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deadbolt

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Everything posted by deadbolt

  1. Regarding your point above: As I recall from our earlier chats your car was an 4WD. The driveshaft for the rear wheels does not come out of the transmission as some seem to think. It comes out of the transfer case. This will be gear oil and is filled from the side of the transfer case. You can tell by the odor and color that it is gear oil. Tranny fluid is red but gear oil is yellow/brown. Tranny fluid doesn't smell good, but gear oil stinks. I experienced this drip and the stink of the spray onto the exhaust and ignored it for a long time. My transfer case failed while driving at >80kmph and the rear wheels locked up. This was a frightening experience and could have been catastrophic. I ended up buying a used transfer case but the driveshaft was also worn and after the repair the leak persisted. The seal can be replaced, but if it is too late then the seal will eat a groove into the driveshaft which is expensive to replace. I now live with this and have to check the transfer case gear oil regularly. Done underneath the car it is a !Removed! thing to have to do but I do it every couple months. So I am sorry to say at least part of your problems may be in your transfer case. Drain the transfer case and assess the fluid for metal. You can see the groove in the driveshaft by removing the front shaft mount and pull the driveshaft back but not all the way out because if there is fluid remaining in the case it will leak out. Check it for the groove I mentioned. If it is grooved you will need to repair or live with it. On the upside, the transfer case is much less expensive than the transmission and easier to swap. This is a 24mm wrench that I made specifically to get at the fill port on the transfer case. I made it from a 24mm socket that I cut down and welded a handle onto. Best of luck to you. It can really suck having a transmission problem.
  2. Thank you both for the replies. Both are great resources. This gets the job done which is very much appreciated.
  3. Hi guys, part of the maintenance I need to do is covered in the DI section of the shop manual. However my manual (.pdf) seems to be missing that chapter. That chapter documents the transfer case. Thanks kindly for any help with that?
  4. We bought our car new in 2001 and it was sold as a 4WD. The owners manual states it is a 4DW. I did not see the transmission model number on the tags under the hood. Where can one find this information? A quick google of the differences between 4WD and AWD mentions the inability to lock the front and rear axles which is a feature ours does have by engaging the snow button located on the shifter console. I was glad to have this feature as it got good use this past winter with heavy snow and roads that were not plowed. Extracted from the interwebs: All-wheel drive is in some ways similar to the full-time 4WD system in that it also sends torque to all four wheels constantly. However, most modern AWD systems don't offer drivers the option to operate in two-wheel drive and, unlike the 4WD systems, the differential between the front and rear axles cannot be locked.Jan 25, 2017
  5. I see many people discussing the RX referring to theirs as an AWD. So my question for you guys is: what transmissions were offered on this car? I have a Canadian model and it is a Four Wheel Drive. There is a transfer case which has unique fluid (80/90 gear oil) and is separate from the transmission but still attached to it. In our market there were Front Wheel Drive and Four Wheel Drive versions offered. Also on a similar note my RX service manual seems to be missing the topic of changing the fluid in the transfer case. If anyone has the service manual in PDF could you please see if there is a "DI" section. Thanks for your help.
  6. One other thing to note is that bird droppings will penetrate the car's clearcoat. Personally, I keep baby wipes in the car to clean stuff like that up. A spray bottle filled with a dilute solution of gentle dish soap and water would also work. You may notice an ammonia smell from the crap, not sure exactly what it is but it is very corrosive and best to remove it as soon as you notice it.
  7. Renphilia, Sorry for the late reply. Thanks for the pictures. I should have mentioned to place them in a different thread. This thread is really about "Transmission Failures". Your car looks very good. I like that Taxi style side view mirror you have. I recall when I visited Japan that many of the cars had those mirrors, and almost every taxi had them. The RX300 has such a bad blind spot on the right rear of the car that these type mirrors would be very good. On your car that would be the Left Rear side because yours is Right Hand Drive so that mirror would fix that. You might invest in a headlight polishing kits to make those headlamps look new. Plastic polish work very well. So you mentioned CNG. I know that as Compressed Natural Gas. Does your car really use CNG and if it does, do you think it was factory equipped with it from Lexus or a conversion? What sort of fuel economy do you see? I am located in Canada which uses the metric system so our cars are calibrated to use Liter/100kM. I typically see 14.4L/100kM as the average on the Info display and I run on unleaded gasoline. Do many cars in Malaysia (guessing) run on CNG? My car is 4WD, not AWD. There is a difference. Your car may differ from the North American version if it is a AWD. So you will know if the oil is leaking by looking at the the front driveshaft and see if it is a bit wet. Also if you notice a smell of burning oil when you stop after a long drive and roll down your window you may smell it. The oil leaks out and sprays onto the exhaust pipe and burns off. I never had a drip under the car. I do now because I top up the transfer case with gear oil once a month. Also if you look under the car there would be evidence of spray on the driveshaft tunnel, which is the hump down the center of the car. The drive shaft or propeller shaft is a black tube that transfers the power to the back wheels. It is difficult to check the oil level. If I recall correctly it is a 24mm plug so you need a socket and an extension. It is under the vehicle so it might be good to have a mechanic check it, it there is signs of leakage. The location of the fill and drain plugs would be forward of where your foot pedals would be on the right hand side of the car. Enjoy your drives.
