Advice on Maintenance
 

Hi Guys,

Newbie here, I’m in the UK and just got the Mrs. a 1999 Toyota Harrier with 80k on the clock and limited service history. Therefore I wish to do a full service although the previous owner changed the oil 3 months ago and the dipstick does show the oil to look light brown/fresh however the transmission dipstick level shows the oil to be sat at least double over the max marker which is a concern to me although the transmission oil looks dark pink/brown and hence I wish to change that oil too.

Therefore can you please advise in particular what transmission fluid I should use as I know it is a vulnerable part on the car and also if I need to purchase a strainer or just a fluid change baring in mind I have no evidence of when the last ATF was changed.
Lastly it the first time I’ve got a vehicle that in not chain driven and again I have no evidence of when the belt was changed hence when should I look into getting that done too, although I’ve stumbled upon some info stating that the consequences of a snapped belt on these engines are not as bad as other engines??

Lastly I have noticed a couple of issues that I would appreciate some assistance on,

1. There seems to be an oil leak under the car toward the rear around the passenger side wheel (right-hand drive model) but I can’t see where from as it looks to be covered with some sort of cover which the edge is covered with black oil?

2. When the door mirror retract button is pressed only the driver’s side mirror folds but not the passenger’s side?

To conclude,
• Should I change the engine oil, if so what is recommended?
• Should I change the transmission oil, if so what is recommended? (I can get hold of both Toyota I-IV and Mobil 3309 and Amsoil if that helps)
• Should I change the cam belt or wait, and what is the likely consequence of a snapped belt on the 99 Harriers?
• Lastly is there anything else I need to be aware of regarding the vehicle that I should do/check?

Many thanks!

Welcome to the Club.

I envy you. There are some things on the Toyota Harrier that I'd love to have like it's tiptronic shifter...would have been fun for racing.

I'd like to know if your vehicle is AWD or FWD and are you referring to 80K miles on the mileage?

With the ATF fluid, what we look for in terms of good fluid is a red color with a sweet smell. I also like to do a blot test where I will take the transmission dipstick and let some fluid drip on a paper towel and see how it blots (it should easily splash out and not blot in one little dot). With brownish fluid if you have any kind of burned smell (no more sweet smell), then I'd change it out.

My transmission fluid sits a bit high and I've never had an issue, but that being said, double over the max marker is not where it should be when hot or cold.

However, I'd recommend if you can get your hands on it, a better ATF fluid that is synthetic and Type IV compatible.

Besides Mobil 1 ATF, there is also.

Redline D4, http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=51&pcid=9
Amsoil Syntethic Muli-Vehicle Transmission Fluid, http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/atf.aspx
Royal Purple Max ATF, http://www.royalpurple.com/transmission-fluid.html

Eneos also makes one called Eneos Eco-ATF, but not sure if you can get that one in the UK, this is their distributor in the UK, http://www.japarts.co.uk/ and this is the link from the U.S. site, http://www.eneos.us/product/6

Another one is Amalie Synthetic Universal, http://amaliestore.com/proddetail.php?prod=160-72866-56

The Amsoil is likely tough to get there (I had the same experience in Mexico), but I like that oil along with the Redline D4 I use now.

I would change out the transmission filter. What I do is 3 drain and fills over 3 weeks and I separate the drain and fills apart by 100 miles (160 km) (or roughly 5 days of commuting and drain both the front differential and the transmission (you'll see in the DIY here, https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...er-change.html

I do a slightly different procedure where I don't disconnect the tranny cooler line.

On the last drain and fill that's when I open up the transmission pan and change out the filter.

When in doubt, change it out. I do a changeout of my ATF every 15K miles.

The timing belt is an item that is normally changed out around the 90k mile mark. I suggest at the same time also doing the water pump because it's more convenient given its location at that time. However, I think I've heard of very few cases involving a belt breaking in these engines. We've had people go out to 150K on them and the belts still looked new, but it's not something I'd personally chance. Unfortunatley, our engines are intereference engines so if the timing belt breaks, there is the high chance for damage, but I think the one recent time we heard of someone having the break they did not sustain damage (that's the exception).

1. On your leak on the backside. Is that leak coming from something that is black accordion-like and shaped like an acorn? If so, that's the cv joint leaking grease and you might have a small leak or tear there. What's the smell like of the oil.

