Changing fluids

Hey guys. Is it safe to drain your tranny fluid and rear diff fluid to put in new fluid? I know this may sound like a dumb question but I’ve had people tell me to not do it all at one time because of there is trash in it it could cause problems. Any advice?

 

If you have an Automatic, you’re not going to get all the fluid out at once by just draining the pan.
You’ll get less than half doing just a pan drain.

If you have a manual transmission, drain it all at once.
Nothing to worry about.

As for the differential, drain it all at once.
Nothing to hurt, just clean the magnet on the drain plug before you reinstall it.

 

The tranny debate is an ongoing thing on here. Never heard not to change the diff fluids.

I've changed both more than once and haven't had any problems. It's kind of a silly argument to say DON'T change fluid because it might have trash in it....why would you want to leave the trash IN the diff/tranny?

Don't buy into the "never follow the manufacturers maint schedule...they want to sell cars" idea. Yes, they do, but they won't intentionally cause harm to a vehicle...especially with regular maintenance. The general rules of that are pretty well known across the board of manufacturers and indy mechanics alike...


TL;DR
Change em, feel good that you did it...it's fine.

 

Well put. Do you have a 2WD model? If not, don’t forget your T Case and Front Diff. Plenty of how-tos around here.

 

Not sure about OP. I have a 4WD and I've done them all, so we're all good here. Thanks though

None of them are difficult. Worst problem I had was getting the front diff plug out with that female hex. Next time, that problem is solved...got the new lexus plug with the regular male hex (regular wrench) ready to go in.

 

You can't beat clean fluids in your vehicle!

 

My simple recommendation: always remove the fill plug before draining any gearbox.

You don't want to be stuck somewhere with no fluid in your gear boxes, nor any way to add fluid to your gearboxes. It's far better to have "old oil" than no oil.

Also recommend NOT having the dealer change the fluids. They seem to think that using a impact gun is required to prevent leaks (or to ensure you have to come back to them for your next fluid change because you can't break those plugs loose with a breaker bar).

 

Ignore the people who told you this.

 

....About EVERYTHING related to your vehicle.