Just Did A Drain'n'refill On 98 Ls...slight Leak?

[jjsoni1]

I just did a drain and refill on my 98 LS. Car has 24K original miles, but I beleive original owner never did this. Unfortunately, he passed away (RIP), so I cant ask him. Per the manual, 1.9L for this procedure. I made sure all fluid drained out, and placed back the plug slowly to assure it was snug. Plug seemed to appear in perfect shape without any dings/imperfections. I did use a wrench, however it was not a 10mm, as I have heard from other posts on this subject was necessary. Car seems to have a small drip on garage floor. I slid under to feel the plug, and it was slightly moist in the area. I am not sure if the leaking oil was from some that leaked over the funnel I was using (very small amount???). I am thinking about picking up a new plug and trying that, but dont want to waste time/money for something tht appears to be in perfect usable condition.

Also, should I drain and refill every other oil change until fluid is completely red, or should I have the pan pulled off and replace all, including new filter? Oil that was in there was no "choclatey," but somewhat dark, although I could still see the red color. Any suggestions from you pros would be great! Thanks all!

:cries:

[AZ Mike]

I just did a drain and refill on my 98 LS. Car has 24K original miles, but I beleive original owner never did this. Unfortunately, he passed away (RIP), so I cant ask him. Per the manual, 1.9L for this procedure. I made sure all fluid drained out, and placed back the plug slowly to assure it was snug. Plug seemed to appear in perfect shape without any dings/imperfections. I did use a wrench, however it was not a 10mm, as I have heard from other posts on this subject was necessary. Car seems to have a small drip on garage floor. I slid under to feel the plug, and it was slightly moist in the area. I am not sure if the leaking oil was from some that leaked over the funnel I was using (very small amount???). I am thinking about picking up a new plug and trying that, but dont want to waste time/money for something tht appears to be in perfect usable condition.

Also, should I drain and refill every other oil change until fluid is completely red, or should I have the pan pulled off and replace all, including new filter? Oil that was in there was no "choclatey," but somewhat dark, although I could still see the red color. Any suggestions from you pros would be great! Thanks all!

:cries:

First of all, it would be helpful if you state which fluid you are draining and refilling.

I will assume transmission fluid, since you mention the color "red".

Items you mentioned that you did not specify:

1) Did you torque the drain bolt to spec?

2) Did you replace the crush washer with a new one?

Always clean up the drain bolt area when you are done draining and have reinserted the drain plug. This way, you can have a high level of confidence that the drain plug is your problem if you later find any fluid there.

24K is not a lot of miles on a transmission. However, if the fluid is opaque, it is dirty, and you may want to do a drain and fill at each oil change until the fluid is somewhat translucent (i.e., think of the difference between clean and dirty engine oil).

Be certain to use Toyata Type IV transmission fluid.

[jcrome04]

The drain plug on the Tran Pan should be bigger than 10mm... unless they switched it for some reason in 98 (which I highly doubt) to some little tiny thing.

Did you even use the washer? I forgot to put my washer back on when I did the drain and fill on my 97... but it still didn't leak even without it.

Did you use a torque wrench or just muscle it in as hard as you could? Maybe you stripped some threads?

[jjsoni1]

Thanks for your suggestions/thoughts. Turns out I'm a knucle head! I placed the washer upside down! Ended up buying a new plug/washer (lexus oem), which appeared exactly the same. I would have put the replacement back the same way, but a "light bulb," went off in my head. I figured to try it the opposite way, as it boggled me as to why this slow leak happened in the first place. Not a drip since the redrain. Either way, it worked out good as the fluid that came out was somewhat dark again. Oh, by the way, I did use the oem Toyota fluid and a 14mm wrench. Now on to my next project of draining and refilling of differential fluid! :D

[jcrome04]

I used Mobil1 Fully Synth Gear Lube for my differential. BE VERY CAREFUL THE PLUGS MAY STRIP OUT!

75w-90?????????? I can't remember. Use what is OE recommended but in Mobil1 or Amsoil