Differential Fluid Change 3rd Gen Tacoma

No, just joking about how intensely those weirdos worry about minutiae

 

I swapped the OEM gear lube for Amsoil synthetic gear lube at 5K miles, and then again last year at 65K. Currently have just at 76K total miles on the truck

 

Ahh, I see

I’m not one to get caught up in oil type technicalities.
I rarely ever venture over to that forum.

Oil, Anti-seize, Torque, and Fuel are things I don’t waste my time on debating with others on.
I make a decision, I do what I do, and move on.

 

Ravenol 75W is a great oil and meets Toyota specs.

 

GL 5 rating is hard on brass bushings. The transfer case is more comes than a differential with ring and pinion.

 

Considered that one when I did my t case, but had never heard of the brand before so I went with redline cause I know its good. I don't know why Toyota didn't go with more common oil type, but I don't want to fined out the hard way.

 

Good read

 

Well, that certainly has cast a pall on the festivities, hasn't it?

 

I use RL 75W85 for F/R diff, Amsoil MT Oil for transmission, and RL MT-LV for the TC, all at about 700 miles. I noticed the transmission was low over half a quart and the rear diff by about a pint. I chose these for their viscosity at temp in the interest of efficiency, factory spec'd weights, and my experience with them in my "track cars". The Amsoil fluid seems to not get as dark as quickly as the RL in my experience, if you're going for the 50k changes. I also replaced both fill and drain plugs with neodymium magnets in an effort to catch as many things as possible as they slosh around. You can be a weirdo like me or just use whatever you like, but do change it somewhat regularly.

 

Call it a day. And better yet....you can get it in a squeeze bag now.

 

don't even know when its time to change it, did mine a 60k miles and it looked brand new, nice straw color with no metal or particulates.

 

Might you have a source for those neodymium plugs?

 

Sure thing, Votex plugs worked for me except for the front diff drain, which I switched to a Lexus 14mm hex at the time, but have their new M24x1.5 waiting because it was listed not too long ago. I spoke with the Owner of Votex a while ago and told him that us here on Tacoma World were discussing this and how no one else competes with Dimple on our front diff drain size, but they never sent me the parts, he asked me to email him the stock toyota part numbers and he actually put them out. They're not listed under Tacoma as a search yet though.

https://votex-us.com/part-search-results/?pfresults=true&year=2021&make=Toyota&model=Tacoma&trim=TRD Off-Road&cylinder=6&liter=3.5g

Votex is also available on Amazon.

Gold plug also has some sizes that work fine: https://goldplug.com/

BTW, I ordered a complete set of drain plugs from Dimple through Paypal about 8 months ago and never received them. I had to fight to get my $200 or however much it was back. I should have done my research. Please don't make the same mistake I did

Sizes:

M18x1.5: Manual transmission fill/drain(probably auto tranny too), transfer case fill/drain, front diff FILL ONLY, and rear differential fill/drain plug (Votex DP007- a few mm longer than stock but works fine)

M24x1.5 Front differential drain plug (Votex DP029) (This is the one that the owner put out after I talked with him!)

M12x1.25 Engine oil Drain plug (Votex DP006)

Edit: PS: They have 10% off plus free shipping sales every so often.

 

I did a TON of research on this when mine was due. 75-90 is NOT anywhere near stock and your shitty local dealer probably uses it. Manufacturer recommends 75 for a reason. Redline meets spec, and I *think* Ravenol does. Nothing else does. I spoke to multiple techs who didn't know there was a difference, and two transmission experts who were STUNNED that toyota was using 75-90 valvoline at the dealership. All the guys I respected and trusted said to go with 75. At operating temp that 90 makes a HUGE difference. Don't skimp. Buy the toyota 75 or the redline.

EDIT: If you do the research you'll find many threads talking about performance of 85/90 weight stuff at high temp and the differences. Many guys sent their stuff in for sampling at chem labs, etc. Redline MT-LV for me

EDIT2: Just realized OP has a 2nd gen. Not sure what manual recommends. My stuff above is for 3rd gens.

 

Incorrect. Show us.

 

Is this in reference to the differential fluid or the transfer case? Redline recommends MT-LV 70w-75w GL-4 for the transfer case and 75W85 GL-5 for the differentials of our 3rd gen tacomas. Are you saying you use the stuff they recommend for our transfer case in the front and rear diffs?

 

For the Front and Rear Differentials I used LT75-85 GL-5 and for the Transfer Case I used MT-LV