skysurfing

I assume you mean not if but when the transmission will die? It has 95,000 miles on it. What would cause this? the tranny fluid did not look very dirty nor did it have any burnt smell to it. Would this be what's causing the noise I described in:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...=1#post7896978

It shifts perfectly smooth. This sucks. I just got this thing and am not sure what to do now.

RX330inFL

I would take the broken bit by the dealer and have a talk with the Service Manager to see if he can determine what it might have come off of inside the transmission. Perhaps a regional Lexus person could shed light on the matter. Just do not let them have it, keep it with you.

You might also try a place like AAMCO to get a second opinion.

skysurfing

I took it by the Lexus dealer in Clearwater and showed them the metal piece. A couple guys said it's normal for there to be decent sized metal pieces (though they thought this was bigger than normal) but one of them said they don't have much experience to draw upon with the 330s because they never drop the pan there, just drain and refill. They actually looked at me like I was nuts for having done that. They didn't seem that knowledgeable about how serious of an issue it was and at least one of them suggested it wasn't a concern. One guy thought it was possibly from the main drive gear. I got there shortly before 5 so some of the more experienced guys had already left and I have an appointment for them to check things out tomorrow.

It got me wondering about extended warranties. However, I bought this because I figured it was Toyota quality and should last me to close to 200k miles without much trouble. What's the cheapest good extended warranty company? I got one quote today for $650/year for 5 years or 60k miles. That seamed high but it was my first time checking.

spacecraft

Yes, though not necessarily "die".
I was referring to the previous comment about "some kind of failure down the road", as it was put.
Honestly, telling when something will happen, and which kind of repair will be necessary at that point, would probably be difficult to establish even if you could show that bit to the engineer who designed the tranny.
But what's for sure is that metal bits like that are NOT supposed to detach from any part of a transmission...

pablo87

Is there anything wrong with just doing a straight drain and fill? Obviously won't be as clean but cheaper and easier for me. Last drain and fill was 25K miles ago (05 Rx330 has 125K miles currently) by dealer.

thomas1

Drain and fill is just fine, however dropping pan and clean and replace filter every so often, maybe every 90k miles.

lexus114

You can definitely tell those guy`s at the dealer are not very familiar with what is normal at the bottom of the pan. Some silt is NORMAL, not chunks of any sort. Especially like that one.

wiredGS400

Just followed the DIY, worked perfectly, except...

Well, I checked my fluid level before starting (while warm, not running) and found the level low. Then, removed what turned out to be about 7 qts, and replaced it with 8. Ran the car, till warm, and while running, checked the level, it is over the full line, significantly. I am considering removing another half to 1 qt through the cooler. Will an overfill be a problem. Will it be a problem for a week, until I can remove the extra fluid, or should I take care of it ASAP?

Thanks

CaliRX330

Can someone please confirm the torque spec on the transmission bolt?

I have found 50Nm (~36 foot lbs) but that was on a RX300 transmission bolt...is it the same?

Thanks!

RX330inFL

If you are referring to the drain plug:

Torque: 49 N*m (500 kgf*cm, 36 ft.*lbf)

CaliRX330

Perfect! That's exactly what i was looking for. Tightened it by hand yet noticed some fluid on the garage floor this morning. Took the car to a friends house and used his torque wrench at those specs so hopefully I will not be seeing pink on the floor tomorrow morning!

Thanks again!

Tuggy

Just finished a drain and fill on my fiancés rx and the picture is in fact incorrect. If you removed the hose that is circled the ATF will come out of the metal end. I actually removed it at the connection on the right side of the picture and it did come out of the rubber hose there

richonline

Thank you for confirming the correct hose to be removed and also thanks OP too.

Rudy602

I usually do a drain and fill on my 02 300RX with the regular Toyota fluid but I thought I read somewhere that the second generation RXs used synthetic trans. fluid. Anyone know for sure?

jbl-1985

Actually your 02 is a 1st Gen RX, and you can use a synthetic that is compatible with T-IV fluid from Toyota. A lot of guys use Mobile 1, Royal Purple, etc. Do a search for this here and you should find a lot of returns.