Its's fairly straight forward. undo the fill plug before the drain plug. just do it as cheap insurance.
Front and Rear Diff fluid change
Some do it at 30K and 60K. I'm very comfortable performing the Diff and Transfer case service between 60-90K miles. I'm at 60K now on a 2015 Limited and am not in a rush. Maybe next summer. I will use the special expensive Toyota Gear Oil 75w in the transfer case. Just me being particualr about the oil in the transfer case. I'm not so concerned about what I put in the diffs.
Hello guys,
I have about 41k on the my 2016 4runner limited .Since I got it used, I am not sure if the previews owner did it. When should I replace my differential oil? Should I replace transfer case oil too?
Thanks
I check the drive train fluids on my oil changes. @3K miles on it the rear diff was a dark gray color.. changed it .. 2016 SR5 4WD.
last nov 2019 diff oil and other drive train fluids still look good.
check the color and condition of the gear oils.
the other issue I had was we all have fuel direct injection engines. well NOW we must use the SN plus engine oil spec... this got approved in may 2018 because manufactures had many of these engines damaged because of the direct fuel injection.
read the back of the oil bottle for SN PLUS not just SN....have fun
Uhh No- the 4.0 is not a direct injection engine.
Yes I did make a mistake on the direct fuel injection comment .. DFI dumps fuel into the combustion chamber ..
on the 4L engine .SFI.sequential fuel injection system with twelve-hole fuel nozzles for each cylinder..
because I did change to SN PLUS the runner is very quiet on cold starts.
moly keeps it quiet no ticking on any cold start. 800PPM moly.
The Toyota 0W-20 Synthetic is labeled as API SN and SN PLUS. I presume this is what you used.
More info:
API SN Plus: Fast Tracking New Engine Oil Specifications | F&L Asia
API | Latest Oil Classifications
Where you gonna get the synthetic factory 75w90? I couldnt even find any dealers who even stock it let alone use it on vehicles. They all use mineral based due cost and lack of routine use.
I doubt you will find a dealer in NA who uses the factory fluid in a refill of a diff.
Red Line makes OEM compatible fluids that list the specific Toyota part numbers. Look under the OEM Compatibility tab of each and you will see what I mean. I bought some for my FJ Cruiser but ended up trading it in for my T4R so I will use it in it instead.
Toyota/Lexus 08885-02506 equivalent
Toyota/Lexus transfer case fluid "Genuine Gear Oil LF 75W“ 08885-81080 equivalent
Bingo - I used the redline variant for the diffs. I do plan on using the OEM toyota transfer case oil when the time comes for that drain & fill however.
Red Line makes OEM compatible fluids that list the specific Toyota part numbers. Look under the OEM Compatibility tab of each and you will see what I mean. I bought some for my FJ Cruiser but ended up trading it in for my T4R so I will use it in it instead.
Toyota/Lexus 08885-02506 equivalent
Toyota/Lexus transfer case fluid "Genuine Gear Oil LF 75W“ 08885-81080 equivalent