color blind fool

[skyway]

Hi guys can I have someone's opinion on this gearbox dip.

I found the coolant level low so I'm worried about the radiator leaking into the gearbox it doesn't smell burnt but the color looks brown ish

[messi]

Hi 

If you have a Gs430 or Ls430 my advice would be to replace the radiator asap and also the gearbox oil. It's a common fault on the Gs430 and Ls430 for the coolant to leak into the gearbox due to the radiator.

[skyway]

Thanks mate it's ls430

[messi]

Yes get the radiator replaced asap if it hasn't been replaced yet, you could probably still save the gearbox

[skyway]

i think i will need to flush the gearbox out has anyone done this? its a 2002 model 

thanks 

[TigerFish]

That just looks like old atf (not that bad either). Why a radiator change? I've heard of the cooler failing, not to the extent of it being a common problem though.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[messi]

Hi

Yes it is a common fault on the ls430 where the radiator leaks coolant into the gearbox causing gearbox failure, and remedy is to replace the radiator before it happens. Read up on the Ls forum and you'll see it there yourself. Apart from Lexus Guildford, most of the dealers try to down play it saying they've  never had an ls430 or gs430 come into them with gearbox failure due to coolant leaking from radiator, that's probably because lexus charge a lot for a new gearbox 

[skyway]

I have ordered a new radiator and coolant so now its just the gearbox oil.

Must admit the high level of gearbox oil worried me although i was parked on a hill.

It's the way the gearbox oil got soaked into the tissue like water not oil, just glad to have caught it in time also hoping I can change the oil DIY I'm not in the habit of trusting dealers anymore TBH not that they are all bad just been burnt to many times.

[TigerFish]

It's the way the gearbox oil got soaked into the tissue like water not oil

ATF isn't like oil, so it will soak into tissue differently anyway.

No harm in changing the rad now you've ordered it for piece of mind.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[TigerFish]

Hi

Yes it is a common fault on the ls430 where the radiator leaks coolant into the gearbox causing gearbox failure, and remedy is to replace the radiator before it happens. Read up on the Ls forum and you'll see it there yourself. Apart from Lexus Guildford, most of the dealers try to down play it saying they've  never had an ls430 or gs430 come into them with gearbox failure due to coolant leaking from radiator, that's probably because lexus charge a lot for a new gearbox 

I have read the forums (all of them). I see mention, and in some cases suggestions that there is this problem, which wasn't always the case. I don't see a "common" problem though, in the LS or GS forums. It happens, no denying that. If someone wants to change the rad to be sure, then that is fine also B)

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[skyway]

Has anyone used a fluid pump down the dip stick tube to suck out the offending oil and replace through there?

[skyway]

forget i said that sounds like a silly idea now i have seen what i have written

[skyway]

Hi guys just one more quick question if i may where does the leak come from around the radiator into the gearbox is there a point on it i can check with my rather old mark one eyeballs? 

Before I am forced to drive 600 miles in a van with my mother and wife complaining the whole way. (oh god im not looking forward to it)

[ColinBarber]

You cannot check for the problem just by looking at the radiator as the internal joints to the oil cooler fail, inside the radiator. As Tigerfish states, there have been reports of this issue but not to the extent that it is a 'common' problem. For a ten year old vehicle I'd probably change the rad and cooler just to be safe for another 10 years.

When checking the transmission fluid make sure it is fully up to temperature, the vehicle is level, the engine is running and you slowly go through all the gears on the selector, then with the engine still running and it in neutral check the level with the dipstick.

The colour of the fluid in the pictures is just old, once the vehicle has done 60k+ miles it's worth doing a pan drain and refill (which changes about 1/3 of all the fluid) every couple of years to keep it in good condition.

[skyway]

thanks guys you lot are amazing and again have saved me pulling my hair out

[ColinBarber]

2 hours ago, skyway said:

Has anyone used a fluid pump down the dip stick tube to suck out the offending oil and replace through there?

You can do this but it will only remove the fluid in the bottom of the pan. The transmission will hold 2/3 of the fluid inside the valve body, torque converter, and the external lines to the oil cooler.

If the fluid is contaminated you will need to get all of it out, so that method won't work.

[skyway]

I am thinking about using this method 

most cars...... we will see i guess gonna have to think reeeeeeeal hard

[ColinBarber]

Yes that is the best way to replace all the fluid. You may want to start/stop the engine so you remove a pint of fluid at a time, replace with new, and repeat, rather than trying to pump out and add new fluid at the same time. I'd also not recommend using anything other than Toyota T-IV fluid in your transmission, even temporarily.

I'd disconnected the flow pipe and blow the old fluid through the cooler before draining/refilling the pan, otherwise you are just contaminating the new fluid with the old from cooler. Ideally the person in the demo should have shifted through the gears to flush through the valve body when pumping out.