Nyaa

So I did some searching and I see some people said they put 75W90 in their LS with no issue but I know the manual specifically calls for 75W85.

I'm having a bit of trouble finding that variant. It seems to be getting phased out? I know it needs to be GL5 with the LSD additive as it is for my F Sport so that adds a further layer of specificity to what I need.

The Toyota dealer wanted $130 a quart. No way am I paying that. They also had some BG brand they sell for $70 a quart. That's still seems insane compared to other offerings.

Ravenol seems to make what I need and they are reasonably priced, $25 a quart IIRC. But I have to special order in my appointment with my mechanic is this Friday!

I know, I waited until the last minute but I got so caught up with everything going on with my transmission I didn't get to source what I need properly.

The auto parts stores around me only seem to carry red line and I have heard mixed things about it. They can't even order what I need.

However, it's pretty easy to find what I need in 75w90. Should I just postpone the differential fluid change and get exactly what I need or do you think it will be fine to run 75w90?

yyymmm31

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I filled my LS460 60K miles and 6 years ago with Mobil 1 synthetic 75w-90 GL5 gear oil. My differential hasn't exploded yet. Seriously, I don't think 5 degrees of oil viscosity will make a difference, maybe a bit thicker and causing 0.01% more gas consumption. My car has been running very smoothly and noise free. I am just about to replace the differential gear oil in my LS460 and GX460, again, with a full synthetic 75w-90 gear oil from any reputable brand name. As we always say when offering trading information, YMYD (your money, your decision). You should make the gear oil selection decision based on your risk tolerance and comfort level. If you really want to stick to the 75w-85 viscosity, you may use Red Line Synthetic Gear Oil GL-5 75W-85, which is readily available; e.g., O'Relley Auto Parts stores @ $24/quart bottle. There was some user report about the quality of Ravenol oil (it was reported that it contained 2% water!). I am not too sure of the validity of the report, but why take the risk?

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Striker223

I used plain old mobile 1 GL5 synth in my and most customer cars calling for that spec. Exception is if they have active diffs or exotics, in that case I use dealer fluid or ravenol fluids. Some fluids aren't made by anyone else so it's $60 or $200+ for TVD fluid so I went with the ravenol stuff

If you have the torson LSD you should use something with the additive and 75-90 is totally fine. 5w upwards is not going to cause issues

Gerf

Spent all that money on a fancy car and now it's time to cheap out lol.

Your car has the Torsen diff in the rear and you should get what's made for it, you will probably never change it again. This is my parts bill for my AWD

Boykie

Eh, nyaa, perhaps you had enough experiments with fluids lately? Like, risky, scary ones? Maybe just go manual here? For AWD it's LT front diff, LL80 tx case, LX rear diff.

dan25man

Idk what your milage or use case is, and I'm all for keeping these cars running, but in my limited experience (maybe 10 orso) diff fluid drains never has the fluid ever been "bad" I've just always changed it because. Even my car with 300,000 on the OEM diff fluid was "fine" was it darker than new fluid, sure. But did it need to actually be changed? ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯ the more I drive, and older I get the less I worry about these small things and only fix things where's there's an actual sign that something needs fixing. But yeah I used synthetic 75W-90 on front, middle, and rear diffs on my AWD. You have to do the center diff twice. (drive on it for a bit, then change again, or else it'll shudder a bit in tight turns).

Nyaa

Yeah, they said they can get that for me but I have read some people claim it gave them issues. IIRC, someone here even said they recommend avoiding it.

Yeah, I was planning on using one with the LSD additive for sure. Ravenol is an exact match so that's why I was leaning towards it. I'll have to put off changing the fluid this Friday though as I have to order it. You recommend it though?


It's not that I want to cheap out but $130 a quart seems insane if the third party stuff works just as well. Is the diff in the LS really that special that it needs Toyota's special blend? If it is, I'll spend the money but it seems many users here have used different brans, Mobil, Valvoline, Ravenol, etc and never had any issue. Like the Car Care Nut said, people obsess over oil and there isn't a world's difference between them when it comes to the brand... within reason of course. You don't want to get the cheap stuff at Dollar General. Maybe there is a bigger difference with diff fluid?

Plus, the wife already doesn't get why we need to do this stuff to a car we just bought that received a clean bill of health when we had the PPI done. She isn't a car person and thinks I'm being obsessive. I explained to her this is preventative and routine maintenance but after this last incident with the tranny service, she thinks it was an example of why we shouldn't be messing with this stuff.

I plan on keeping this car a long time though and I plan on doing at the regular interval so I'll definitely be doing it again.

EDIT: Found the Toyota branded stuff for $80 a quart online. It's the LX stuff. Might go that route...

Eh, yeah. That's why I'm asking. I really don't want to risk it. I have the RWD F Sport so I only have the rear diff to worry about.

I suppose I should just order the 75w85 even if it means I can't change the diff fluid this week. I guess the car can go another week or two.

72,600 miles and I drive maybe 800-1,000 miles a month. I live in a rural area with a decent amount of turns and hills. I do some light city driving in the small towns near me.

Gerf

The LL is the fluid for the Torsen diff in your car, the LX85 is for the awd rear diff which is not LSD but has some spring that improves traction when starting off in poor traction areas so they treat it like a limited slip. I have never seen one apart so that's all I can say about it. The 75w85 is for open diffs.

So they are recommending the LX or the LL, the rear diff on an awd takes more that 1quart/litre but less than 2.

Anfanger

Redline 75W85 costs $100 for a gallon, it is as good Toyota LT and LX fluids if not better.

Nyaa

Are you sure? I literally just ordered two cans of the Toyota brand LX stuff.

When I went to the dealer they even told me they had two different kinds, the LT and the LX. I told them I have an F Sport with the LSD. They even looked my vin up and verified with me it was an F Sport and then brought out an LX can.

Plus, I Googled this even before I asked the dealer and I was finding it called for LX...

Boykie

Don't worry, LX is fine for rwd diff.

Nyaa

@Gerf Double checked the manual. It does call for LX.

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Okay, thanks everyone for the advice. I decided just to play it safe. I'll run exactly what the manual calls for. As for switching brands, I'll just stick with the Toyota brand for now..

​ Plus, I managed to find a set of two cans for $90 shipped on eBay. That kind of just made it a no-brainer for peace of mind. My wife won't kill me over $90. She might have if I spent $260 on two cans lol.

I know these cars carry a price to maintain but when you're married... well you know.

Striker223

You need to use LL if you have a center diff but yes I used rav in my W12s diffs and TVD, I would assume if it's good enough for that $11k diff it's fine in an LS

Gerf

I said the LX was used in the awd rear diff because they treat it like a limited slip, the Torsen in the awd transfer case uses LL. I don't exactly know why they recommend different fluids when they're both Torsen units but I doubt it's because they make $100 more on the awd per quart. If LX is the recommended fluid for your diff...perfect.

Gerf

German cars-German fluids, makes sense I guess. A paltry 11k for a diff is nothing....and this one uses WS