Ls430 gearbox oil

[lex - eleven]

Hi I'm  towing my newer , bigger caravan down to Devon this Friday and I think I read on here that an alternative  gearbox oil would be advisable. Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated....preferably  before Friday.  Thanks.

[steve2006]

As far as I know the only recommended transmission fluid is Toyota Type IV for the Aisin boxes, think yours is the A650E model.

I would confirm the above by looking in your owner's handbook.

Perhaps an external cooler would be worth considering.

[Titch LS]

Mark , the fluid in your gearbox should always be Toyota Type IV or equivalent,( i.e. Mobil 3309/Comma 3309) whether towing or not. Extra cooling is what might be needed in your case. A radiator with a slightly larger oil cooler is available but might be hard to track down.

[steve2006]

1 minute ago, Titch LS said:

Mark , the fluid in your gearbox should always be Toyota Type IV or equivalent,( i.e. Mobil 3309/Comma 3309) whether towing or not. Extra cooling is what might be needed in your case. A radiator with a slightly larger oil cooler is available but might be hard to track down.

I thought I was right with the Type IV but on the US club Toyota WS fluid was mentioned?

[lex - eleven]

Thanks for clearing that up guys. So this looks a little more complicated than I first thought. Obviously I won't be able to get it sorted before I go so I suppose it's  something to consider when we get back as we will continue to tour with it. 

[Titch LS]

Steve, as far as I can tell the general consensus seems to be that older Toyota/Lexus autoboxes should not be filled with the newer Toyota WS fluid if already using Toyota type IV. The viscosity and friction modifiers are quite different apparently. 

[steve2006]

Cheers Brian,

Thankfully the oil we use to cook our chips isn't so complicated