  8. Welcome aboard. The most important thing to keep on top of is the oil changes. Do not miss one. The car has a known problem having undersized oil galleries. If you run dirty oil and it gels, you will probably seize the engine. Change every 5000km and use a quality oil. I use Toyota filters only. You don't need synthetic, but if you keep up with the changes the engine should last a long time, provided the previous owners have kept up with the oil changes. If you have a 4WD keep an eye out for gear oil seeping out of the transfer case where the driveshaft goes into the case . Love to see some pics of your nice new Harrier.
  9. Man you really dodged a bullet there. One thousand is optimistic for a transmission repair these days.
  10. Scott are you checking the dipstick with the engine running and warmed up? Warm up the car, leave it running, pull the dipstick, clean it off, re-insert it all the way in and then pull it out and read it. You mention that you checked the transmission. Was there any indication of trouble that caused you to check it, or just a precaution in preparation for the trip?
  11. I stand corrected, it was the transfer case that the rear driveshaft (4wd) is attached to and not the differential. While it is attached to the transmission it does not share the same fluid and is available separately. I had the transfer case replaced with a used one and the car has since been driven for over a year. The cost of replacement was a fraction of what a transmission repair would be. One thing I have noticed is that the seals on the transfer case have worn a groove into the driveshaft causing an oil leak. This is not so simple to repair. I am thinking it requires taking the driveshaft into a machine shop to be resurfaced, then a new seal and bushing. As it stands I have to keep checking the gear oil level for fear it will run dry and lock up on me again. Having the wheels lock up at speed on a busy highway was not a pleasant experience.
  12. Exactly my case I have an '02 with a bad differential. Something failed in the differential and the rear wheels locked up and I skidded. After a complete stop I was able to drive the car albeit very slowly. The transmission seems fine as I am able to drive the car (cautiously) it runs through all of the gears, overdive and reverse but is growly when driving. On a hoist I ran the car in DRIVE and listened to all of the bearings in the driveline and the only bad sound was from the differential area. I may have been able to avoid this problem if I had known that the differential has a separate fluid chamber from the transmission. There was a weeping seal at the rear output of the differential. I did nothing about it because there was never any oil on the garage floor and the trans fluid looked fine and smelled new. For a couple years I was smelled burnt transmission fluid after my daily highway drive. I suppose the oil leaks onto the hot exhaust and burns off most clues except the mess on the exhaust pipe. Now where can I get a differential without buying a transmission?
  13. With Honda, Acura and even Hyundai you can order parts online selecting them from exploded view diagrams. Anyone know of an online resource that has the factory diagrams and exploded views with the OEM part numbers ?
  14. I have always bought parts online for our Acura from dealers that have exploded view diagrams of all parts of all models online, be it an Acura or a Honda. Are there any online resources such as this for Lexus ?
  15. If anyone has this file could I persuade them to fire me a copy Thanks in advance triggle@gmail.com
  16. Pretty easy mod. Taken one step further you could add a switch to choose between AUX of TAPE restoring the stock look and feel. Using a 1/8 stereo mini jack instead of the RCAs will give you the option of mounting somewhere with easy access and unobtrusive looks say the glovebox for instance. Now if only I could tell the difference between the HVAC knobs and the audio knobs I'd be all set. I think a set of billet knobs are needed. 2000RX300
  17. Manuals and Diagrams Please ! The original poster has not been active here for a few years so I wonder if this is still available. If any of you fellas managed to get the manuals or diagrams I'd sure appreciate a copy ;) Let the mods begin ! Thanks deadbolt upgradez@hotmail.com
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