My ISF broke down today, Major transmission fluid leak!!!

[Twellsie]

18 minutes ago, Arqum said:

So are you having just the radiator changed or the oil cooler as well? 

both i believe, i have requested a break down of parts required from Lexus

[Arqum]

Cross fingers they sort it. 

[Irish ISF]

I've noticed a strange sound from my transmission when I changed manually from second to third under hard acceleration. It's kind of a squishy/squelchy sound if that makes sense. Kind of like when you step on a wet sponge. Anyone else notice this or know if it's something to worry about?

[Twellsie]

right, really dont know what to do here, the estimate has come through but they are saying there is no quarantee that the gearbox will not need replacing too! anyone want an ISF😓

 

 

[Twellsie]

On 8/10/2020 at 1:56 PM, Arqum said:

So are you having just the radiator changed or the oil cooler as well? 

the oil cooler is built into the rad

 

 

 

 

[Arqum]

So 3k to fix? All sorted? 

In theory for precaution fix the rad needs to be changed? 

[m4rkw]

2 hours ago, Twellsie said:

right, really dont know what to do here, the estimate has come through but they are saying there is no quarantee that the gearbox will not need replacing too! anyone want an ISF😓

 

Second opinion time I think.

[G10RRE]

I thought the IS F gearbox calls for WS ATF fluid, strange to see the part no on the estimate as Dexton III , maybe I’m missing something?

I recently had my Rad replaced, Due to a small leak at the bottom, phew! 
 

 

 

[Twellsie]

1 hour ago, G10RRE said:

I thought the IS F gearbox calls for WS ATF fluid, strange to see the part no on the estimate as Dexton III , maybe I’m missing something?

I recently had my Rad replaced, Due to a small leak at the bottom, phew! 

 

Dextron III is ATF fluid
 

 

 

 

[G10RRE]

1 hour ago, Twellsie said:

 

Hey, yeah it is ATF fluid, but it’s not the same specification as the WS fluid.
 

According to the manual it says only to use WS fluid otherwise you’ll experience bad / rough shifting. Just curious as why the estimate is mentioning the wrong fluid? 

Unless Dexton III is the same spec as WS or equivalent spec to WS , which I don’t believe it is, then I’m worried that they’re recommending the wrong fluid, and will experience shifting issues and they might then flog a new gearbox, when the real issue is the wrong fluid.

Mentioning it because I has my diff fluid replaced a while back to my 2011 with LSD, and they added the LT fluid instead of the LX fluid, the LT fluid caused a rough/binding feeling on tight turns, as my car is a 2011 with Torsen LSD it called for the LX oil also stated In the manual, 2009 and below calls for the LT fluid as there is no Torsen LSD. I believe the LX fluid has some additional additives etc to stop the rough/binding feeling on tight turns.

Just checking the dealer isn’t putting the wrong fluid added to the gearbox, as it can happen.

Hopefully all is well though! 

 

[JamesIS220]

Sorry to hear of what's happened. I would of hoped the rad would of lasted longer than 120,000 miles and 12 years old.

If it was my car I would probably part it out or sell for spares. If your good at DIY you could buy a non genuine rad and flush everything yourself and refill and see if the gearbox is affected.

On my 1996 Volvo 940 I changed the rad when I bought it as weeping coolant at 184,000 miles. My car is an automatic with AW70 gearbox and has the same system of the Lexus where the gearbox cooler runs through the cooling rad. I installed a Nissens brand for £100 4 years ago.

It would seem if you buy a used Lexus to change the rad. Seems a weak point.

James

 

[Texas]

If you plan on putting anything other than Toyota WS AFT in your Lexus Auto gearbox then please read this ( from the horses mouth, so to speak) https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-2nd-gen-2006-2013/946184-bad-experience-with-maxlife-full-synthetic-atf.html

 Bizarrely though people are still toying with the idea of not using the WS fluid for some strange reason!!!