2. Unfortunately we don't have that mirror feature on our RX300s, but I have seen that on Harriers in other countries I have visited. That's either a fuse (there's one in the engine compartment and there's another fuse area behind the area where you'd keep coins (would be just above your right knee with the RHD).

1. Engine Oil: It's going to depend on what you have available. A 5W30 synthetic is going to do just fine for most normal driving. A lot of us like the Castrol Syntec 0W30 and I also have positive things to say about Pennzoil Ultra and Pennzoil Pentium in the 5W30 grades. Amsoil also makes excellent oils, but I'm not sure of all that you have available there. I should mention that I am not a big fan of Mobil 1 5W30 (I like a lot of their other lubricants, especially using Mobil 1 ATF for power steering), but I had a lot of consumption issues with the M1 5W30 in Mexico, though I did have good experiences using their 0W40 and know some others on this forum who have tried their 0W30 and like it. The 0W gives a bit better response on start up.

2. If the other synthetics besides Mobil 1 ATF are too difficult or expensive to get, just use the Mobil 1 ATF, it's an improvement over the Type IV fluid.

3. Wait until 90K miles to even contemplate changing it out.

4. If you have AWD, I'd consider changing out the gear oil in the rear differential and transfer case. Each takes 0.9 liters of gear oil, https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...sfer-case.html

5. Not sure when the coolant was last changed out, but tha't something I'd also look into, The Toyota Red Coolant does just fine.

Hi Lexmex,

I’m honoured to have the first response and a greeting from you so many thanks! The vehicle is AWD and has indeed covered 80k miles and I do wish to change the transmission oil via my local garage and thus wanted to establish which fluid to use as I don’t want to risk it and as I mentioned before I am able to obtain, Toyota, Mobil 3309 and Amsoil. However I would need to instruct my mechanic what I want to do i.e drain and refill or flush? As I believe the transmission is overfilled and not sure for how long, is there a chance of any damage being sustained?

In regards to the leak I assume its from the rear diff but not really sure, the oil is dark black. what oil should I tell the garage to use for the rear diff and transfer? In regards to the tiptronic gears, with all the info about the weak transmission I dont think I'm going to use that option much...

Thanks again for the warm welcome and the initial response, you are indeed an RX Heavyweight so much respect from the UK to the US!

Sorry I didn't catch you could get Amsoil the first time I read it (it's been a long day for me), but that would be my first choice for the ATF of the ones you have available. It's arguably the best ATF there is for these vehicles, though I do like the Redline D4, too. Bottom line, you can't go wrong with it.

FYI, you've got the U140F like I do and like the one shown in the DIY.

For the U140E transmission (FWD)
Dry fill: 8.25 liters (8.72 US quarts, 7.26 Imp. qts)
Drain and refill: 3.5 liters (3.7 US qts, 3.1 Imp. qts)

For the U140F transmission (AWD)
Dry fill: 9.15 liters (9.67 US qts, 8.05 Imp. qts)
Drain and refill: 4.1 liters (4.3 US qts, 3.6 Imp qts)

In the DIY for the transmission fluid changeout, you basically want to open up the two drain bolts you see in this photo, https://www.clublexus.com/forums/1933460-post3.html each time you do the drain and fill, but on the last one, you want to take the additional step here, https://www.clublexus.com/forums/1933503-post4.html and open up all the 10mm bolts on the tranny pan and replace the filter at that time.

You don't have to do the extra step he shows with disconnecting the cooler lines.

Now about the overflow. What I'd suggest is that the first time you do the drain and fill, to only pour in four bottles of the ATF (even though it mentions above that it would be about 4.3) and then see where you are at afterwards.

I should've asked before I wrote above, but does your mechanic have a tranny flushing machine?

Another thing I should bring up is that after the first drain and fill, you should have your mechanic take a peek with a lamp/light through the drain hole of the transmission pan and see if you have a paper tranny filter or metal tranny filter, see this thread here where I have some pictures of the two types, https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ns-filter.html

For that year of your Harrier, it's possible you may have the metal transmission filter and if so, you can easily just have it washed out and put back in (and save the money for buying the paper filter). We've had some debate over the years over which is better (and I've got my own theories as to why a change was made), but right now I'd tell you to keep the metal filter in there if you have it.

