Ok,I have a question for you experienced 330 owners.Is their a front diff. drain plug on these like the RX 300 has? (not the transfer case) the differential,(uses transmission fluid.

 

I tried to find the front diff drain plug when I was replacing the transmission fluid, but I could not find it. It looks like it does not have it, or it is hidden so where.

 

Thanx Visual.

 

The transmission drain plug is close to the oil drain plug (about a foot away). Uses a 10 mm allen wrench. The differential for 4WD, I do not know where it is, if any. I have a 2WD.

 

Ive attached a fluid spec sheet. this is for the RX350 so disregard the fluid quantities... but as you can see on the AWD there is nothing for a front Differential because its shared with the transmission. I would assume this means there is not a separate drain plug?

 

If you have all wheel drive there are two small size transfer cases one in the front and other in the back,as mentioned above plugs can be removes and use transfer fluid,,i had this done on my car

 

The front differential is combined with the transfer case in the AWD, and takes SAE90 GL-5 or 80-90. It seems 75-90w works also (try finding 90w anywhere...). The transmission is separate. Up front there is the engine drain, transmission drain, and diff drain. The diff drain is 10mm hex.

 

Correct. I replaced both transfer case and rear diff fluids about 2 months ago. I posted a couple of pics of the underbelly while I was under there providing the locations of the drain and fill openings.

 

Here's the link to bagsbie's very helpful pics...

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-s...-and-fill.html

So what's the consensus on diff service interval? 15k? 30k? I don't believe the "never" for normal use Lexus approach...

 

I don't like the term "never" when dealing with my car's powertrain, I changed it at 60K

 

I may change over to synthetic at 15k.

 

I went ahead and did my front/rear difs today. The rear is a piece of cake. You need a 10 mm hex socket ($4). Take off the fill plug first, then the drain. They are on pretty tight. I have an oil pump that fits on the gallon jug of synthetic (redline) 75w-90 GL-5 with additive. Pump till it overflows, let it stop dripping, then put the fill plug back in.

The rear fluid at 15,000 miles looked pretty dark grey/black, with a lot of metal dust on the magnet drain plug.

The front is more of a pain. You have to take off both shields to get at it. The transfer case is painted black with ribs. The fill and drain bolts are silver 24mm. The fill bolt says "transfer oil". It's easier with a 12" extension to reach the fill bolt. The drain bolt takes an open end 24 mm wrench.

The front fluid looked decent. Each dif takes 1 qt. I finished in 45 min, plus another 45 min to change the oil, cabin air filter, clean the engine air filter, rotate tires and check the pads. My wife's pads will be toast by 25,000 miles.

I wonder how much the dealer would charge for all that? I paid $70 in supplies (synthetic oil).

Oh yea I made myself an espresso. The dealers don't have anything on me... lol