Questions About 91-95 Ls400 Maintenance

[jqzhang]

On the compartment manual, it says the tranny fluid should be TYPE II T or TYPE T II, is that the same thing as Castrol DEXTRON II or higher?

The coolant that my LSs use has a color of coffee. But the one on the market is mostly green. Are they the same kind of ethylene glycol coolant? And are they compatible?

Thanks!

JQZhang

[leo]

No, Dextron II and Type II transmission fluid is not the same. I learned this the hard way. I went to my local Jiffy Lube center and asked that same question, and of course they said yes as I wanted to do a transmission fluid flush (remove all old fluid and add new). Well after they were done I took my car and noticed that my transmission was shifting harder. I immediatley called my friend's friend, who by the way is a Lexus master mechanic and asked him about this, and he suggested to immediatley change out the fluid, as the fluid recommended by Lexus is a synthetic type fluid, Type II, where as the Dextron II is not. This can harm the transmission in the long run. Had to buy 16 quarts of Type IV, replacement for Type II, to have the whole transmission reflushed again. After that, my transmission was back to normal.

As for your coolant, in your owners manual says to use a good brand of ethylene-glycol, more than 50% of ethylene-glycol, but no more than 70% is recommended. But to be on the safe side, just buy the exact type from your local Toyota dealer as it is cheaper than the Lexus dealer.

[jqzhang]

Thanks for the quick return, Leo. It's really helpful. I was just about to use DEXTRON II... Are you saying that I have to use Type IV or I have to go to Lexus dealers to get Type II?

Another question for you: how did you completely flush your tranny? What I know is to disconnect the inlet hose of tranny to radiator and keep the engine running, letting the fluid flow out of tranny without going into the radiator.

Please clarify and confirm!

Thanks again!

JQZhang

[Lexusfreak]

Agreed! Get both fluids from the Lexus/Toyota dealer. There are 2 coolants one is called 'long life' which is red & the other is fairly new called 'super long life' & is pink. Double check with your dealer & a 50/50% mixture is the best mixture. B)

[VBdenny]

WAIT Don't check your coolant yet. The Toyota Coolant looks brown. I can't imagine why they did that but theydid. It is a long lasting coolant that is not compatable with the green coolant. Check this out very cafefully first.