Pitbull

Buy a service manual if you are going to do the work yourself. They cost about $100. I use to do the maintainance on my 95 Landcruiser. It was easy just slid under it opened the top fill bolt and then the bottom drain bolt. Let it drain. Insert the drain plug and fill it up with Mobil 1 75w90 lube. Take about 10 minutes to do both front and rear diff's. One suggestion drive it for about 10 minutes before you do the diff's gets everything warmed up and lets you get more of the old stuff out. Good luck.

The Dutch Man

Yosmany,

My dealer did the following for $239 - $30 coupon = $210.00

oil and filter change
tranny service
adjust parking brake
change transfer case oil
change rear diff fluid oil
clean & lubricate the throttle body
rotate and balance the tires
all the usual checks and retourqes
check the cabin filter

I purchased a cabin filter for $13 and replace my year old one. Boy, was it disgusting! A definate recommend and very easy to do. Just follow the instructions in your Operators manual that came with the truck.

I also changed my front differential fluid this weekend. Dealer did not include this with the service? I can't stress enough how critical it is to change the diff fluid on this truck. My front drain plug magnet was full of metal shavings. The fluid was a light grey. Looked like graphite trapped in oil. To change the front take off the skid plate for the oil pan (not the one for the oil filter, the one behind it!) (four 12mm bolts I believe) There is a bottom drain plug hole on the front diff. Use a 10mm hex head socket to remove. Mine was on very, very tight. I needed to tap the wrench several times with a rubber hammer. Drain, put the plug back in, take out the top filler plug, and fill with 80W-90 GL-5 gear oil. 1.6 qts. is the front diff capacity. My rule of thumb is fill the diff unit oil comes out the filler hole. You'll need a pump to get the oil in to the front diff. The rear has more clearence. After doing all this, my truck is so smooth. The front diff whine at 75-85 mph is gone for now. Maybe it's just the fluid??? Oh, I used the Valvoline Synthetic blend 80W-90 gear oil.

Yosmany, the rear diff is the same, except there is a large drain bolt on the bottom of the "pumpkin housing" instead of a hex head bolt. The same is true for the filler plug, a bolt not a hex head. Do the same as I described above. Very easy to do.

Sorry to be so long winded! Let me know if you have any questions. I hope this info helps.

Dutchman

Sabony

I am getting ready to change the diffs and the transfer case on mine, but was wondering where exactly is the transfer case? I have worked under the car some, but don't even know what this should look like to look for it.
thanks.

Pitbull

Dutchman they serviced your transmission at 15K miles? Also I recommend that you take the fill plug out before you take the drain plug out. It's a real bad feeling if you can't get the fill plug out after you have drained your diff. It has happened to some people.

Yosmany

As for transfer cases, diff, and such, what are the major differences between a 2WD and a 4WD?

I just thought that the 2WD does not have all of the same components as the 4WD, such as a front diff.

I know they are probably dumb questions. Sorry.

tom4416

you don't have a transfer case or a front differential so all that needs to be changed is the rear differential fluid if you are following the severe service schedule. As far as I can tell from the maintenance handbook, if you're not following the severe service schedule, you never service the transfer case and differentials (?) and the transmission fluid is permanent type (unless following severe service). Even if not on the severe service schedule, I would recommend doing the differential at 15-20K with a good quality synthetic (amsoil or mobil) and then let it go. You'll get out the break in shavings and put in a much better quality fluid that might be able to go to extended change interval.

The Dutch Man

Pitbull- good point. I may have mislead people. I actually did undo the fill plug first to see if any diff fluid came out and where the level was at. It was properly filled to 1/8" below the fill plug. I also drove the truck for about 15 minutes to get things warmed up and flowing. Oh, they did service my tranny at 15K. They drained the pan, cleaned the screen and refilled with 4 quarts. Guess that's all that the pan holds. The ATF was $3.79 a quart on my paperwork. I Checked the level and it's still perfect.

Sabony- Scoot directly under the center of your truck. Follow the rear drive shaft from the rear diff (pumpkin as I call it) to when it connects in the center of the truck. Where it connects in the center of your truck is your transfer case. The drain plugs are on the back side (rearward facing side) of the transfer case. I believe the gear oil is 75W-90 GL-5. I would pick up some Mobile 1 Synthetic if you can. Just double check in the manual.

Let us know if you have any troubles.

Dutchman

Gadget

Help me understand where this big mystery about flushing an auto trans comes from.

Oil and grease is cheaper then steel. Always has been, always will be.

Did I really read that right, that the new trucks do not have a tranny dip stick?

Gadget

Yosmany

What type of Mobil 1 and how many quarts do I need for...

Rear dif?

Engine?

dcampen

Yep, no transmission dipstick on my 4Runner.

Gadget

Your owner's manual will specify the proper weights and grades of the disposable fluids used in your truck. May time it will list approximate quanities.

Read the owner's manual and be guided by the specifications listed there.

Of course I would use AMSOIL lubes as nothing has been proven to be better.

www.GadgetOnline.com/AMSOIL.htm

Gadget

Gadget

So, how do you check the level of the ATF? It is possible for even a Toyota tranny to have a small leak and how would you know?

Personally I would go nuts over something like that. How do you change the fluid? How do you put more in after you change it? How do you know when you need more?

Where is the duct tape? I need to wrap my head up fast before it explodes...

Gadget

Lefty

Yos,

Check the first post in the thread ! It has the quantity and types for your differential. As for engine, 6.5 qts of your favorite 5w-30 or 10w-30 motor oil should do ya (including the oil filter change).

Steve

Pitbull

2004 4runner does not have a dip stick and runs a new "WS" ATF (World Standard). If you tow it is considered severe service and it should be serviced using only "WS" ATF at a 60K mile interval. If you don't tow then Toyota states you don't need to service the transmission. Since the warranty on the drivetrain is 60K miles I would suggest that even if you don't tow that you have the transmission serviced at 50K miles. This gives you 10K miles to make sure that it was serviced correctly and there is no problems with the transmission (just a little insurance). I would continue to have this transmission serviced every 50K miles, even though it has state of the art fluid. I guess I'm old fashioned and just feel that all vehicles should be serviced like they were undergoing severe service. Like Gadget stated fluids are cheap, well except this "WS" ATF it's around $10 a quart, but still cheaper than a new transmission.

Gadget

So, when the tranny is "serviced", how is the new fluid put into the tranny? How is its level checked after servicing to ensure the correct level of fluid is in there?

I need another wrap of duct tape...

Gadget

Pitbull

Faith my good man FAITH I know scares the bejesus out of me, thats why I plan on having it serviced by the dealer at 50K miles so if they screw-up I have 10K miles of warranty to cover the problem.

ahriman

when you say cabin filter are you referring to the air conditioning filter in the owner's manual? thx

ahriman

steve- when you say lube, are you talking about good ol' fashioned lube from the local parts store? thx

Lefty

Michael,

Yep. Good ole lube from the auto parts store. If I remember correctly, I have GLCI Moly-based chassis lube in my grease gun (have had it for 3+ years so things are a bit foggy on that topic).

Steve

Sabony

Does anyone remember what was the size of the bolt on the rear differential and the transfer case. I was able to get the transfer case ones off with a multi-size wrench, but the rear ones are on so tight, the wrench and a hammer still won't get it too budge and I am hoping that a socket and a hammer might do it better.
Thanks.