faster now that I have everything lined up.
Turby
10-18-10, 09:31 PM
#27
Lexus Test Driver
Did all my fluids and they looked dirty and only had 14K on it! Im sure the oil was fine though, but I wanted Amsoil synthetic in there so I did it way early
My drain bolts were Simple to get off--no issues at all.
My drain bolts were Simple to get off--no issues at all.
10-19-10, 10:38 AM
#28
I didn't really notice a ride difference. Psychologically, I wanted to think it was smoother, but I couldn't really discern a big difference.
Now, the motor oil definitely was dirty - last time I changed it was in Sept 2009. I figure yearly is good given the low mileage - the car only had 4K miles on it since I last changed it.
Turby
