lito Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Hi Fellow ES300 Owners... I am working on my ES300 and don't have an owners manual, I am replacing all the fluids under the hood and would like to know fluid specs. I am sure that some one on this bord has an owners manual please help me out by listing some of the not so obvious ones here... Engine Oil - 10W30 - ???Qts. Transmission Fluid - What kind does it take? (I belive it has two places to put the oil in, is it the same oil or differnt oil) - ???Qts. Powersteering Fluid - I heard it was tranny fluid, is it true? - ???Qts. Well I think I read enough about antifreeze - so I know it's Red kind DexCool - ???Qts.(Gallons) Bake Fuid - DOT rating? - ???Qts. and if I missed something important please fill in the blank. () Thanks, Lito Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex3486 Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 I recently replaced the front motor mount and dogbone on my 93, and I was wondering what type of antifreeze to use; the kind that came out looked like the orange/red stuff, but who can tell if it is or if it's just really dirty?! Anyhow, i have some specs on the fluids for you; Motor Oil: 10w30 for normal conditions, 5W-40 for extreme heat or cold; either way, around 5 qts. give/take Antifreeze: ethelyne-glycol, not alcohol or straight water; mix according to specs given with coolant, although Lexus reccomends at least 50% coolant, 50% water. as for what color, I've yet to find out. 8.8 qts. (but keep in mind that this is probably for an empty system being that the spec given in the manual is for capacity; you may not require that much) power steering fluid: yep, tranny fluid; Dexron II tranny fluid: ditto; Dexron II. drain and refill, 3.1 L (3.3 qt.) differential: is this the 2nd location for transmission oil you speak of? if so, manual says Dexron II, .8 qts. I've never seen or checked this level; don't know the location or necessity of it. I know its important on 4WD's, but our Lexi? Couldn't tell ya. brake fluid: DOT 3 or SAE J1703; no amt. given; i'd say just add as needed, but probably wouldn't mess with drain & refill, as lines will need to be bled afterwards. Thats about it, save gas, which reccommends at least 91 octane. On the coolant level, it says to add coolant as needed until the level in the reservoir is between low and full; add if below low level. KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS FOR A 93!!!! I DON'T INTEND TO BE BLAMED FOR FALSE INFORMATION, SO DON'T USE THESE SPECS. IF YOUR VEHICLE ISN'T A 92 OR 93!!! Hope I've been of some help, and let me know if you find any info. on orange/green coolant. Thanx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lito Posted July 27, 2003 Author Share Posted July 27, 2003 Thank you for posting the specs I am sure that some one besides me will find it usefull as well. As for the coolant goes ethelyne-glycol is kinda pink and DexCool is orange looking which I am told is also OK I have been told (more then once) NOT to use the green coolant because it damages the water pump so on and so forth. If you ever want to check or replace tranny fluid in the second location which keeps the differential lubricated, it is located on the back of the transmission, facing the firewall. It's a wierd looking alen wrench type plug. Be carefull if your car is tilted it will start to run when unscrewed. Thanks again, Lito Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poneyboy Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 LEX3486 - I think he's trying to replace fluids, not top them off. Here's how to drain and refill your coolant: Drain this thing completely. If you know where the engine block plug is, drain from there as well as the radiator and fill with water once and drain again. I usually fill up the radiator first, then I fill from the top port until it won't take any more. Then run the engine until it's hot with the top cap off and keep adding coolant as needed. With the engine still running and top cap off, add coolant until it's full (judging by the top cap port, not the tank) and put a funnel in the port. You will see air bubbling up in the funnel for a while. Keep adding coolant to keep it full here. When the bubbles are gone, put the cap on and top off the resevior. Now you have an air-free system :D as it was meant to be. Run it a while to make sure the tank stays where you want it. I'm not sure if it hurts to have it filled beyond the "full" line. If you guys are out there doing this wrong, you're ending up with air in your system and that can also cause overheating! Also, with regard to the brakes - I don't recommend "just add as needed" If your brake fluid has gone down between bleeds. You should bleed your lines at this point as it takes quite some time for this to happen - unless you want to replace your calipers. The back ones will be especially nasty. Brakes will last a long time if you bleed a minimum of every 2 years. With transmission - I'd get it power flushed every 60,000 miles and drain and refill every 15,000 in between. I can't tell you how often or what to do with power steering fluid, but if it fails, your fan fails too. Lito - if you're doing a fluid "replacement" you need to do a true replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lito Posted July 29, 2003 Author Share Posted July 29, 2003 WOW! Thanks for such a detailed directions I'm sure that some readers will find it useful I have done mentioned above a time or two in my life, I just wanted to get the fluid specs. :D I have just rebuilt an engine on this thing and didn't want to get the "simple" part wrong... poneyboy you mentioned that you keep the cap open to bleed the air out of the system? There is a much simple and faster way of doing this... fill up the radiator until the coolant won't fit anymore. Close the cap start your car and drive around the block, let the car cool (just to be on the safe side) and top off the coolant reservoir to the full line. You can check it in a day or two to make sure the coolant is up to levels. Reason why is because eventually and I mean only a few miles or so all the air from the coolant system will exit through the reservoir and get replace with coolant... Anyhow every one has their way of doing things this is just an alternate method some one might like to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poneyboy Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 I've never had all the air exit the system this way - at least not to my liking. If you merely fill it at the radiator, you'll be missing a significant amount of coolant that should go into the system since you're at least 8 inces from the top level. Thus, you'll be driving around missing about a half-gallon of coolant. I'm not convinced you can make this up from your res. tank. I would always fill it from the top port for one thing. And I don't want to drive it around without its full compliment of coolant either. I've never recommended this to drivers as you can never get that main bubble out of the top hose. Over time it gets crispy and you will wear out your top cap gasket quickly. In short, by not doing it the way i described, you run the risk of leaving air in the system or at least running it without enough coolant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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