lexite

I'm planning to change transmission fluid this weekend. It'd be a simple drain & fill; no flush or filter change. Do I need to change the drain plug? Someone knows the part# for the drain plug and for the washer?
I hope I can get it at Toyota dealer.

thx!

lexite

While searching I ran into this Thread that talks about 98'ES having same fill for both transmission and differential fluid with different drains. Cool! So can drain both and fill it all up. But I wanna know-
1. Where is differential drain plug? Does it need to be replaced or I put the same one back? P/N?
2. What should be the torque setting for both the plugs?
3. Which fluid do I need? toyota T-IV ATF?
4. Anything speicific I should be careful about?

Sorry about lot of questions. I'm learning...

pkchin

1. It is a plug that looks similiar to the ATF plug. You re-use them both. Although you should replace the crush washer, Its ok to re-use the washer 1 or 2 times. Location is hard to describe. its near the ATF pan and a little above. Where the ATF plug face is horizontal, the diff plug face is vertical.
2. ATF plug is torqued 49 N.m or 36 ft.lb . Diff plug I tighten till seated, then add a quarter turn. This is becasue I can't get a hex socket and torque wrench to fit inthe space needed to use the torque wrench.
3. The 98 ES300 use Dex 3 compatible(this is a good thing- you can use the brand of your choice - verify on the ATF dipstick.
4. Make sure you fill it to the proper level, (fill though the same dipstick tube for both). Not too much not too little. I found it to take a little more than 3.5 quarts for the ATF and differential, but let me know what you find out. To Check , run to operating temperature ( A drive of 5-10 miles dependong on outside temp). Have on level surface. After up to operating temp, run through the gears (R,N,1,2,3 and back). Check level, should be between the two hash marks at the hot level. Oh yeh, make sure to use a catch pan could be messy!

Good luck! And let me know what you found to be the amount to refill.

lexite

Thanks pkchin for the info.

I went under the car to locate the drain plus. Can someone help me verify if these are the drain plugs for transmission and front differential in the following pics?

Transmission drain plug pic (click)

Differential drain plug picture attached-

pkchin

Yup, those are the bad boys.

lexite

Great!

It says D-II or Dextron 2 or 3. So far lexus service has been filling/changing it. How do I know which one is in there already? It is kinda red in color. Does it matter which one do I fill it up with? BTW it is not a complete flush. Anyway what should I buy?
Which crush washer should I buy.

Thanks again!

Lexusfreak

Get the crush washer from the dealer. And it's your call if you want to do a 'drain & fill' or a complete 100% flush depending on how the tranny fluid was maintained in the past. I did the 100% change when I got my ES personally. I need the Toyota Type IV fluid, but will be switching to Amsoil synthetic ATF which is compatable with Type IV.

lexite

Lexusfreak,
I've never had any problems with the tranny yet. I think lexus service has been changing transmission fluid every 15k (or 30k I do not remember). The car now has 78k miles. But now I've decided to do these minor maint things myself.

I would not mind doing a 100% change except that I do not know how to do it? ;-(

pkchin

Seems like the ATF fluid has been maintained pretty well. Drain and fills should be ok. I''ve been using Redline D4 (Dex-III equivalent).

Up to you what you want to use. Amsoil,Redline, Mobil1 are some good Synthetics. I'm sure there are good conventional ATFs as well, just that I never researched them since I wanted to slowly switch over to synthetic (gradual drain and fills).

yoji6365

It's really easy to do a full change without too much hassle. Or at least what I did was very safe and simple. You might hear about mechanics shying away from full flushes due to disloding sludge.
The way I did it was actually more like a thorough drain and fill. Let me know if you are interested in how I did it.

HarrierAWD

I'd suggest you not switching to Amsoil Syn ATF. The Amsoil ATF claims to be compatible with a long list of ATF fluids. There's no such thing as "one fits all" ATF. Each manufacturer has its ATF viscosity and friction requirement. You don't need to buy the ATF from the manufacturer, but you must be sure that the ATF you buy is specifically made for your vehicle. (For example, Quaker makes ATF for Dodge cars.) Had wrong fluid been used, you won't notice a problem until 30K miles later.

lexite

That would be great! Please give me some instructions yoji6365 on how to drain out the fluid completely.

I am not really after synthetic. Any recommendation for a good ATF for this car that is available locally? Is a gradual switchover to synthetic alright?

I guess if I am able to completely drain the existing fluid, then it would be better because I won't be mixing different ATFs in there.

Thanks to all of you. You've been very helpful.

Lexusfreak

I agree that it sounds like your tranny has been maintained properly......the drain & fill should be fine. You need a special high pressure maching at a shop that has one to do a 100% fluid flush. I suggested the 100% change in case you wanted to replace the gasket & clean the filter mesh screen to get all small metal particles out since the car is 7+ years old now and the gasket won't last forever.

Did you get a new crush washer from the dealer? if so how much?

lexite

Not yet! I'll pick it up sometime this week and let you know.

Lexusfreak

Cool.