I have to mention again, that my ATF fluid level sits just above the market and despite all the nutty things I've done with my little truck, it's been fine and I think if you've gotten this far, there's probably not going to be an issue there, especially considering you have an AWD tranny that has a bit more volume.

For the rear differential and the transfer case (make sure they see my DIY for the locations, and see through the pages as I've improved the method depending on the types of tools I've had access to), you should use a 75W90 gear oil. If you've got the access to Amsoil, their 75W90 Severe Gear Oil should run a bit longer than their 75W90 Long Life version. I've had people tell me they've like the severe version better. Either way it's a notch above Mobil1's 75W90 gear oil, which will still work quite well. Gear oil is one of those things that can really run out to 100K, though I am doing it now every 30K, but I check the fluid ever year.

That black oil on the back of your vehicle still seems like it is probably some dried grease to me. If that oil has a sulfuric smell, then it's gear oil and there might be a leak or it might be excess. Is the oil near one of the tires?

I think my mechanic may well have tranny flush machine so is that the better option if he does? Otherwise is it okay to introduce and mix the Amsoil ATF via the 3 course drain and refill method? If so, I may ask him to do the first drain and refill and then I will try and do the remaining set myself. In regards to the strainer, if it does show to be the metal version, how would I be able to flush or clean it out?? I shall be going there this afternoon so will find out regarding the leak once its on the ramp. Just to clarify, when I go to get the Amsoil lubricants can you please list everything I will need for the all the work discussed and their quantities i.e;

* Amsoil Universal ATF x 4 bottles or 16 if doing 4 drain and refills?
* Amsoil gearoil x 2 bottles for rear or should I do the front too and get 4?
* Amsoil 0w 30 engine oil and filter

from what I've understood I think thats the main things discussed but would be more accurate shopping list would be much appreciated. Lastly thanks to you & TunedRX for the excellent tutorials/guide produced as it has made the whole process make much sense and given me the confidence to have a go myself so many thanks!!!!

Also just to enquire, would Amsoil Super Shift Racing Transmission Fluid be more ideal/suited the RX transmission considering its weakness and the excess load it suffers?? I've read the description from their link bellow and it does not state Toyota I-IV compatible however it seems to be for applications that are under great stress which is what I assume the RX transmission is under hence the shorter life? I'd rather not be a test pilot for this product but would like to know if anyone has tried it or you're general thoughts on top of my previous post. Cheers

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/art.aspx

The shopping list

1. For the ATF, it's actually 3 drain and fills. I actually buy 13 bottles (see my photo below). The extra bottle is just to top off if you're low when done on the final drain and fill (I was). Do you use the Universal ATF, I'll get to your other question in the next post afterwards. You also need the seal that TunedRX300 shows in his DIY and possibly the paper strainer. You only know after you peek through the transmission drain and hole and shine a light in there. Take those photos I had of the two filters.

2. For the gear oil, 2 bottles of 75W90 Amsoil Severe Gear Oil. It's one bottle for the rear differential and one bottle for the transfer case, so 2 bottles total. Pour in the whole bottle, it will come out just right since the capacity for each is .9L. Note: Amsoil actually sells a contraption to help make it easier to get the gear oil into the rear differential and transfer case, http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/g2039.aspx as I've had issues trying to get the last .2 liters or so of fluid in there.

3. Amsoil 0W30 (5 bottles) + the oil filter. Pour all 5 bottles in. The oil filter I like to use is the larger HP-2009 from K&N. Here are cross-references for that oil filter in case K&N is not readily available, http://www.knfilters.com/search/kn_c...x?part=HP-2009 and Amsoil distributors often carry the Wix brand. The normal size is the K&N HP-1002, see my DIY here, https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...il-change.html

The filter itself can only be accessed/cleaned by removing all the bolts on the tranny pan as shown in TunedRX300's DIY.

