SalsaGuy

Hi all, been trolling this site for a month since buying a 04 RX330 AWD. Purchased it from my dad back in November with 105K miles on it. He took good of it, as he does all his cars. We replaced our old 02 T&C family hauler because 3 of our 4 children are either graduated or are in collage. We own 3 Toyotas with 3 different name plates, Lexus, 05 Toyota Matrix XR AWD and 03 Pontiac Vibe GT.

Anyway my dad hasn't done any Transmission, transfer case or rear diff service. So looking at changing the fluids over to AMSoil. There is some good DIY on this site but any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks

lexus114

I recommend staying with the Toyota type IV fluid for transmission. And conventional gear oil for the transfer and diff. I did the Synthetic stuff in there and had oil leaks galore. And noise too. Switched back to the conventional fluid and no more noise + leak not near as bad. My transmission did not like the Amsoil fluid at all, shifted real weird on it. Shifts nice on the Toyota/mobil fluid.

neelnaik

Welcome to Club Lexus, SalsaGuy. I would use Toyota fluid for the tranny, and conventional 80W-90 gear oil for the transfer/front diff and for the rear diff. I suggest pulling the fill plug before the drain plug just as a precaution (common sense, I know). They are on there pretty tight, so it's going to take a little bit of effort to get them undone. For the transfer case/front diff, I would recommend using a ratchet for the fill plug, cause it's kinda a pain to get to. As for the Amsoil fluid, I don't have any experience with it, as I have always used Toyota fluid, and then Castrol for the diffs.

Edit: Just saw you were in Oklahoma too. I think we are the only Okies on the RX fourms. What part of Ok are you from? I'm out by Tulsa.

Saltynutz

You should look into 90k mile service if your dad hasn't done it.
Replace All diff fluids, transmission, timing belt etc and since you got 100k miles, you should get the coolant serviced as well.

SalsaGuy

Thanks Guys. Yea I have been looking into the 90K mile stuff and when doing the timing belt go ahead with the water pump and coolant change. The Toyota coolant is the way to go from my understanding.

Which AMSoil Tranny fluid do you use that cause the strange "shifts". I used the Universal in my 05 AWD TRIX with no issues along with server gear in the transfer case and rear diff also with no issues. I did replace the rear diff out board seals because they were seeping before the fluid change.

Doing Fluid changes on the trix and vibe I know to open the fill port first.

SalsaGuy

Yep in the GTA (Greater Tulsa Area)...lol...inside joke. Claremore to be exact and you?

neelnaik

Lol No way! I'm basically in Pryor!

SalsaGuy

I work at MAIP. All our children went to JT and we live 3 miles east of Claremore.

SalsaGuy

Well I got the fluids replaced in the rear diff and transfer case 2 weeks back with AMSoil. Checked for leaks but none found. Need to recheck the level. The Traction control in this car is not very good at lower speeds but higher speeds it worked well. My 4WD Matrix does a better job in the snow and it doesn't have TCS or VSC. The ECT button works OK but wasn't impressed with it either. I found the ABS in both cars disappointing.

When I hit the gas I want the wheels to spin and snow to fly. Sometimes power slides can be useful. Not to have some idiot light to flash at me.

cubswin4u

Decided to join this forum when I saw the fellow Okies on here. I just got a 2004 RX330 with 50K miles. It was my Mom's before she passed away last year. Getting this car for my daughter. Curious what the basic service/maintenance costs will be. Do not plan to use Lexus dealer because of the higher prices. Have a trusted independent to do the work.

Any words of wisdom?

neelnaik, wife was raised in Pryor.

Broken Arrow, OK