Changed my T-case oil, and glad I did

I changed the oil in my diffs at 15K a few months ago and the oil didn’t look too bad in either of them…. slightly dirty, but still pretty transparent. I wanted to get the original break-in oil out of there and judging from the condition after 15K, I will do 30K changes for the diffs from here on out. I didn’t want to put the same 75W90 gear oil in the transfer case as I put in the diffs (although I know many on here do), since the manual calls for straight 75W. So I did not do the T case at the same time. I got some Ravenol 75W oil since then, and I found some time to do the t-case last night at 20K miles, and I’m glad I did it.

There was a good amount of metal particles sparkling in the oil I drained, as well as a few thin metal “hairs” (like the type of shavings you see when you’re drilling into metal, but very fine like hairs). I know these are just from the gears wearing in together and the initial manufacturing process, but considering the drain plug on the t-case does not have a magnet, I don’t like the idea of any metal particles large enough to see and pick up with your fingers circulating in the oil and getting smashed between the gear teeth. I think a 30K OCI for the t-case will be fine now that I got that initial break-in oil out.

If I were to do it over again or make a recommendation to new owners, I’d do the t-case oil at 15K along with the diffs, but considering most people don’t touch any of these for probably more like 60-100K, I’m still way ahead of the game. Anyway, I say service those t-cases and diffs early on because it’s cheap, quick, easy, and good insurance to keep them going strong for the long haul.

 

Wish you took pics. But thanks for the heads up !

 

I probably should have, but didn’t want to touch my phone when I was dealing with gear oil, haha.

 

Second that. Thanks for the heads up. 22 here with 4800 miles.

 

We're up here in New England where it can get pretty cold in the winter. No clue how well ravenol works, but a buddy of mine that operates a large auto repair shop that services many manufactures vehicles told me to stick to the Toyota 75w fluid for these gen3 trucks or a BMW equiv that works well. I guess if you use a non approved fluid these electronic activated transfer case mechs don't work well in cold temps. At any rate changing it at 30k is plenty soon enough.

 

Sound advice. Always good to change any fluids after an initial break in. Honestly, I feel like that is the most crucial time. I came out of the motorcycle industry (25+ years) and new bikes always had a shit ton of stuff in the filters and on magnets after break in. No one ever wanted to change the fork oil after break in but if you change the fluid early on and get all the shit out from the high spots wearing in on bushings etc you're not cycling dirty oil thru your suspension valving for 20,000 miles. Makes a huge difference in performance and longevity.

When I bought my John Deere tractor I bought everything to service it at 10 hours. I couldn't figure out why the parts guy was skeptical and kept recommending I bring it in for the first service. I am confident in my skills, have an amazing arsenal of tools, and really don't trust anyone to do most of my work so I declined. He was adamant. After realizing I wasn't going to give in he warned me about the metal I would find and asked me please not to come back demanding a new tractor. I said no worries I'm used to that.

When I pulled the transmission filter cover, the entire pan was full of metal shavings. As recommended by him, I took one of the magnets out of the old filter and used it to gather up all of the filings in the pan before final cleaning. I bet the shavings were 1/16" deep across the entire bottom of the pan lol. That tractor never skipped a beat and after many trans fluid changes I never saw any other metal in there again. I understand why he was so concerned about me finding them and we laughed about it many times after that. They were always very good to me at that John Deere dealership after that for two reasons. They knew they weren't going to get much past me, and because could tell that I was a reasonable person who had a solid understanding that the world is not a perfect place.

Finding that crap at the first change is typical, so you want to get it out of there and give yourself a fresh canvas so that if you have an actual issue miles down the road you aren't wondering if it's from when the vehicle was new.

 

The Ravenol seems to work very well in our trucks (for a fraction of the price of the Toyota 75W synth). I’ve been using it in our 2017 4runner’s t-case (which is a full-time 4wd Limited model) for a few years now and it’s been doing great with it, so I’m using it in the Tacoma now too. Ravenol specifically says on the bottle that it meets the specs of Toyota 08885-81081 (which is the part # for their 75W), so I like seeing that. It’s also a Euro brand and very popular with BMW and Mercedes people (in regards to your mechanic’s recommendation to use a BMW equivalent oil). I first heard about it here on the forum and others seem to like it a lot too. I just can’t bring myself to pay close to a Benjamin for a quart of any oil at Toyota!

