ls460 Rear diff fluid change - DIY

[desperatedano]

Just thought i would try and contribute here with what i recently did on my Lexus over the weekend. First job was the rear differential, i’m missing a few pictures , but i’ll update during the week

 

Why?

My car is a 2007 with 73k miles. Full lexus service history except the last 2 services. At this mileage according to the manual Both the diff and gearbox oil should have been changed. With no proof of this and something i do on any car i buy, i decided to swap all the fluids. No one locally had non Toyota equivalents in stock and nothing really available online so i found some in a local Toyota dealer.

 

The day before , try spray some penetrating oil on both the drain and fill bolts to make life easier.

 

Parts needed:

75w85 GL5 LT gear oil 0888581060 - 1.35~ litres needed(buy 2 litres)

2 x plug washers ( part number 1215710010 **confirm with your dealer)

 

Tools needed:

10mm allen key head, plus various extension bars to suit + socket size of choice

Oil drain pan

Funnel

Fluid pump

gloves

safety glasses

Clean up cloths

Head torch

Car lift***(makes life 100% easier for this job)

 

Before you start on the rear diff, crack loose the  fill plug first before you drain any fluid!!!!

 

1.Let the car cool down for approximately 30 mins

2. Safely raise car up securely so you can access rear diff, keep the car level front and rear

3. open fill plug slightly( needs pic)

4. Open drain plug and get ready to catch stinky diff fluid that comes out. It does not come out smoothly(gulps out unevenly) so try get a funnel right up close to it to prevent it splashing all over your arm/face/floor. It doesnt take long to drain out( needs pic)

5 While it drains take the time to clean the magnet on the drain plug and put on a new washer, there might be a greyish sludge on the magnet if its the first change

6. Once fluid drains to a trickle after 5-7 minutes, clean around the drain hole and  re-install drain plug.

7. Remove fill plug from the top of the diff, you will probably need a 4-5 inch extension to loosen the plug from the far side of the exhaust pipe that is in your way. If its the first time its being opened you might need a longer breaker bar to get it open

8 Get your fluid pump of choice. I used this Fluid pump.  Put end closest to pump handle to the fresh fluid bottle and the other end into the diff fill hole, i chopped a couple of inches off each hose to make life easier for the setup i had

 

9. Put in 1 liter, get your second bottle and as keep pumping in less than 500ml, when you see the fluid dribble out the fill hole, stop pumping, remove fill hose and reinstall freshly cleaned fill plug with new washer.

 

10. Tighten fill and drain plugs once done( not sure on torque spec, ill follow up on that)

 

11. Clean any spillage that occured.

 

12. Start car and check for leaks after a couple of mins.

 

13. Drive car and enjoy super smooth differential operation 🙂

 

[MLW]

Perfect explanation, and pictures ..... but oh oh for that 4 poster.

[desperatedano]

11 hours ago, MLW said:

but oh oh for that 4 poster.

Do you mean the scissors car lift? It's great lift for jobs like this. Rated to lift 4 tonne. It's more than enough for the lowly 2.5 tonnage of an ls460. I've used it for years with my last few cars, and has helped save a fortune on labour costs

[MLW]

How easy were the drain plugs to open? I have a big breaker bar. Can you not get the oil in without a special pump?.

[steve2006]

On 8/20/2018 at 12:04 PM, MLW said:

How easy were the drain plugs to open? I have a big breaker bar. Can you not get the oil in without a special pump?.

Excellent tutorial, thank you for doing it.

Make sure the 10mm hex key is fully inserted into the drain plugs,clean any crap or rust out first, this will help prevent the hex key from sliding out on turning which could round off the plug.

I also used a breaker bar.

Buy a “Turkey Baster” and use this to suck the oil out of the bottle and then squeeze it into the fill hole if you don’t have the pump.

[desperatedano]

On 8/20/2018 at 12:04 PM, MLW said:

How easy were the drain plugs to open? I have a big breaker bar. Can you not get the oil in without a special pump?.

The plugs were fairly easy to open, just the access to the fill plug is awkward with the exhaust in the way. As for the pump, i used one of these:

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Oil-Fluid-Suction-Vacuum-Transfer-Hand-Syringe-Gun-Pump-Extractor/263636785399?hash=item3d61fa18f7:g:YuoAAOSw~O1a4WWh

 Cheap and cheerful and make it so much quicker than the turkey baster method mentioned above 🙂