Transfer Case and Differential Oil
04-19-14, 12:43 PM
#31
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Went to the Lexus dealer last week for my 2007 RX350 with app. 72k. I am the third owner and the car has a hitch (heavy duty type).
Was told by Lexus not to work about differential/transfer case till 90 or 100k.
I was surprised as I thought for sure they would want to sell me something.
Called a local Toyota dealer and they said they have a 4x4 service for $289 I think it was. (Differential and transfer fluid change).
Was told by Lexus not to work about differential/transfer case till 90 or 100k.
I was surprised as I thought for sure they would want to sell me something.
Called a local Toyota dealer and they said they have a 4x4 service for $289 I think it was. (Differential and transfer fluid change).
04-19-14, 01:06 PM
#32
Went to the Lexus dealer last week for my 2007 RX350 with app. 72k. I am the third owner and the car has a hitch (heavy duty type).
Was told by Lexus not to work about differential/transfer case till 90 or 100k.
I was surprised as I thought for sure they would want to sell me something.
Called a local Toyota dealer and they said they have a 4x4 service for $289 I think it was. (Differential and transfer fluid change).
Was told by Lexus not to work about differential/transfer case till 90 or 100k.
I was surprised as I thought for sure they would want to sell me something.
Called a local Toyota dealer and they said they have a 4x4 service for $289 I think it was. (Differential and transfer fluid change).
04-20-14, 06:18 AM
#33
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I bought a 2004 RX 330 about 4 months ago (73k miles) and now that it's warmer out I just got around to doing all the fluids.
The transmission fluid was mostly black. I only did a drain and fill (about 4 quarts). So after a hundred or so miles of driving, I did another drain/fill of 4 quarts. The 2nd drain and fill showed much cleaner ATF leaving the pan. It now shifts much better/smoother. I used a total of 8 quarts of Type 4 fluid from Toyota.
The rear diff was really easy to change and the fluid that came out wasn't terrible but I wanted to make sure everything was new. I used 75w90 Mobil 1.
The transfer case was a pain to get the drain out on. Had to rig up a tool with a socket adapter and wrench like the how to on here shows. That fluid was pretty dark and really smelled. I refilled that with 75w90 mobil 1 as well.
The power steering fluid was pretty easy. Just followed the how to here on how do force all the old stuff out. I replaced this with Mobil 1 ATF as well.
I also did a top engine cleaning with water and then sea foam. Also added some sea foam to the gas and a bit in the oil and changed the oil with Penzoil Platinum 5w30 after driving around for a little bit.
The brake fluid looks pretty clean though it's a bit overfull. Not sure what to do about that, and not sure what if anything to do about the coolant. I might wait on the coolant until 90-100k when I do timing belt, water pump, drive belts and plugs/PCV.
The transmission fluid was mostly black. I only did a drain and fill (about 4 quarts). So after a hundred or so miles of driving, I did another drain/fill of 4 quarts. The 2nd drain and fill showed much cleaner ATF leaving the pan. It now shifts much better/smoother. I used a total of 8 quarts of Type 4 fluid from Toyota.
The rear diff was really easy to change and the fluid that came out wasn't terrible but I wanted to make sure everything was new. I used 75w90 Mobil 1.
The transfer case was a pain to get the drain out on. Had to rig up a tool with a socket adapter and wrench like the how to on here shows. That fluid was pretty dark and really smelled. I refilled that with 75w90 mobil 1 as well.
The power steering fluid was pretty easy. Just followed the how to here on how do force all the old stuff out. I replaced this with Mobil 1 ATF as well.
I also did a top engine cleaning with water and then sea foam. Also added some sea foam to the gas and a bit in the oil and changed the oil with Penzoil Platinum 5w30 after driving around for a little bit.
The brake fluid looks pretty clean though it's a bit overfull. Not sure what to do about that, and not sure what if anything to do about the coolant. I might wait on the coolant until 90-100k when I do timing belt, water pump, drive belts and plugs/PCV.
04-20-14, 06:58 AM
#34
Apologies for the double post.
In fact, I already asked this on the hybrid section, but on second thought the matter is actually relevant for anyone who has the tow package, with its oil cooler behind the bottom of the front bumper, on the driver side.
