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With the guidance of this write-up I did mine today. 177,000 miles and I don't think it has ever been done. I had quite a bit of iron sludge sticking on the magnet but otherwise same simple procedure.
With the guidance of this write-up I did mine today. 177,000 miles and I don't think it has ever been done. I had quite a bit of iron sludge sticking on the magnet but otherwise same simple procedure.
Make sure you report back any difference in feel when driving. I guess I need to get on mine. I'm at 111k.
Just performed my first rear diff fluid change after getting one by my mechanic when I got the car 9k miles ago. So, 1st ever rear diff fluid change at 122k and second one at 129k. I observed pretty heavy buildup on the drain plug magnet and the fluid was slightly discolored. Drained out Mobil 1 75W-90 LS fluid and put in 1 qt 75W-140 and 0.6 qt 75W-90, both Mobil 1. I plan on doing another change in 5k miles. At $20 for fluid, I'll change it regularly until the magnet buildup is less. I'd say the last 7k miles are 80% highway miles which may be harder on the rear diff fluid.
I notice that the oil 75w90 gear oil has a LS (limited slip). 2006 LS430 is not limited slip. Is this oil still OK to use. I wonder if someone has already done some research and found an answer.
I notice that the oil 75w90 gear oil has a LS (limited slip). 2006 LS430 is not limited slip. Is this oil still OK to use. I wonder if someone has already done some research and found an answer.
Everything I came across said that it was fine to use differential fluid with the Limited Slip additive even if the differential was not a limited slip.
I do not think Mobil 1 makes a synthetic gear oil in this weight that does not have the limited slip additive which is why I went looking to see if it was okay to use. I believe on Mobil 1's own web site it says it can be used for both applications.
If anyone finds documentation that says differently, feel free to chime in, but when I went looking for fluid it seemed like the only way to NOT get the limited slip additive was to use a non-synthetic gear oil which seemed like a bad idea since Lexus specifies synthetic gear oil.
Just did mine today. 2004 with 144k miles.
Never been done before, when the liquid first came out, it was a silver color. I can see some gold metal shaven in the oil pan.
Car drives the same with the new fluid, can't really tell the different.
I finished draining and filling the differential on my 2005 LS430 this morning.
Both top and lower plugs took a T-50 bit, not an allen bit. I noticed a bit of metal shavings when I took out the bottom plug (which has a magnetic head).
What was interesting is that when I put the bottom plug back in and took it out a few times I came out with more metal shavings, not a lot but I kept doing it until I couldn't see any more.
I did get about 1.3 qts out. Since I had 2 full bottles I used a little to flush out the differential (having both top and bottom plugs out).
There was no way I could fit under the car without jacking it up so I backed up on ramps and then jacked up the front until the car was level. I removed both plugs with the car only on the back ramps and after draining a bit I jacked up the front. I thought there would be more fluid coming out but not much at all. I think you could do this drain and fill with the rear of the car on ramps.
I finished draining and filling the differential on my 2005 LS430 this morning.
Both top and lower plugs took a T-50 bit, not an allen bit. I noticed a bit of metal shavings when I took out the bottom plug (which has a magnetic head).
It's an Allen/Hex fastener, this is what a Torx fastener looks like. Star shaped
The Torx bit may have worked, but I would use Allen head.
The original poster said 10 mm allen bit. I tried it and it wouldn't fit.
Well, I'm the original poster and it worked for me. You do have to make sure it seated all the way down. Glad the Torx bit worked for you, but I just didn't want to see someone mess up the fastener on accident.
Here's another write up and its saying its 10mm Allen as well. Maybe the size changed on different years, but its definitely an Allen fastener from the picture you showed.
Seems the manual service schedule doesn't specify the mileage or time when the differential oil is to be changed. It only calls for an "inspection" every 15,000 miles. They don't tell you what the "inspection" entails. Clearly they expect the dealer service tech to make the call on when to change. I changed mine at 50,000 and 90,000 miles. I am approaching 120,000 currently and will probably change at 140,000 to 150,000 miles.
10-04-14, 09:07 AM
