How important is it to change gear oil?

How important is it to change differential and transfer case oil, and how often should it realistically be done?

I’m at 115k now and it’s never been done.

I’m willing to bet that there are a *lot* of vehicles on the road with 2x the miles I have that are still on the factory gear oil, but figured I’d ask.

Also, the 75W-85 that the manual calls for is a bit of an oddball weight. Redline is all I can find. Is it a good oil?

Thanks.

 

Other morons not taking care of their cars is not an excuse for you to not take care of yours.

Any oil is fine, people on here will tell you Amsoil, or this or that is essential, but really what is the most essential is actually changing your gear oil.

 

every 30K miles for the rear diff. Front diff and transfer case you can probably get away with more if you don’t use it much. Here’s a great guide you should reference

 

nuff said......

 

I can’t speak for transfer case oil, because I’m 2wd.
But I did my rear differential oil at around 50k miles and am about to do it again at 100k.
I used Valvoline

$30 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90, but other trucks may use something else.

 

In truth. You don't have to change any oil in any car or truck.

The downside to not changing or stretching intervals is increasing the chance of a failure.

When will the failure happen? Roll the dice.......

Yes, for 2nd Gens the OCI for diffs and xfer case is 30 kmiles. Check your Owner's Manual for the service schedule.

Valvoline 75w90 Synthetic gear oil is acceptable.

 

my advise would be to have a shop do it this time around... at 115,000 miles those plugs might be a pita to get off... especially the hex heads.

 

Do you have a link to this quick guide?

 

It's in the stickied threads at the top of this forum.

 

Guess I’ll change it.

Any harm in switching to synthetic after all this time?

 

No. Just change a regular intervals.

 

yes the average person who neglects their vehicle and doesn't know what a forum or 55w light bulb is.

What I don't get is why Toyota recommends it so frequently, possibly more than other vehicles

 

Yeah and you don't actually have to eat either.
What you said has got to be one of the dumbest things I've seen on here

 

Thank you.

I'm happy that I have your stamp of approval.

I'd like tell you how much your approval means to me.

 

Yeesh talk about a bad case of the Mondays, lemme buy you a coffee because you ain't yourself just yet

 

When at 30k the service advisor at the dealer told me not to change my diff oil until “like 80k”. Think i’ll add it to my to do list (at 40k).

 

Just change it, these trucks are worth the extra attention. It may cost money in the short term but in the long run it will only add value to the vehicle.

Think about it. If you were shopping for a used Tacoma, would you rather have the one with a thick folder of maintenence records or the one without?

There's worse vehicles to sink money into.. at least these trucks hold their value

 

Glad I could help. Sometimes things sound a lot smarter in our heads don't they?

 

The forum really needs a SARCASM font.

 

I first changed my gear oil at around 100k+ and have been doing it every 30-40K since then. Now I'm around 177K and no problems. If you drive easy, don't plow and tow then doing that many miles on that oil probably didn't do any serous damage. That being said you (and I) shouldn't have let it go for that long.
When I changed my Front, Rear and Transfer after 30K the oil in the Rear came out pretty dark, the oil in the Front and Transfer looked almost new. So you can probably run those two a little longer if you want to.
Word of advice, look up the tutorial about removing the Front diff drain and fill plugs before you start. Most likely you will have a hard time after never been touched that many miles. Also look up the lexus plig (
90341-24016), worth the $15.
And always remove the fill (top) first. If you drain but cant fill you will have a bad day.