Complete fluid change

I've recently gotten a 2004 3.4 4x4 without stability control. it has about 115k on it, i got it from my brother in law who said that right before he came down here he got all the fuids changed. but then the truck had a tree limb hit it and his fathers health wend down hill right after he came down from CT to TN, and he just didn't need to drive it. so it sat for years, at least 5-6 years, but i think it has sat for longer then that as the last time the tags got a new sticker was 2008.

I,ve changed the oil, know how to do that and it is easy enough, completely replaced the brake fluid when i fixed its front brakes.

i should also point out i do not have a owners manual for it so other then autozone saying, this is what you need, and that is the same place that gave me the wrong spark plugs for a old town car so to me they are not totally reliable.

i want to make sure of what i still need to do
my list of the fluidsi think i need to change are.
radiator coolant, front and rear differential, transmission and transfer case, the power steering and clutch.

I've done radiator flushing before, so unless this truck has something that is a oddity, doing that shouldn't be a issue.

Also i have changed the fluid in differential and manual transmissions in the past. and between searching on here and looking at the truck i have found those bolts and can do that.

But a transfer case is something i have not done. and i also have not changed out the fluid in a clutch or power steering before.

so my questions are, what fluid should i use in all of that? Does it have anything odd to a radiator flush, or anything other then just remove plugs, wait for it to drain, but in recommended fluid and amount, replace plugs drive and be happy?

And, how do i flush the power steering and clutch?

 

I can't comment on the power steering issue, but I just run straight 75w90 gear oil in my transfer cases.

 

its a start, thanks

 

Transfer case is as simple as the front & rear diffs.

Find the drain & fill plugs. Make sure you remove the FILL PLUG FIRST.

Be on flat ground and fill until it comes out of the fill plug. EAsy peasy.

 

that is what i was thinking, but always like to double check when you get something new to work on. less chance of messing it up.

anybody have a idea on how to replace the power steering fluid, and the fluid in the clutch? clutch fluid is pretty black

 

I have never felt the need to flush the clutch fluid, but this is how I would do it :

Remove cap on master reservoir
Locate slave and open bleed screw
attach clear plastic tube (one end on bleed screw, other end in suitable can)

press clutch pedal to the floor, top off reservoir with new fluid
repeat above step, until fluid in tubing comes out like new fluid.

Remove tubing
tighten bleed screw

 

i figure that most if not all of those are probably factory, so it is probably time to change them, dont know if my brother in laws definition of changed all fluids is the same as mine, although i will admit that the brake fluid that was in it prior to having to do the brake work and loosing, it all, was clear and new looking. so it is possible that anything with a drain plug has indeed gotten changed. then sat for 5-6 years without running it at all.

 

any system open to the air (has a vent or breather tube) will have collected moisture in the oil so replace all fluids everywhere, for the small savings of not doing this you are risking major repairs. the brake system is sealed for the most part so that is why it looks so good plus it takes years for brake fluid to go bad even just sitting there

 

totally agree that is the reason i was asking about the changing of everything, my plan is to change it all, will change what i know how to do. still figuring out how to change power steering fluid, have the clutch figured out now.

just figure that with a new owner it is always a good idea when you don't know 100% the maintenance history to get it all a fresh start so you will know for a fact when it was done.

anyone have a recomended brand for the 75w90 gear oil, as the truck was factory with synthetic motor oil i would assume that the gear oil is also synthetic, but cannot verify that

 

I used valvoline synthetic gear oil 75/90. For fron, rear diff and transfer case.

 

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the PS takes ATF. I ran PS fluid and started to get a nasty whine. Then I called Toyota and they said I need ATF fluid. I have flushed it twice, but its still whining pretty bad.

