supdawg2u

I took my car in to get an alignment and a tire rotation. The Service Rep came back and told me that the mechanic noticed that my rack and pinion was leaking. I told him I would deal with that later.

After I got the car back I drove up the street to the store. Once I turned the car back on, I began noticing a whine that appeared to be coming from the right side of the car (where where the P/S and alternator are located). I checked the power steering reservoir and it is full. My initial thought was that the mechanic shop did something to cause the car to begin whining so I would take it back, because the car ran flawlessly when I initially took it in.

1) What are some things that they could have done to cause the car to whine all of a sudden (ie. water in the reservoir)?

2) If the rack and pinon is indeed leaking would that cause the whine? There is no hesitation when I turn the steering wheel, and the reservoir is still full.

j2b4o

Wrong fluid.

xtremex626

iTrader: (3)

i say you just refill the resovoir with toyota type t-iv/dexron ATF. awhile back, mine started to whine out of no where and it got worse day by day. sucked all the old fluid out, put all the new fluid in and the whining went away.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

Type IV and dexron are totally different fluid specs.

that being said, the power steering on all LS400s uses Dexron III/Mercon spec transmission fluid.

xtremex626

iTrader: (3)

^well according to the place i work at now, toyota t-iv is compatible with dexron. nothing wrong so far. also heard type T-IV replaces T-I, T-II, & T-III.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

search the forum. the place you work at is simply wrong in that respect. Toyota Type-IV transmission fluid is NOT directly replaceable by any purely Dexron-III/Mercon spec fluid. It replaces and supersedes any Type I and Type II fluid (there was no toyota Type-III for fear of confusion with Dexron).

Toyota Type-IV is actually toyota's specific branding of Aisin-Warner's specific transmission fluid, specified as the JWS-3309 standard. Simiar specification fluids are also sold by Ford, Mazda, and Volvo (and pretty much anyone else who uses aisin auto trans).

This being said there are some "universal" type fluids out there that claim to meet T-IV standards as well as D3/M, such as Mobil 1 ATF, castrol multi-vehicle, and Royal Purple. Frankly, in my personal opinion the more standards a fluid is approved for the more the "jack of all trades/master of none" effect takes hold.

But there haven't been any (to my knowledge) negative issues with using a fluid that is APPROVED as a t-iv replacement. there HAVE been numerous people with transmission problems (slipping, harsh shifting, and internal damage) from using Dexron III/Mercon/other spec fluids.

supdawg2u

I apologize, but I completely forgot to put the year. My Lexus is a 95. Would that make a difference in which type to put in?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

no, all LS400 '89-00 use:

-Toyota T-IV transmission fluid for the transmission.
-Dexron III/Mercon spec transmission fluid for the Power Steering system.

supdawg2u

Thanks PureDrifter! I also realized that regular power steering fluid is a NO NO, and I have often topped it off with it when the system was low. Just read how to flush the system, so I am going to make that happen today!! The mechanic might be off the hook now