On the flushing, I'm only a proponent on it when you have silvery/pinkish fluid or fresh fluid (it's probably a waste, but it would work) and not when it's dark. We've had a lot of debates in the forum about this over the years. I did a flush once when I had silvery/pinkish fluid and it worked out quite well for me and I really need to get all of those bits out in one swoop and a flush is the best way to do this. However, if it were dark, I'd want the new fluid to get in there and help clean the tranny bit by bit (ATF is an effective detergent and you can actually use it to help flush out engine oil prior to changing it though there are better products now). A flush in the dark fluid case would not give sufficient time to get any deposits thoroughly clean (rough analogy is like using mouthwash for a few seconds rather than swishing for 30 seconds to a minute). Another analogy is a deep stain on clothing and often washing it just once won't do the trick (i.e., like a flush) and it needs to be wash several times.

Thus, I'd stick to a drain and fill here given what you told me.

There is a difference with friction modifiers here that bends in favor of us using the Amsoil Universal. I don't know of anyone using the racing formula in an RX300 or any application using our U140 transmissions.

Right then, just established the rear diff seal is definitely leaking and one of the rear shocks will need replacing and I will do the first couple of ATF change myself and leaving the final one via my mechanic who will open up the pan and clean the magnets etc. although my mechanics feels the current ATF is a little over and the level and not as much as I had thought and looks not that old either. However I still wish to change the fluid due to known weakness etc. Out of curiosity are there any signs or symptoms to look out for regarding the transmission or is it something that just goes out in an instant as opposed to gradual slipping etc? Lastly any idea of labour time regarding the change of the diff seal and rear shock? Cheers

Well, we did a DIY for the shocks about 4 years ago (there's some steps missing as far as the top of the shocks because I opted not to replace those pieces, but it's on point otherwise), https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...yb-gr-2-a.html

A rear shock would probably take no more than an hour labor time. With the rear differential (just changing out one seal (assuming it's one of the ones on the left or right side), that would take 2 hours at most, because they have to get the tire off, pull out the axle and then get the new seal in there. Would probably be less if the leak happens to be on the same side as the shock you have to replace.

As far as signs to look for regarding the tranny, there's no one thing or perfect group of things, but here are some:

1. Dark fluid, burnt smell (this more a result of not changing the fluid and not something to do with the tranny per se, but it's possible if something is clogging the filter or somewhere else like the valve body, the fluid could become darker and more burnt sooner.

2. Metal bits on the tranny magnets and/or the magnet on the front differential drain plug. When I mean bits, I mean solid metal bits and not the sludge that is found on the magnets. You literally will see particles the width of a paperclip or more. Like finding little silver nuggets and that's the gears that have been getting chewed up.

3. Suddenly the vehicle shuts off for no apparent reason when coming to a stop (this happened to some just a bit before the tranny gave), but you are still able to start it up.

4. Slipping.

5. There is an ATF Oil lamp come on (that shouldn't normally occur)

6. The kiss of death is flashing lights on the dash and this has occurred to people right when the tranny gave out (though it's not common in every instance).

The key ingredient is to keep the fluid fresh and monitor it. I regularly check the dipstick to see if there are any particles on it.

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One thing I should mention is that after the gear oil is changed out in the rear differential and transfer case, you may notice improvement between the second and third shifts (they should be a bit quicker) and more so for all higher gears in general.

Thanks for the clarification, therefore can it be assumed that one of the signs of progressive gear wear would be minor signs of metal particles that can be visible with the naked eye via the dipstick? Furthermore how urgent would you say the repair is regarding the rear diff leak becasue all that can be seen is oil stains around the centre round diff joint in the middle rear of the car, hence not really close to either rear wheels etc? My mechanic seems to think its not that urgent and sometimes it tends to leak if overfilled and then stops once it reaches the right level inside? Hence he said a month or two of casual commuter travel should not be anything too much for it? However as you know this car well, would you advise an imediate change or feel the mechanics thoughts are about right? Lastly regarding passenger side (Driver side for my US friends) wing mirror that does not retract on the button, any idea if it has different fuse to the other wing mirror, if so, any idea where it will be exactly? I will keep you guys updated nonetheless and thanks again for all the assistance Lex!

Yes on your first question. Inevitably, there is going to be wear in you will see it on the magnets in the pan and on the magnet on the drain plug of the front differential. I have seen it on my dipstick, too even when the fluid wasn't silvery/pinkish.

