Auto gearbox / Differential fluid change

[CiaranMcK]

I have an is250 that is about to hit 150k miles.

 

I’m due an oil service, but I’m also thinking about asking them to change the auto box and differential fluid as I’m not sure it was ever done.

 

Thoughts? Do most people do this regularly? And how much should this cost me?
 

Thanks!

 

CMcK

[johnatg]

The diff oil should be changed every 24K miles or thereabouts (it's a regular service item). Theoretically the gearbox oil is OK for life but it's probably a good idea to change it at 150K miles. Note that in one operation you can only change a small proportion of it (about a fifth), so to change a good proportion of it you need several goes.

Sorry, no idea how much a dealer would charge. The actual oil for box and diff would cost about £75.

[Vintagesixtysix]

The diff fluid change is a very simple process as long as the bolts come out without a fight. 
In my experience it would probably be booked as one hour even though it would take half the time.

+ cost of fluid (not even a litre)

+ new washers

[johnatg]

Well, the actual diff capacity is 1.1 - 1.2 litres, but you can probably get away with 1 litre if you put the drain plug back in before the old oil has had time to fully drain. The spec is for Toyota 75W85 GL5 gear oil, which costs £20-£30 a litre depending on source. Any 75W85 or 75W90 GL5 gear oils are fine (75W85 and 75W90 are indistinguishable from each other except perhaps under laboratory investigation - for practical purposes they are interchangeable). Other brands are available (and most are perfectly OK) for much less than Toyota branded oil.

Auto gearbox oil capacity required depends on the service operation performed - here is a summary:

Transmission oil pan and drain plug removal - requires 1.0 litre (1.06 US qts, 0.88 lmp. qts)
Transmission valve body removal - 2.2 litres (2.33 US qts, 1.94 lmp. qts)
Torque converter removal - 3.7 litres (3.91 US qts, 3.26 lmp. qts)
Entire transmission assembly - 7.2 litres (7.61 US qts, 6.34 lmp. qts)

Spec is Toyota ATF WS - costs about £25 - £30 / litre - again other brands are available at substantially lower price.

Lexus dealers will only put Toyota oil in and charge you the full price accordingly - plus labour charge.

Independents will be more flexible - maybe even use oil you have supplied yourself.

[Vintagesixtysix]

Re- diff.

I used Castrol Transmax.
I checked…. I did order two so stand corrected.
You can still pick it up for around £15-20 a litre.

If your mobile enough to get under the back of the car and can undo two bolts ( fill plug first ) it’s a reasonably easy diy job

John- 24k seems very low for a diff.

Is that Toyota spec, experience or a mix of both?

 

[johnatg]

Lexus spec. Yes it is excessive, and I rather think Lexus service depts don't bother. Hard to know really.

[Las Palmas]

Service with Lexus at 80K Km they did what they had to do I suppose, and on the bill was auto-transmission oil mentioned, so that must be on the to-do list here.

Did not ask for anything other than service; mostly for hybrid Battery check.

[CiaranMcK]

Thanks everyone - there’s a Lexus independent up in Yorkshire I might go to for it I reckon, just with the gearbox being such a pain in the arse. 
 

I’m Manchester based and we don’t seem to have any Toyota/Lexus independents here!

[McShmoopy]

My car is fast approaching 150k so this is something I may try to attempt myself, atleast the diff oil. If you can get these back on is it worth putting anti seize onto the bolts before you put them back on to ensure they don't seize up in the future?

[Vintagesixtysix]

I guess so, didn’t have any problems with mine….. and I don’t think they’d been cracked in a long, long time.

They are a hex key plug with a reasonably deep fitting.
The drain plug is magnetic.

Sorry for the egg sucker but..…As always golden rule is be sure you can open the fill plug first…. Before draining. 😉

Expect extremely stinky and dirty oil.

[johnatg]

10 hours ago, McShmoopy said:

 is it worth putting anti seize onto the bolts before you put them back on to ensure they don't seize up in the future?

No. Pointless.

These are not bolts - they are plugs and the seal is below the head of the plug. The threads are effectively lubricated (and therefore protected from corrosion) by the oil in the diff (and likewise gearbox, engine, etc).

The problem, when you can't undo them, is that they have been overtightened. Then there is too much friction between the head of the plug and the housing.

It's common for things to be overtightened by amateur and professional mechanics alike - typically drain plugs, spark plugs, oil filter housings, wheel nuts, etc, etc.

Before you mess with your car, you should get:

a) a workshop manual, so that you can look up correct procedures and torque settings.

and b) the correct tools, including, crucially, a torque wrench (and learn how to use it).

The torque setting for both the drain plug and filler plug on the IS250 (and IS220d) diff is 36 ft-lb.

[McShmoopy]

1 hour ago, johnatg said:

No. Pointless.

These are not bolts - they are plugs and the seal is below the head of the plug. The threads are effectively lubricated (and therefore protected from corrosion) by the oil in the diff (and likewise gearbox, engine, etc).

The problem, when you can't undo them, is that they have been overtightened. Then there is too much friction between the head of the plug and the housing.

It's common for things to be overtightened by amateur and professional mechanics alike - typically drain plugs, spark plugs, oil filter housings, wheel nuts, etc, etc.

Before you mess with your car, you should get:

a) a workshop manual, so that you can look up correct procedures and torque settings.

and b) the correct tools, including, crucially, a torque wrench (and learn how to use it).

The torque setting for both the drain plug and filler plug on the IS250 (and IS220d) diff is 36 ft-lb.

That’s very good to know John cheers for the heads up, I recently did my oil change and I fitted a Fumoto Oil Drain Valve for easier oil changes in the future and to prevent me having to take the bolt off and on and reduce the chance or cross threading. 

[Mr Vlad]

Hi Ciaran. August just gone when my is250 went in for its annual service I asked them to change the rear diff oil. You know what? I wasn't charged. 

The year earlier I asked if they'd change the gearbox oil. They said its sealed for life. I very gently argued and the service desk guy went to see the main tech guy. I was charged £180 to change just under 2 litres of oil.