Some preventive maintenance today

[foreman1063]

With 141k on the wife's 08 sport, I decided it was time for a little preventive maintenance. The coolant was changed at around 100K and I changed the spark plugs a couple of months ago at 135K miles. Other than those items the only maintenance the last 4 years has been oil changes.
A recent P0031 code prompted me to get it up on the lift to replace the rear A/F sensor, so while under there I took care of some other items that have been nagging at me.
Today's tasks included:
-Changed rear diff fluid
-Changed transfer case fluid
-Changed transmission fluid, filter and pan gasket
-Replaced Bank 1, A/F sensor

Although the owners manual makes no mention of changing transmission fluid and the Toyota service guys say the fluid is good for the life of the vehicle, I was still skeptical. I pulled the dip stick and the fluid looked pretty brown plus the wife had been complaining of transmission shifting weird on occasion. I'm glad I changed it, the two magnets on the inside of the pan had a fair amount of metal on them. For a small investment in parts and time I feel better about the life span of the drive train.

A few things to mention that might help someone out when they do similar maintenance.
-Get a OEM Denso A/F sensor from http://www.stockwiseauto.com/ for $100 vs $245 at the dealer
-Use a MAPP torch to heat the exhaust pipe around the sensor to break it free, before I did, it was not budging
-You will need to use some creative maneuvers to reach 4 of the tranny pan bolts over the drivers side frame rail. Only about 3/4" between bolts and frame and the lip on the pan makes it tricky to get a wrench on the bolt heads. Not impossible, just have to be patient
-Be prepared for a pretty good splash of fluid when you break the tranny filter loose. I thought it had all drained until I pulled the filter and another pint or so dropped out

That's about it, but on a side note, I've never seen as much metal on a diff plug as I saw on the the rear diff magnet today, glad I changed that as well.

[sirwm]

thanks for sharing...

[nov0798]

So how did you remove all the oil from the converter? At this point you have old and new oil in the tranny. I have been thinking about doing this as well, but I think I may just take it to the dealer and let them use the machine to do it. Problem with that is how do I ensure that they actually did the work?

[foreman1063]

Originally Posted by nov0798

So how did you remove all the oil from the converter? At this point you have old and new oil in the tranny. I have been thinking about doing this as well, but I think I may just take it to the dealer and let them use the machine to do it. Problem with that is how do I ensure that they actually did the work?

I didn't but I don't think it was much. The fluid, after the drain and fill is now Bright pink compared to the crappy brown it was before.
I'd rather change 80% of the fluid a little more frequently than let the dealer do high pressure flush and fill. You could always remove the transmission cooler line, start the car and pump the old fluid out while you refill through the dip stick hole.

[luvx77x8o4]

have you done the serpentine belt? what about the rad hoses and thermostat?

[nov0798]

Serpentine belt is SUPER easy, wil take you all of 10 min. The plugs are a real mother !@#$%. Havent done rad hoses yet or anything else, other than diff fluid.

[foreman1063]

Originally Posted by luvx77x8o4

have you done the serpentine belt? what about the rad hoses and thermostat?

I have not done either but like stated above should be pretty straight forward. On the plug change, it can be a little tricky. The key is to be patient and accept from the outset that a certain amount of crap is going to need to come off the engine to get to the rear plugs. The nice thing about that is everything is super easy and quick to remove and reinstall. When most people hear "Intake removal" it sounds daunting, but it's plastic and uses a rubber O-ring to seal it vs a gasket so you slap it right back on and snug up the bolts.

[nov0798]

Didnt have to remove the intake at all. I did have to remove the following to get to the rear plugs

1. Windshield fascia
2. Windshield Wipers
3. Windshield Wiper Motor
4. Metal tray that holds all that stuff (Had to remove like 10-10mm boots, and the nuts that hold the tray to the top of the struts

Once this is done, the plugs are somewhat accessible, but youll still have to work blind.

Maybe the intake would be easier to remove and get back there??

[foreman1063]

Originally Posted by nov0798

Didnt have to remove the intake at all. I did have to remove the following to get to the rear plugs

1. Windshield fascia
2. Windshield Wipers
3. Windshield Wiper Motor
4. Metal tray that holds all that stuff (Had to remove like 10-10mm boots, and the nuts that hold the tray to the top of the struts

Once this is done, the plugs are somewhat accessible, but youll still have to work blind.

Maybe the intake would be easier to remove and get back there??

Huh, I didn't even think about that approach. Hard to say which way is easier but the way I did it took about 2-1/2 hours, how about you?

[nov0798]

Took me about the same time, mainly because I didnt know what I needed to remove. I could probably do it in about 1 - 2 hours now.

[MI-Silver-HL]

Originally Posted by nov0798

... could probably do it in about 1 - 2 hours now.

That's why there are some things I just let the 'stealership' do - especially when it's only necessary every 100K miles. Drop it off, go have a couple of 'soft drinks' , get the car and leave.

[foreman1063]

Originally Posted by MI-Silver-HL

That's why there are some things I just let the 'stealership' do - especially when it's only necessary every 100K miles. Drop it off, go have a couple of 'soft drinks' , get the car and leave.

There's something to be said about that approach but I didn't want to give the dealership $2-300 for something I could do in a couple of hours for $60. And I had a couple of "soft drinks" while I enjoyed a nice sunny day working in my driveway.

[arabianobsession]

Don't forget to do the coolant again at 150k miles

[foreman1063]

Originally Posted by arabianobsession

Don't forget to do the coolant again at 150k miles

The way my wife puts on miles that will be very soon.