IMPORTANT Note: prob not a good idea to post All your personal & Vehicle Details on an open forum!

[G10RRE]

2 minutes ago, Texas said:

If you plan on putting anything other than Toyota WS AFT in your Lexus Auto gearbox then please read this ( from the horses mouth, so to speak) https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-2nd-gen-2006-2013/946184-bad-experience-with-maxlife-full-synthetic-atf.html

 Bizarrely though people are still toying with the idea of not using the WS fluid for some strange reason!!!

Thanks for adding this post link, that’s why I highlighted to the original poster that the estimate had an odd / old fluid type listed, and not the WS fluid that is and seems to be the best/only fluid to use.

[holiday]

17 hours ago, Twellsie said:

the oil cooler is built into the rad

 

 

 

 

Hi sorry to hear about your loss. Just wanted to say can you remove your address from the invoice so that people don’t know where you live! This may attract thieves!! 

Edited August 12, 2020 by Steve
removed images with address

[Toothy]

Rich - If you do go with Coventry, don't forget to ask for your 15% gold member discount.

 

[steve2006]

23 hours ago, Twellsie said:

the oil cooler is built into the rad

 

 

 

 

Something weird here, according to the ISF parts diagram the transmission oil cooler is a completely separate unit mounted remotely somewhere behind the near side front bumper. This would explain why the fluid has been leaking in this area. Question is how can the engine coolant and transmission fluid mix given this?

 

[Toothy]

There are two heat exchangers. Air to oil which you've found, and an water to oil in the main rad.

[steve2006]

49 minutes ago, Toothy said:

There are two heat exchangers. Air to oil which you've found, and an water to oil in the main rad.

Ooh that’s bad then, thanks for the info wasn’t aware of that.

[gb1600e]

On 8/10/2020 at 1:22 PM, Twellsie said:

i've just spoken with Lexus Coventry and they are sufficiently happy that the solution they are providing will resolve all issues and will put it in writing too

So is that lower price then? My man maths is spreading that across the time time you have had the car and the fun its given you to conclude it's an absolute bargain pounds per smile.  Got to psychology deal with the hit some how. 

[m4rkw]

If you know the rest of the car is in good shape and you can't buy anything else with what it'll cost to fix it, then it's a no-brainer. If you're unsure of the condition of the rest of the car it might be worth paying a small amount of money to have a general inspection done. Then at least you can make a more informed decision about whether to fix it or bail.

[Twellsie]

13 hours ago, gb1600e said:

So is that lower price then? My man maths is spreading that across the time time you have had the car and the fun its given you to conclude it's an absolute bargain pounds per smile.  Got to psychology deal with the hit some how. 

unfortunately what they have put in writing is that they cannot say for certain that the gearbox will not need replacing but they have done 2 recently and the box didnt need to be changed, new gear boxes are  no longer available

[Texas]

So...to assist all/any other ISF owners who may be thinking of replacing their main rad as a preventative measure ( I think I would at the 10 year/100k point) what was the price of the ( coolant to ATF ) rad That was in the now (wisely) removed invoice?

[LexusPartsDirect]

Hi @Twellsie really sorry to hear that you have had this problem. I ran an ISF with 98,000 on the clock and had the same problem one day when I arrived into work. Sounds like this problem is becoming increasingly common on the older and higher mileage ISF's.

 

If any of you need parts for your ISF's for preventative measures we have free shipping for club members using code "lovelexus"

 

Kind regards,

 

Jon

 

[Toothy]

Rich - Can you get Dan at lexus to drain the gearbox oil and tell you if it's been contaminated with coolant or not.
If it hasn't, there's more confidence that the gearbox will be OK. Perhaps will make your decisions easier.

[Toothy]

Also - If you're looking for any auto box repairs and don't want to use Lexus, I can recommend Transmission Technology not too far from us in Knowle.
https://goo.gl/maps/kk8ahkULbR81DJA27

Not had any Lexus repaired by him, but Ken really knows his stuff.