When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Performed fluid changes to both differentials and the transfer case today. 58K miles currently; I purchased at 51K as a CPO. My findings:
Transfer case oil was actually very good, not new by any means but had I known I may have delayed another year given how costly the oil was (nearly $100 shipped - I also went with the OEM transfer case oil). Differentials were another story, fluid was unexpectedly dirty / creamy in both the front and rear cases equally with a decent amount of buildup on the magnetic drain plugs. Overall very easy as it should be, less the rigmarole with the front skids. I used Amsoil for the differentials as well.
Do yourself a favor and buy a hand pump ($6-$10) for the oil. Amazon has a nice "differential/transfer case service kit" for the washers (
). More expensive then a few washers should be but sometimes I'm willing to pay for convenience.
Thanks to Acrad for the original "how-to". Simple process but nice to know what to expect, torque #'s, and ensure all the necessary supplies are at hand.
For the transfer case fluid in the can, how did you dispense it? Stick the pump in the can, or pour the fluid into an empty bottle, then pump it in?
I performed the differentials first and thus had empty quart bottles that I transferred the fluid from the can into. The pump I had screwed onto a quart bottle perfectly so that’s why I chose to transfer the fluid but I could have just placed the pump in the can. Risk of spilling would have been much higher using the plain old can IMO.
The adjustable suspension is a major reason I can keep my Yakima Load Warrior on the roof and in the garage. If I put on low I can just squeak by to get it in the garage.
Finished my rear diff and thought I would add a few things. It's very easy and with the adjustable suspension, on the HIGH setting I had plenty of room. Without that, it would have been tight. The FILL bolt was super tight, and the head of the bolt is pretty shallow, so you really have to be careful or you could possibly strip the head off. I was using a Snap On 24 socket and it was still a bugger. If you're going to do this, I would suggest placing the socket on the bolt head, then use a long breaker bar. Use one hand to hold the socket firmly on the head and use a dead blow hammer on the end of the breaker bar to get it started. As you can tell from mine, it slipped a few times before I used the method I just spelled out.
For adding the fluid, it's a bit of a pain because it takes awhile. You can put the fluid hose pretty deep into the diff so you don't have to worry about it coming out. I used Redline 75W85 and the pump didn't spin on to the bottle... it just sat in the bottle, which was fine. I laid on my right side and braced my left arm against the spare tire and was able to pump it in pretty easy.
Overall, a 20 minute job. My GX hadn't had this done before. I examined the bolts prior to removal and saw no signs that they had been touched before. The fluid, at 106k, was still very clear and I imagine it could have lasted a long time. But, the Redline fluid was $16 a quart, so it's a cheap service.
Not trying to hi-jack Acrad35751's great thread, just adding my piece to help anyone else out in the future. Next up will be the front diff.
Just completed the front diff, a few additional thoughts for anyone considering this service. It is easy, though slightly more involved that the rear diff. I had to jack the passenger side up ever so slightly, though the tire was still making contact with the ground. I had to wrestle the front cover off... one of the tabs was pretty mangled. It's apparent that prior services were not done with much respect to the various fasteners, but that's a tale for another time. Thankfully the rear cover had never been touched, and looking at the diff bolts, neither of them had been touched.
The bolts came off easily and as you can see, the drain was pretty dirty.
Cleaned it up and used new OEM washers. Filled it with Redline and torqued everything to spec. Front cover removal will be much easier next time. Also found that the access cover for the oil drain plug is missing, so I'll have to see if Lexus sells that piece separately. Will do the transfer case here in a few more paydays.
Should add that the fluid had 108k on it and was significantly darker than the rear diff fluid I did a few months back.
Just finished the transfer case, the easiest of the three. I put the rear suspension in HIGH mode and had plenty of room. Bolts were easy to break loose. The fluid, at 108k, was pretty dark, so I'm glad its fresh now. I got the fluid from Bell Lexus on eBay for $60 a can.
Just finished the transfer case, the easiest of the three. I put the rear suspension in HIGH mode and had plenty of room. Bolts were easy to break loose. The fluid, at 108k, was pretty dark, so I'm glad its fresh now. I got the fluid from Bell Lexus on eBay for $60 a can.
10-31-17, 01:00 PM
