Recommended Fluids For 1998 Sc300

[Scott Gordon]

Well

I bought the 1998 sc300 with 48000mi. for $13,500 (earlier post).Carfax and dealer inspection showed that I need a serpintene belt and rear breaks,passaenger fog light is out of its normal place aand needs repositioning. there are some minor paint blemishes, but otherwise a clean car with all the stock bells and whistles(heated seats,traction control,12 cd changer ,mag wheels ,spoiler,moonroof).

Since this was a city vehicle for at least two years and a commercial leased vehicle before that I am going to change all the fluids now. As far as the transmission I read that toyota type 4 is the way to go. As far as oil I will stay with the dino based as that is what has been used for the first 48,000.mi. and I do not wish to risk leaky gaskets down the road if I switch to synthetic.

What I need to know from my fellow Lexus owners is what should I put in the sc's differential (weight and brand) I live in Pennsylvania so temp. rarely dips into single digits. how about power steering my machanic said that I should use power steering fluid but I believe Lexus recommends dextron(sp?) 2 or 3, It would seem logical to go with power steering fluid, again does brand make a diffrence? is their a specific weight or type of power steering fluid that I should use? As far as break fluid does it matter what brand goes in ?

I also replaced the air filter this weekend is their an air conditioning filter?where is it located ?

Are their bushings and joints that get lubed? if so would you be so kind as to tell me what they are as Lexus maintenance just refers to them in general terms ie lube bushings.

Did I miss anything regarding fluids ,filters, lub. or other stuff that should be changed now rather then at 60,000 mi

thank you

Scott

[brucelee]

Check your manual. I believe that the auto trans is specified as Dexron 3 not type T. If so, dont use type T.

I would use Mobil 1 syn auto trans fluid if Dexron is the spec fluid.

In rear end, Mobil 1 75-90W is spec and much better than regular gear lube. Put it in and forget about it.

In the engine, Mobil 1 10W-30 full synthetic. The seals are NOT at risk and it will NOT leak. That is an old wives tale.

Re: other fluids, check manual. If you don;t have one, get one. And don't listen to mechanics vs manual. If manual says Dexron, it is dexron etc.

Good luck.

PS- no joints to lube.

Well

I bought the 1998 sc300 with 48000mi. for $13,500 (earlier post).Carfax and dealer inspection showed that I need a serpintene belt and rear breaks,passaenger fog light is out of its normal place aand needs repositioning. there are some  minor paint blemishes, but otherwise a clean car with all the stock bells and whistles(heated seats,traction control,12 cd changer ,mag wheels ,spoiler,moonroof).

Since this was a city vehicle for at least two years and a commercial leased vehicle before that I am going to change all the fluids now. As far as the transmission I read that toyota type 4 is the way to go. As far as oil I will stay with the dino based as that is what has been used for the first 48,000.mi. and I do not wish to risk leaky gaskets down the road if I switch to synthetic.

What I need to know from my fellow Lexus owners is what should I put in the sc's  differential (weight and brand) I live in Pennsylvania so temp. rarely dips into single digits. how about  power steering my machanic said that I should use power steering fluid but I believe Lexus recommends dextron(sp?) 2 or 3, It would seem logical to go with power steering fluid, again does brand make a diffrence?  is their a specific weight or type of power steering fluid that I should use?  As far as break fluid does it matter what brand goes in ?

I also replaced the air filter this weekend is their an air conditioning filter?where is it located ?

Are their bushings and joints that get lubed? if so would you be so kind as to tell me what they are as Lexus maintenance just refers to them in general terms ie lube bushings.

Did I miss anything regarding fluids ,filters, lub. or other stuff that should be changed now rather then at 60,000 mi

thank you

Scott

←

[Scott Gordon]

Check your manual.  I believe that the auto trans is specified as Dexron 3 not type T.  If so, dont use type T.

I would use Mobil 1 syn auto trans fluid if Dexron is the spec fluid.

In rear end, Mobil 1 75-90W is spec and much better than regular gear lube. Put it in and forget about it.

In the engine, Mobil 1 10W-30 full synthetic. The seals are NOT at risk and it will NOT leak. That is an old wives tale.

Re: other fluids, check manual. If you don;t have one, get one.  And don't listen to mechanics vs manual.  If manual says Dexron, it is dexron etc.

Good luck.

PS- no joints to lube.

Well

I bought the 1998 sc300 with 48000mi. for $13,500 (earlier post).Carfax and dealer inspection showed that I need a serpintene belt and rear breaks,passaenger fog light is out of its normal place aand needs repositioning. there are some  minor paint blemishes, but otherwise a clean car with all the stock bells and whistles(heated seats,traction control,12 cd changer ,mag wheels ,spoiler,moonroof).

Since this was a city vehicle for at least two years and a commercial leased vehicle before that I am going to change all the fluids now. As far as the transmission I read that toyota type 4 is the way to go. As far as oil I will stay with the dino based as that is what has been used for the first 48,000.mi. and I do not wish to risk leaky gaskets down the road if I switch to synthetic.

What I need to know from my fellow Lexus owners is what should I put in the sc's  differential (weight and brand) I live in Pennsylvania so temp. rarely dips into single digits. how about  power steering my machanic said that I should use power steering fluid but I believe Lexus recommends dextron(sp?) 2 or 3, It would seem logical to go with power steering fluid, again does brand make a diffrence?  is their a specific weight or type of power steering fluid that I should use?  As far as break fluid does it matter what brand goes in ?

I also replaced the air filter this weekend is their an air conditioning filter?where is it located ?

Are their bushings and joints that get lubed? if so would you be so kind as to tell me what they are as Lexus maintenance just refers to them in general terms ie lube bushings.

Did I miss anything regarding fluids ,filters, lub. or other stuff that should be changed now rather then at 60,000 mi

thank you

Scott

←

←

[DLaxMan3]

For you power steering use Dexron Mercon III ATF

[Scott Gordon]

First to the folks that responded thanks for doing so.

I called 3 lexus dealers all use toyota type 4 tanny fluid in sc300 even though manual calls for dexron. So I put it in my sc300.

I went with mobil 1 75-90 gear oil in the differential it was convienent amsoil I could not locate. while picking up my t4 from the toyota dealer the salesman who owns a gs300 and supra had extra toyota 80-140 gear oil at $24.00 a quart I took a pass on it but htought I let you all know it was out there.

powers steering fluid I left up to my mechanic to use what he wanted he has worked on my 1993 gs 300 and did a flush 30,000 miles ago and what ever he used worked well. Same with brake fluid. i get the sc300 back today and plan to take a long hard ride :D

[harippa]

questions .. Auto tranmission fluid"

i picked up a 12 can 12 qt dexron III ATF from Costco. then found all these posts :)

1. i checked on the cd that i bought from Ebay.. it says dexron II or similar. can someone please confirm?

2. also, i found out that auto transmission fluid needs flushing every 15000 miles. is that right? by flush, they mean draining the 1/4th of the total oil? or using a machine to pull out all the fluid?

3. i stopped by at the pep-boys and found out that there's a transmission filter for $27. is it necessary to change filter every 15k?

i wanna do it myself, does anyone has any suggestions, directions, pictures, tutorial? thanks