 

You do you lol but how many diffs and tcases have you heard of that failed on here?

 

I’m not sure what you’re talking about, me doing me and all that. Are you saying that Ravenol 75W gear oil isn’t good enough, and people’s t-cases have failed from using it? Or are you saying nobody’s t-case is failing from using the same gear oil as their diffs and the oil weight doesn’t really matter?? Either way, whatever. Most Toyota dealerships and shops usually just throw in whatever weight bulk gear oil they have on their barrel at the time in everyone’s t-cases and/or diffs, and I know that’d probably be fine. But if the manual calls for a different oil in the t-case than the diffs, then that’s what I’m going to give it. The price difference was minimal, so no reason for me not to. Unlike the dealer or a rando shop, I want to do everything possible to make it 2 or 3 decades & 300K miles.

 

Nope. Just saying nothing is failing using the manual intervals. But, change it early and often as you want.

 

I didn’t change the fluid because I was concerned with a possible failure soon if I didn’t. I have no doubt my diffs and t-case would’ve lasted until 150K with zero fluid changes at all because they’re Toyota. But I’ll still do everything I can to make sure they don’t fail at 250K, or even 300K+. I bought this truck to keep, so if getting the metal bits that were floating around in my diff out now, may help to increase the overall longevity of these parts (well beyond most vehicles), then I will always do that. It has worked out well with my ‘97 4Runner that I bought 22 years ago and have put 235K on. I am using the manual’s intervals BTW, I’m just going by the severe intervals because I climb 6000 ft. in elevation 3 times/week for work, so my vehicles get used harder than most.

 

I did my diffs recently at about 15K and found similar. I am glad I changed them when I did.

As soon as the weather improves, I plan to do the transfer case and MT. I purchased the toyota brand 75W gear oil for the transfer case, it was about $65 for the quart.

 

Red Line MT-LV also used by many Tacoma owners. Getting ready to do mine (diffs, trans, xfer case) @10K.

 

I get the cost difference for the Toyota stuff. It's strange it's that much more than the others...you'd have to think Toyota has some special additives in it for a reason. Like I've been told any of these transfer fluids needs to be compatible to work in sub zero temps. Last thing I'd want to end up with a transfer case that's stuck in 2wd when 4wd is needed in cold temps. At any rate right now with the original Toyota fluid, this transfer system never worked so slick...warm, or cold weather. I hope to keep it that way.

 

Did all my fluids at 60k+ Zero issues...to each their own. FWIW she is a "mall crawler" though.

 

I think most people wait until about then or even later to do their diffs and t-case. And in most cases, that’ll be fine, they’re tough components. But people should know that 60K is twice as long as the service manual recommends for the diffs with regular driving (and it’s only 15K interval for “severe” use - which many of us actually fall under). Knowing what I saw in my factory t-case oil (and knowing I baby my truck most of the time), I recommend sticking to the manual’s intervals, along with some early initial fluid changes.

I’m also in the 5K engine oil change camp, mainly because I believe Toyota’s recommended service intervals are more concerned with getting you past their longest warranty period (which is 125K) and not necessarily to 300K+ like we all hope. On one hand, I’m sure Toyota loves their reputation for quality, but on the other hand, I’m sure they’d love to sell you another new truck in 10 years even more.

 

Since this thread is gaining some traction, can I use the following for the front and rear differential: 75w90 amsoil https://www.amsoil.com/p/severe-gear-75w-90-svg/
And for the transfer case: 75w ravenol https://www.blauparts.com/ravenol-m...GtLRy9TEtMMWxlU8q0l21Ye64u-GMXYQaAu-zEALw_wcB

 

Yes to both.

 

Changed all of mine at 30K miles. The t-case and rear diff fluilds looked clean, like honey. The front diff was much darker in color and somewhat sparkly. There was a decent buildup of metallic stuff on the drain plug magnet. I’ll do the MT transmission fluid at next oil change and update. Not concerned about damage in the front diff, but thought it was odd that the others were so much cleaner.

 

I got 12,000 miles on the truck ( 2021 ) and will have the oil changed/ tires rotated at 15,000. ( every 5k )
I'm dangerous with tools so I have a 5-star shop nearby that only works on Toyotas and they know what they're doing.
What's a reasonable ballpark fee to have this done.