Differential Filling 1995 Es300

whh333 · February 20, 2004

I got a Haynes manual for the Camry, which covers the engine in my Lexus ES300 and it specifies that the differential is isolated from the transmission and to fill it through the fill plug. After draining the transmission fluid and differential fluid, I kept pouring more that the 1.9 quarts it specified through the plug and the fluid level started showing on my automatic transmission dipstick. I looked in the past posts and they state the 1998 models have a combined reservoir for the transmission. Is this the case on the 1995? How do I fill it? I finally poured in a few quarts through the plug, then topped up the transmission through the transmission dipstick tube. Could I have just used the transmission dipstick tube for all of the filling?

Also, I was buying parts at my Lexus dealer and casually stated that I would just use Dextron II or III to fill the transmission after dropping the pan and cleaning the filter. They gasped in shock and made it sound like a sin against nature to use anything other than the Toyota transmission fluid, Toyota IV or something like that. I bought the 6 quarts of the Toyota fluid to do the right thing, but my Lexus owner's manual says to use Dextron II and the automatic transmission dipstick says to use Dextron II. Other than the fact that the Toyota IV fluid is $5.00/ quart and Sam's sells Dextron III for $1.00/quart, is there any difference that matters?

Thanks for any ideas.

Bill Harrison

dropspace · February 20, 2004

i had my 92 flushed awile back with dexIII and the diff filled with the same stuff.

it's not a problem to use dexIII as far as I can tell. It wouldn't be the first time a dealer tried to convince you that there is no option but theirs...

SKperformance · February 21, 2004

dex 3 is newer but the same

the diff needs to be moved and the fluid heated to get the fluid to move into that section which is why it didn;t flow out but it is the same fill point.

whh333 · February 24, 2004

Many thanks for the replies. The engine heat an flow of oil into the differential must be the reason I thought I had it all full, but two days later I was showing low fluid even though there were no leaks. I filled it again when hot, thought I had it full again, but the level would drop again. Finally got a stable reading.

Thanks again.

Bill Harrison

Matej · March 17, 2010

Many thanks for the replies. The engine heat an flow of oil into the differential must be the reason I thought I had it all full, but two days later I was showing low fluid even though there were no leaks. I filled it again when hot, thought I had it full again, but the level would drop again. Finally got a stable reading.
Thanks again.

Bill Harrison

Same car here, 1995 ES300

This post is 6 years old.

Still, how did you filled the differential oil? From under the car or from the top? Does this require to jack the car?

camlex · March 17, 2010

my 97 ES had seperate drain and fill plug vs 99 sienna has drain plug but fill from dipstick.

location is hard. needs to take to garage.

Muzik · August 25, 2011

Ive been stuck trying to figure this out.its driving me nuts.can you or can you not fill the differential through the dipstick?PLease i would be so grateful if you could help me out.