masagsxr

How often do you guys change yours?

I was doing some small maintenance, checking every fluid. At first, I wanted to change my diff fluid. I just purchased the car not too long ago (1999 SC400) and the previous owner myticulously always takes it to his trusted mechanic for services. He gave me all the receipts and upon reviewing them, 2 things he declined to have service (Differential and brake flush). So I was thinking, easy enough since I have always done my own service owning cars in the past (200sx turbo, 240sx, mr2, rx7 bla bla bla)... I go underneath and was about to remove the differential drain plug when I noticed hhmmm looks like it has been changed before as there was signs of wear and tear on the drain plug bolt and there was a little bit of play when I put my 10mm hex key. So I decided to hold off on it until I buy the replacement drain and filler plug.....

So that was that... Bored and I just wanted to work on the car, I checked the tranny fluid from the dip stick. I go hhmmmm ok, it looks clean so I put the car back on its wheel and chilled in my room...... I was still bored so my brother woke up and I ask him, you want to do your differential and tranny flush? . He is a young buck and I always try go get him aclamaited to his car. He's owned his GS300 for about 3 years now and has not changed the diff and tranny so I thought him how to do it even tho, I did about 75% of the work... hahahahaaaa.... I also checked his tranny fluid from the dip stick and also looks ok but decided to drain it anyway. Damn what a surprise the tranny was pretty dirty so we replaced the ATF...

Anyway, after seing how dirty my brother's tranny fluid was, I decided to put my car back on the stands. Took the tranny drain plug off and whoa, that thing is kind of milk shakey dirty and pretty thick. Not exactly sure what the previous owner replaced it with as it wasn't on one of the reciepts he gave me. Well, I replaced it with Mobil 1 synthetic ATF and very happy with it. I'll probably flush it again in the next 2 weeks just to drain and flush most of the sludge there so I can sleep better at night

That's all folks.. I just thought I share this info with you if you guys have not had a chance to replace your ATF.

Sorry for the long story. LoL

o6spdracer

iTrader: (5)

Good to know! I check mine pretty frequently to make sure its still clean. Way to keep your car in tip top shape!

masagsxr

Hard to really tell just by the dip stick buddy. As I was saying, I pulled the dip stick out to check and it looks clean. But then again, the oil just coats the dip stick to see the level and will lead you to believe that the oil/fluid is still clean. As I took the tranny drain plug and saw the oil pour out of there, it was really dirty. I guess its been a while since the last owner changed it.

If you know when it was last changed then I guess you can go from there. What's the mileage/month/year interval? Every 25000 miles? Every 6 months? Every Year? Damn the previous owner lost the manual so I'm trying to download it from Lexus website.

masagsxr

Just an update.... So I purchased the new differential drain and filler bolt and finally changed my diff oil. To my surprise, the oil that was there was actually very clean... Again, the reason I decided to change it was because the previous owner declined that particular service when I was reviewing the reciepts.... Anyway, I did it myself and only cost me $25. Now I can sleep much better .... Maybe its just in my head but with the tranny and diffirential oil changes, the car certainly rides and shifts much smoother.

Just thought I throw this in. I love working on cars and kind of do this on the side to help pay for bills and have a little spending $$$ specially with this economy. If you guys need some service done, all you need to do is to bring yoru own parts and i'll do the labor for half what local shops charges. Cat-back, axle back exhaust installs, lowering or putting OEM springs back, drivebelts, brake pad replacement, rotor replacement.... Just PM me

2700$oarer

i change mines with the oil=P 2 quart dump with tranny plug removal on sc400... just one thing to add in if you like to spoil your car...

masagsxr

I did change my tranny oil... That was the first thing I did if you read my initial post :P... I'll do it again tho in the next 2 months when I do the engine oil. This time around I'll change the tranny filter