3rd Gen Differential and Manual Transmission (6MT) Fluid Change

Yup.

 

Would any other M18x1.5 magnetic drain plug work? I see quite a few other M18x1.5mm on eBay for much lower price, including one from a Porsche.

 

I recommend you get the cheaper one from eBay that goes on the Porsche.

 

I think that's a bit overkill. I haven't reached 5,000 miles yet, but that's when I'm going to change my oil..every 5000 miles not 10,000. Seems a bit long regardless if it's synthetic or not all the other stuff I believe can probably wait till 50,000 miles

 

Nice writeup, OP. JMO, I think 48 ft-lbs for the front diff drain plug is unnecessary. The 4WD front diff is the same case and Allen plugs in all of the Toyota 4WD's I've owned, notoriously difficult to remove the plugs, especially the drain plug.

I've never torqued them to 48ft-lbs, that's a lot for a 10mm Allen, snug it up to 29ft-lbs, no leaks, no worries.

The front diff Allen fill plug can be replaced with a 24mm from the MT or transfer case, easier to deal with. I use 6-point 24mm sockets, less rounding than a 12-pt. As the OP stated, the rear diff often requires a breaker bar, a 6-pt is better than 12-pt.

 

Hey OP. I did all the fluids except Transfer case, because of the incompatibility issue of other oils, at 940 miles. I have a 2019 TRDOR M/T.
You are SO correct, my oil was terrible in the rear differential especially. More importantly, there was a mulling the size of a 3/8” drill bit stuck to the rear differential magnet! It looked like a bit had pushed through steel and the “hat” that the bit made as it came through was deposited into the pumpkin. Was nasty. So glad I changed all the fluids. I used exactly the same Amsoil products you used. Cost me a little over $200. Thanks for the great write up.
I still have a light howl, but it’s nothing major. The transmission and engine were noticeably quieter after the oil change. I am a huge believer in changing the factory oil at 1000 miles. After that I am less fussy, but that first oil change has to come out way before the recommended time in my opinion. Your oil was nasty and only the engine oil was the recommended change! So glad you listened to yourself and did the transmission and differentials too.

 

Great write up, these kind of posts are what make TW awesome! I do have an honest question, so in regards to the transmission, you only did a partial change I am assuming to check on the level and how well the fluid is holding up? Totally sorry if I misunderstood your post. I had to once check my transmission fluid level by the process of getting it in testing mode to the correct temp and unscrewing the overflow drain bolt. I actually had to add some, I was a little low on fluid. Thanks for your contributions, haven't completely read through the every page yet, almost there. Do you plan on doing a full change soon? Thanks!

 

The process you’re describing is for the automatic transmission. I have the manual and as a result fluid changes are essentially similar to that of the differentials: drain it all out and fill until it trickles out of the fill port. If I had an auto I would also only be using Toyota WS fluid and not an amsoil version.

OA

 

Understood! I was curious, this explains it. Just thought you had more trans fluid in there. Thanks again for clearing that up! Wish I would have bought a manual but hey, I’m good with the new tranny and shifting now. I had really no problems as some other have encountered. Just had to get accustomed to the 3rd gen from my 2nd. I love this truck.

 

On a side note. Everyone that used the ravenol 75w for the transfer case, how’s it holding up? Everyone still recommend it? I changed my front and rear diff about a month and a half ago. Front was pretty dirty and rear was really clean surprisingly. But they both were a little under Filled by a small amount. So I am glad I did them sooner then later. Transfer case is my next task.

 

Transfer case advice, drain existing to clean vessel. That thing takes a full litre and then a tiny bit more. I did Toyota OEM and it's spendy. So instead of buying an extra litre just in case your 100ml short top up the 50-100ml with the previously used oil. Mine after 100K kms (60k miles) was in nice shape, but I'm not hard usage on the xfer.

 

And bagged gear oil? When will TEQ get on board. Cans fgs lol. Takes me back

 

Don't sweat the t case. Mine came out looking virgin at 7k.

Ravenol has been great since. There are VOA in the diff thread posted by @KandD .

 

I've got about 13,000 miles on the ravenol, still shifts in and out of 4x4 smoothly as before I changed it.

Agreed. Mine looked new at 30k

 

Nice $35 bucks a can, OEM fluid for the win.

 

Thank you, that is good advice, I appreciate it.

That's good to hear, thanks.

Thanks

 

Finally did this service at just shy of 30k miles. Very easy process thanks to this detailed thread. Also used the same AMSOIL products as the OP. (I guess I bought the hype) Took me about 2 hours including prepping and cleaning up the garage. Really took my time and was in no hurry. This included removing the front drivers side wheel and spare tire for easier access. Really no problem using the cheap pump but I also used the AMSOIL bags for the diff fluids. Made things easy for sure.

As some have said, the plugs take a bit of oomph to break loose and when they let go, they suddenly just go. Going to wear oven mitts next time as I smacked my knuckles a few times for sure and got a few nice blood blisters for my trouble. Good news is I didn't have any issues getting them out with a breaker bar.

The MT fluid looked pretty good but the front and rear diff fluid looked nasty with lots of shiny crud on the magnets.

First impression is certainly the much improved shifter feel. Much less notchy going into ALL gears. Buttery smooth. I would say a nice 30-40% improvement.

 

Just did all mine at 60k as well (except transfer case) using Redline-
Rear looked great, but the dealer changed it around 20k when I was complaining about the rear end whine.
Front was pretty nasty... likely should have changed it sooner, but whatever.
Transmission looked new and perfect. I really think it didn't need it.... but now fresh MT-90 is installed. I will likely push the change on that oil to 100k before I do it again. It might be shifting very slightly smoother, but the change, if it exists, is minimal enough it could also be my imagination.
After seeing how great the tranny looked, I decided not to bother with the transfer case.

Oh and note for whomever reads this... I got all new drain plug gaskets, but in my opinion it is not necessary, certainly not on a first or even second change. They are all copper washers, none of them are the "crush" style. With proper torque I show no signs of leaks. So, I would recommend saving your $7 on the new washers .

Curious.... also did the ECGS front bushing while all this was going on. I noticed they recommend Lucas oil 85w-140 non-synthetic for the diffs. I'm running 75w-85 Redline full synth. Anyone have any ideas why they might recommend that oil? Anyone running it? I might do my diff's again in another 30k and switch to it..... but then again not sure it makes a single bit of difference.... mostly wondering if anyone has spoken with ECGS ever on why the recommend that oil.

$14 Lucas Oil 10042 Heavy Duty High Performance SAE 85W-140 Gear Oil - 1 Quart

https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-LU...0T0?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q

 

ECGS's promotion of Lucas is their opinion only. The old mechanics and race car crowd I used to work with were never impressed with Lucas products or the claims they made on their additives.

I still remember the auto parts stores using a Lucas sales pitch to promote their additives with a transparent plexiglass display with a hand crank. Inside were two sets of plastic gear boxes, one with Lucas additives and the other without. You cranked the gears to see how the Lucas additives made the oil stick to the gears. They actually expected you to believe their plastic hand cranked gear display somehow mimicked a manual transmission or differential. Snake oil sales tactics at its best.

I also recall a visiting fleet manager from another company stating to myself and other mechanics on how synthetic gear oil kept their truck differentials much cooler than dino oil while pulling loads up the grapevine (Interstate 5).They had mounted temperature sensors to confirm synthetic oil kept their axles much cooler under severe conditions. Soon after my fleet managers started using synthetic gear oil in the drive trains of our fleet.

 

The plugs in the front diff are weird like that, when they let go the really let go, lol.