The point is, I'm wondering if this should also be drained (and how), before refilling, or if it's ok to leave some old oil in the circuit.
For the records, thomas1 already posted the following reply on the other thread:
I just elected to drain and fill, seems to clean up everything quite well. After two changes the fluid was great looking.
Thanks in advance for any other views you might have on this matter!
In fact, I already asked this on the hybrid section, but on second thought the matter is actually relevant for anyone who has the tow package, with its oil cooler behind the bottom of the front bumper, on the driver side.
The point is, I'm wondering if this should also be drained (and how), before refilling, or if it's ok to leave some old oil in the circuit.
For the records, thomas1 already posted the following reply on the other thread:
I just elected to drain and fill, seems to clean up everything quite well. After two changes the fluid was great looking.
Thanks in advance for any other views you might have on this matter!
04-20-14, 07:52 AM
#35
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The flush procedure that is posted on this site seems to be the best bet. I still believe there will be some old fluid in the torque converter though. For that reason I elected to just to a drain and refill twice with a few hundred miles of driving in between. I will probably do this drain and refill once more in the next few months for piece of mind.
04-20-14, 09:09 AM
#36
Lead Lap
If you've bought a second hand vehicle, it is always a good idea to change all the fluids as one doesn't know really (in spite of service records and all kinds of nice words) what the previous guy used the car for. Secondly, you don't know if drain plugs were properly tightened. On my RX the filler plug on the transfer case was loose, maybe because the plug is difficult to reach and the guy at Lexus was a bit in a hurry. Well, that can be the case on a new RX too, because they ought to check fluids on a PDS. For the price of what the guys charge to replace fluids, you can in anyway buy the most expensive brands and grades if you do it yoursef and still have change to fill the fuel tank too.
04-21-14, 01:31 AM
#37
Lead Lap
05-07-14, 08:16 PM
#38
I change my own motor oil (been using synthetics for many years) but for my convenience I would rather have the Lexus dealer change the front transfer case and rear differential oils on my 2007 RX350 (their prices are not that high when you specify a specific service rather than just ask for say a 90K service). So, does anyone know if the 75-90 oil that Lexus uses on a 2007 is a synthetic? If not I'd like to bring my own oil but doesn't this oil need to be pressured pumped into the fill hole and if so, how could they use my supplied oil? As an aside since the newer cars (e.g. my 2014ES) are running synthethics in their engines, I'm wondering if synthetics are now also used in the transfer/differential cases...but only on the newer models?]. Any info on this would be appreciated.
05-07-14, 08:59 PM
#39
I change my own motor oil (been using synthetics for many years) but for my convenience I would rather have the Lexus dealer change the front transfer case and rear differential oils on my 2007 RX350 (their prices are not that high when you specify a specific service rather than just ask for say a 90K service). So, does anyone know if the 75-90 oil that Lexus uses on a 2007 is a synthetic? If not I'd like to bring my own oil but doesn't this oil need to be pressured pumped into the fill hole and if so, how could they use my supplied oil? As an aside since the newer cars (e.g. my 2014ES) are running synthethics in their engines, I'm wondering if synthetics are now also used in the transfer/differential cases...but only on the newer models?]. Any info on this would be appreciated.
11-04-14, 05:54 AM
#40
I change my own motor oil (been using synthetics for many years) but for my convenience I would rather have the Lexus dealer change the front transfer case and rear differential oils on my 2007 RX350 (their prices are not that high when you specify a specific service rather than just ask for say a 90K service). So, does anyone know if the 75-90 oil that Lexus uses on a 2007 is a synthetic? If not I'd like to bring my own oil but doesn't this oil need to be pressured pumped into the fill hole and if so, how could they use my supplied oil? As an aside since the newer cars (e.g. my 2014ES) are running synthethics in their engines, I'm wondering if synthetics are now also used in the transfer/differential cases...but only on the newer models?]. Any info on this would be appreciated.
The new transfer case and rear differential oil does not have to be pressure pumped into the cases, but it sure can make things easier. They make manual hand pumps for DIY'ers for less than $20. Once or twice I have had to just use the oil bottle and just a piece of clear tubing, and it never goes as planned as I usually end up spilling oil. The hand pump makes transferring the fluid easy and cleaner.
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