For that leak you've got, it would help if we could see a photo. I've had a transfer case leak that's similar to the leak on the rear differential and my Uncle and I redid the seals before I left Mexico. I used a 75W140 synthetic gear oil that I got at BMW (there was not a lot of available choices when I lived down there), and that kept the leak slowed down until we could get time to repair it.

The only thing I'd suggest on that leak is to see if you can open the fill plug on the side and dip something in there to see where the level is at using like a wooden stick on the end of a popsicle or ice cream (would be more visible on the wood) (or a wooden stick used to stir coffee) so that you see it's not too far down. Is the oil you see dried or is a bit of it wet?

Another thing I'd suggest is to take some degreaser and clean that area where the stains are at and then see if the leak returns after driving.

Depending on the leak, it generally is a slow one because of the the nature of the gear oil compared to say engine oil (engine oil will leak out faster out of a similar leak than gear oil given differences in their chemical structure).

So once you know that you'd get a better picture, but for now I'd tell you drive it.

I'll have to look on the mirror fuse for you tonight (hopefully another forum member can chime in on this earlier than I can). Might I ask where this button is on your Harrier that you press to retract the mirror, since we don't have it on ours? Is it near the mirror controls that control the angle of the mirror?

On my driver's side (your passenger side), I've got an issue with the mirror being a bit loose because I banged my head on it once in Mexico and have never gotten the time to fix it.

Yes, the button is above the mirror controls and it only move in by hand. In regards to the diff, good idea to clean with degreaser so will do that when I jack up the car to let out the ATF. As I've only had a week, I only managed to drive it work today, 15 miles there and 15 miles back. Because I've been keeping an ear open for every noise during the drive, I've noticed a couple of things, one being that when I turn corners, the first turn of the steering I can hear springy type noise from what I think is the front driver side (passenger side) but strangly it was not picked up as an obvious issue when at the garage yesterday hence could it be coming from the rear passengers side shock that was highlighted as leaking grease and need of replacing? It sounds like the front driver side spring but like I said it was not an issue when it was expected?? The second sound is the initial gear change from 1st to 2nd can be heared (nothing loud but you can hear what sounds like and electronic rev, is that normal? In general it changes smooth enough and moves into 4th very quickly, a bit too quick from my experience with previous cars unless the display shows the gear prior to engaging? For example I could reach to 4th when I've barely reached 25mph and could then get to about 40-50 and have to slow down due to traffic and cruise at 20-30 again with the dash still showing 4th unless I'v obviously stopped and started again etc. I may be reading to much into becuase of all the horror stories regarding it but it would useful to know the RX's expected behaivour/sound and possible gear to mph change etc? Apologies if that sounds odd but as I'm just getting use to the car I'm trying to establish whats normal and what could be a potentail issue. Thanks again Lexmex

There's a piece of rubber that sites underneath the spring and that can get worn after a while. In shocks DIY, we actually borrowed an idea I learned in Mexico and put some flexible hosing on the spring in place of the rubber and that really has worked out well. One thing you can do is push up and down on the vehicle at each corner on the hood from the front and on the back (on the back you can help do this by opening the rear hatch and then pushing just inside the vehicle on both corners). See if you hear anything then.

One thing I should mention is sometimes the gear changes can get quirky not because of something mechanical but electronically related. The vehicle's ECM (Engine Control Module) or computer will adapt to how you drive. I experimented with this countless times. We've have had a few cases where people were getting excessive times in terms of accelerating (like forever and a day to get even a 1/4 mile (over 25 seconds or so at sea level). What we do sometimes is pull the negative and positive battery cables for a few minutes, reconnect and then drive normally for between 15 to 30 minutes (I still can't determine it), but you need to get above 100km/h or 55 mph at least once during that span and then it should adapt to your driving style.

Thus driving in the city is going to be different than driving in the country. If the person who owned it before you was taking their merry time accelerating at the light, it's going to be slow like a cow and thus disconnecting the battery cables can help get it used to how you drive.

I recently took a drive of my neighbor's RX300 and that thing was slow (and they knew it, too). We fixed that really quick.

Excellent advice, I shall attempt to pull the battery lead before my trip to work and see that goes. On a separate note, just been looking through you're DIY guides and they very, very helpful so that's much appreciated!