Rx330 Awd Fluid Replacement Question

[FZ6 Dude]

OK, can I get a sanity check here?

I am here in Virginia and getting ready to do a transmission, transfer, and rear differential fluid drain and fill this weekend at 65K Miles for the first time on my 2006 RX330 AWD.

Here is what I am thinking. Drain the transmission using 10MM wrench- measure fluid output, replace new through dipstick ~4.5 qts or so. Then pull transmission return line from radiator, start car, purge remainging old ATF ~ 2qts or so, shut off car when clean fluid is extracted. Top off transmission, run shifter through all gears, done. Is this about right? So should I grab 7 qts of Toyota T-IV fluid, or better to get 8?

Also, was going to replace transfer case and rear differential fluid too. I believe they each take a quart of gear oil, either 75W-80, 75W-90, or 80W-90, and it appears that folks like Royal purple the best. Are there drain and fill plugs on each of these units? With an AWD, do I also have a front differential, or is that built into the transmission?

Am I missing anthing here?

Thanks

[code58]

OK, can I get a sanity check here?

I am here in Virginia and getting ready to do a transmission, transfer, and rear differential fluid drain and fill this weekend at 65K Miles for the first time on my 2006 RX330 AWD.

Here is what I am thinking. Drain the transmission using 10MM wrench- measure fluid output, replace new through dipstick ~4.5 qts or so. Then pull transmission return line from radiator, start car, purge remainging old ATF ~ 2qts or so, shut off car when clean fluid is extracted. Top off transmission, run shifter through all gears, done. Is this about right? So should I grab 7 qts of Toyota T-IV fluid, or better to get 8?

Also, was going to replace transfer case and rear differential fluid too. I believe they each take a quart of gear oil, either 75W-80, 75W-90, or 80W-90, and it appears that folks like Royal purple the best. Are there drain and fill plugs on each of these units? With an AWD, do I also have a front differential, or is that built into the transmission?

Am I missing anthing here?

Thanks

I'll let someone else answer some of the other questions but I'll answer the tranny fluid Q because that's the way I always do it. Well, pretty much anyway. I don't like to ever leave old fluid in and mix new with it so I always do a complete change. I ALWAYS pull the pan and clean the filter (my DIL's RX has the "screen" rather than a filter) and the magnets as well as the pan. I also pull the plug on the transfer case and drain that also, but not much there, and it is also feed from the trans. fluid. I then add the 4-4.5 qts. and pull the return line and run till the 1st air bubbles, then shut off. Add 4-4.5 more qts. and do the same. AS SOON as clean red fluid starts to come through, IMMEDIATELY shut off! Top it off (when warmed up) and you're finished. THE IMPORTANT THING is, it won't take 7 or 8 qts., the last time I changed my DIL's it took 11 QTS.! When I had the engine out before and pulled the convertor to replace the seal, as well as pulling the pan and cleaning, it only took 9.5 qts. roughly. That's because I drained the convertor, so everything was dry except whatever was in the aux. trans. cooler in the right fender well. Probably not much there because I had the hoses off. I only had to fill, not running through till the clean comes through. The reason it takes more when you do it the way you stated is because the torque convertor holds as much as the pan and when watching for the clean to come through, there's a little more lost than a "system empty" like I did the 1st time with the engine out. I DON'T believe in trans. "flush machine flushes", but I believe they normally charge for AT LEAST 12 qts. when that's done, maybe more. I would not figure on less than 10 qts. and from my last experience, done the way you're going to do it, 11 qts. and even then you'll have to get it shut off IMMEDIATELY when the clean fluid comes through.

I don't believe, unless they've changed it, that you use ANY gear oil in the front. I believe it's all fed from the tranny fluid. I believe that's common in a lot of the FEFD, if not most. I checked the rear axle gear oil at 97k mi when I did a ton of work on her RX and it looked like it had just been put in, absolutely new. It's still there at over 150K mi. It will probably go to the junk yard with it in, as long as it looks like it does now. I doubt in So. Cal. if the rear axle has EVER actually kicked in.

[jaswood]

Check the look and odor of the ATF, it should look fairly clear and pink and NOT smell burned, otherwise it aen't broke so don't "fix" it.

The RX330 does not have a VC so there is no undue wear to the drive train due to the F/awd system activity/activation. TC, braking and engine dethrottling, is used, exclusively, for AWD torque distribution upon detection of any wheelspin/slip. Also, the RX330 uses DBW to "protect the drive train" and relieve the need for quick downshifts during sudden re-accelerations following a brief coastdown period.

Unlike the RX300 your RX330's ATF, Etc, should be good for the life of the vehicle.