hoonami

I am about to do my first oil change and transmission fluid change on our recently purchased 04 GX. and wondering can I use 2Ton Jack and JackStand while I am under? and anyone has diy on transmission fluild drain/refill?

thanks,
Tae

Wronglane

Do not crawl under your truck with just a jack jack supporting it.Put jackstands under it to be safe ,they are cheap. Trust me on this.

By the way,a 2 ton should lift the truck.

Bob GX

For oil changes on my 04 GX, I just drive up on two ramps that raise the front wheels about 2" - faster, safer, and easier than a jack and jack stands. The extra couple of inches give enough room for the engine guard to swing down so it can be removed from the 'hinges' to access the oil filter.

Haven't done a trans fluid change yet, but I'd see if the ramps provided enough room to get to the trans, before reaching for the jack and stands.

Oh, for a garage with a lift, or a service pit!

hoonami

i will go out and buy a ramp stand, any idea how much or which grade(weight)?

link13

Well, the GX weighs more than 2 tons. I wouldn't crawl under it if it were up using that equipment.

bob2200

Yes, but you are only supporting maybe 60% (or 40%) with the jack, given a 60/40 front/rear weight distribution, for example. In the case of jack-stands, you are only supporting half of that (split between left and right side). So, I'd say 2-ton (4,400 lbs) capacity on a jack or jack -stands should be enough.

schan1w

You can do most maintaince on the GX without raising the truck. I can easily change my oil w/o jacks or ramps. True, the skid plate can't come off completely, but there's enough clearance once the skid plate swings down that I can put a small oil pan to catch the drip when the oil filter is taken off. I'm not sure if the 04 has the transmission dip stick, but if it does, you can easily change the transmission oil w/o raising the truck.

Bob GX

For 'ramps' I just use some 2" X 6" lumber - two pieces on each side, stacked with a little offset so it's easy for the tires to roll over the edge. That gives more than enough clearance to swing the plate down and remove it - I like to take it off to look for any leaks, etc, and to clean things if needed. The ramps you can buy would work fine but raise the car a lot more than needed just to change the oil filter. Not very high-tech but it works

The transmission on the 04 GX does not have a dipstick so changing the fluid requires removal of fill and drain plugs from underneath the truck. Haven't had to do this yet on mine so I don't know if it's a big job or not.

hoonami

any idea how to check for transmission fluid level? i've done transmission fluid change on my 02 ES300 couple of times.

98Nav400

Oil can easily be done with nothing or by ramping it up even a couple of inches (ie curb, couple of 2x6's). Jack and stands are overkill.

The tranny will likely have to be at the dealer. Its a big process that uses a drain/fill/flush machine and isn't DIY friendly at all.

I wrote up (use search if interested) on how to do the front/center/rear differentials. Depending on mileage you may want to consider it.

malmon

Why change the transmission fluid? Here's an excerpt describing GX470's transmission starting at '04:
For 2004 the GX underwent some minor changes. It received a sealed transmission with WS ATF, which is supposed to last the lifetime of the vehicle. This also means no dipstick for the transmission.

hoonami

this meaning tranny fluid can not be changed?

98Nav400

It can be changed and probably should be at some point (maybe 100k?).

As it was explained to me....It is a sealed system, the only way that it is changed is to have a machine hooked up to it that removes old fluid at the same time putting new fluid in through a pressurized system. I think they even told me that the fluid that is put in is heated to a certain temperature during the installation for some reason.

After the explanation, which I don't think is BS since the advisor has always been pretty honest about what is DIY and what isn't, it seems like it is well worth the $199 to have them do it, and do it right. The other problem with a DIY, is that with no dipstick you have to be certain that the correct amount is put in or risk a catestrophic transmission failure.

Toyota's trucks/4runners with the 5 speed transmissions are the same unit, so you could save a few bucks by having them do it I suppose.

hoonami

-98Nav400
what year is your GX?
I just read your post on transfercase/differential fluid change.
I have 04 with ~60k miles on them, probably a good idea to get it done i suppose.
I am also a total noob when it comes to a car and repair but what does differential do?
and when are they due(changing fluid and all), and did you replace all those bolts?

malmon

It probably can, anything's possible but the question is why? Lexus do not recommend it. I went through the owners maintenance manual (shared by GX,LX,& RX) which went all the way up to 150,000 miles, and the only transmission fluid change mentioned was for the RX. They did however recommend changing other fluids like differential oil, etc. for all three vehicles at certain intervals.

If you have a sealed transmission, I suggest leaving it alone and don't let the dealers con you into a service that is not recommended by the manufacturer (Lexus).
Here's what they stated:

Transmission (GX, LX)
On GX 470 and LX 570, the transmission
and transmission fluid are a
completely sealed unit. Therefore,
periodic checks and replacement
of the transmission fluid are not
required, and there is no dipstick on
the transmission. Any repairs that
require adding or replacing fluid
should be performed by a qualified
technician following precedures in
Lexus service and repair publications.