I have a 2004 GX470 with 112K miles on it
Bought it pre-owned in 2009 @60k Miles.
Live in South Florida and its mostly short distance drives


At 100k I did the following Timing belt , water pump ,spark plugs.

Never did any Diff , Transfer case and Tranny fluids changed .(I only kept up with Oil Changes)....I know its been long over due
Car runs very smooth and with just the exception of the TMPS warning (I plan to do the turn off the TPMS sensor light fix...smiles)

Recently I saw an oil patch in my garage.
Mechanic diagnosed the issue has quoted me $80 labor for replacing the valve cover gasket (I will buy the part).

I read on here the issue mostly is loose bolts , turned out to be true ....those bolts were hand loose .....so I tightened them today.
Had done it once at 90k (3years ago) and no issues till now.

Should I still get the valve cover gasket changed ?
(Since it might be time to change it anyways ?)

Here is all the items I am having done :
1) Valve cover gasket
2) Full Synthetic Oil Mobil 1 10W-30 (Mobil 1 High Millage)
3) Brake Pads replaced rear (Akebono brand based on user feedback here)
4) Brake oil drain and refill (Any name brand DOT-3 brake fluid)
5) Power Steering fluid drain and refill (Toyota Power Steering Fluid)
6) Front + Rear Differentials and Transfer casefluid drain and refill (Mobil 1 or Valvoline)
7) Transmission fluid with Vavoline max life, fluid drain and refill by dropping the pan and changing the filter screen (2 minds about going to a Lexus dealer for this)
8) Radiator fluid (Drain and refil) with Toyota Super Long Life Coolant

Questions :
1) How much Power Steering fluid to buy ?
2) How much Brake oil fluid to buy ?
3) For Front + Rear Differentials and Transfer casefluid can I go with 80w90 vs 75w90 (Mechanic says 80w90 is better for FL and millage on car) ?
4) For the engine oil my mechanic is VERY strongly steering me to go with 10W-30 (haha...he spent 15 mins arguing why 5W-30 is causing my leaks) ......every where on this forum it mentions 5W-30 for Oil but he insists on using 10W-30 because of age and millage. Basically he will not do a 5w-30 oil change.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and helping me.
This forum has been my go-to for advise on this car many times, good people here.

 

 

if he doesnt want to do 5w-30 than find another mechanic...

Changing oils to minimizing leak does not fix leaks... Either you fix it or live with it... pretty much asking yourself how long do you want to prolong your headache

Find a good mechanic and fix the leak.

 

 

a lot of toyotas have the loose valve cover gaskets but eventually you will need to fix. I woulda done it sooner than later but thats just me... i replaced mine and it didnt even leak at 160k.

5w to 10w wont change much since those are the cold temp viscosity. I personally would rather have lower viscosity on startups but then again i use whichever is recommended on the cap.