 

yes PS uses ATF but not all ATF is the same, I think there are two kinds of fluid, try max life full synthetic high mileage ATF

maybe the PS fluid you used was designed for fords or just cheap crap

 

it was that

 

im going with mobile 1 synthetic for the

$28 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 and while i was strongly considering the zerek asian antifreeze for that, i went with toyota instead, was about twice the price but least i dont have to worry about some random weirdness happening. and i will get mobile 1 synthetic decron 3 for the PS fluid. assuming that they make it. havnt checked.

thanks for all the tips and help everyone

 

I have a 2004 V6 4X4 Auto. My maintenance log shows the following. Don't take my word for it, but can serve as a good reference point...
Transmission fluid - Toyota T-IV (2.1 qt during drain & refill).
Front diff fluid - Mobil 1 SAE

$28 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 Full Syn Hypoid gear oil "GL-5" oil (1.2 qt).
Rear diff fluid - Mobil 1 SAE 90 or 80W-90 Full Syn Hypoid gear oil "GL-5" oil (2.8 qt).
Transfer case fluid - Mobil 1 SAE 75w-90 Full Syn Hypoid gear oil "GL-5" oil (1.1 qt).
Engine oil - Mobil 1 synthetic oil 5w-30 Extended Performance (5.5 qt).
Engine oil filter - Toyota filter part # FO-8, 90915-YZZG1.
Engine coolant - Toyota Extended Life Coolant (1 gal.) & distilled water (1 gal).

 

thanks for the info

 

what I found when changing the motor oil I used all 6 qts and from the looks of the oil stick another 1/2qt can go in. Also on the engine coolant I just did this and took 2 gallons initially, but after burping and driving for about 20 odd miles it needed another 1/4 of a gallon of coolant. And also for all diff fluids, I didn't measure but I ended up using about 6 qts. Good thing I bought extra diff fluid or I would have been stuck till the wifey got home.

 

x2 on valvoline syn gear oil and mobil 1 engine oil...the rear diff took around 3-3.5 quarts when i last changed it about a week ago so youll want a lot more than 1.2! also just a handy tip if you have the 3.4 with factory skidplates a k&n oil filter is a huge labor saver with its 1'' nut and going through the inner fender. as for motor oil 5.5-6 quarts is pry about right ...i usualy put in 5.5 quarts and top off to just above midway between the dots on the dipstick after i run it for the first few miles post oil change...also make shure you grease the u joints! there should be some grease ''nipples'' in the center of the center X -stick a grease gun on and pump till it runs out the caps by the yoke... valvoline syn has ben my favorite grease here.

 

Thanks for the reminder, going to need to get a grease gun as well.

What kind of grease should i use for that? Might sound like a stupid question, but this is the first vehicle i have owned that uses synthetic oils, so therefore i am not sure if the grease is synthetic or not, and as even the antifreeze in this thing is special (only the 2nd time i have ran into that) i figure it wants something special for the grease as well.

Edit: ok, checked the manual i downloaded and found the recommended grease types so dont need that info anymore, NLGI No.2, and NLGI No.1

However i am open to suggestions on what brand of those greases people have used and liked, i will admit i have not searched very hard for them but the NLGI No.2 seems to come up royal purple and from what i have read, most people seem to not like them when it comes to gear oil at least, not sure what the quality of other products from them would be. and the NLGI No.1 comes back as a food grade grease that costs near $90, at least from Amazon, which seems extremely high, and autozone, advanced auto, o'reilly, and napa dont even have NLGI No.1 on there websites. course they also dont list NLGI No.2 on the site so not listing the other doesn't mean much. they might have it in store. but at 4 am, its to early to check

 

I'm usually pretty regular with using synthetics everywhere.... but with the U-joint grease/bearing grease, I can't even tell you what brand it is. It's a basic wheel bearing grease that meets the NLGI-2 standards bought locally. It's the same stuff I've used on my Jeep (offroad rig) for repacking the Dana 44 bearings, trailer bearings, etc. For the Jeep - I never wanted to spend too much $$ on the grease because I would repack the bearings twice a year. I already had a big tub and several tubes of the stuff.

I've been using it on the tacoma and haven't had any issues. Greasing everything is more important than the brand you use.
Here's a nice web page of information on grease.
http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/grease.htm