Drain And Fill Auto.trans Differential 97' Es300

[sugetherookielexusowner]

i have a 1997 es300 and want to drain and fill the automatic transmission differential. i did the trans already and it was simple. i know where the drain and fill plugs are on the differential, but want to know since the fill hole is on the side does anyone have any easy suggestion that wouldnt make a mess to fill the diff. since you just cant pour it in being that the hole is on the side. i was told the diff. and the trans are 2 seperate units and have to be filled seperately, also read this in a book.

[lenore]

I dont believe you have a differential unless you have All wheel drive like the RX300. somebody may correct me but I believe you only have transmission fluid.

[lenore]

I dont believe you have a differential unless you have All wheel drive like the RX300. somebody may correct me but I believe you only have transmission fluid.

[George_Jetson]

i have a 1997 es300 and want to drain and fill the automatic transmission differential. i did the trans already and it was simple. i know where the drain and fill plugs are on the differential, but want to know since the fill hole is on the side does anyone have any easy suggestion that wouldnt make a mess to fill the diff. since you just cant pour it in being that the hole is on the side. i was told the diff. and the trans are 2 seperate units and have to be filled seperately, also read this in a book.

You are correct, you need to treat them as two separate units. Filling it will be a little tricky due to the fact that the car has to be level to get the correct amount (ie you cannot jack up one side of the car to fill it). Most auto part stores sell small plastic hand pumps, you will probably need to purchase some extra tubing to hook to the outlet of the pump. Place a drain pan under the diff, and then pump the oil in slowly. You should have no problems catching the little amount of oil that does spill.

Remember, never crawl under the car unless it is supported by a pair of good quality jack stands. Your typical car jack is not enough, and should only be used to change a tire, or lift the car up high enough to place the jackstands into position. NEVER GET UNDER THE CAR WHILE IT IS SUPPORTED BY THE JACK!

[camlex]

My mechanic did for me. Drain plug is behind transmission drain plug. but fill plug is in bad spot. first he drained out old. put the drain plug back. He used small hose from top.added about qts. once it's started overflow from drain plu. he took the hose out and put the fill plug back.

That was done at 290,000. presently i have 347,000 with original transmission. I do trans. drain and fill every 15,000 FYI.

By looking, i can tell you, it's tough job. He charged me ~40-50 dollers. (same DEX-III fluid.)

Hope that helps.