[fenixus]

sad truth is that most shops (even dealers) will not even touch the differential when doing tranny drain & refill or flush. happened to me (A140E tranny) at local dealership even though i paid $200 for a complete tranny flush and diff fluid change - asked them twice (before and after) to make sure they did, both times i was lied about it. all they did to diff was rounding the 10mm bit part of filler plug (had to use 17mm socket to remove it myself).

truth surfaced when i drained diff myself a few weeks ago, was black at first then dark brown and stinky, the magnet plug was showing lots of metal particles. funny to say, but i also noticed after the diff fluid change now my car accelerates faster.

 

[fenixus]

yeah, flushing all fluids is what i will do to all my "new" cars. i made a mistake of trusting some fluids that were in my solara at time of purchase. my diff seemed like it was never touched at 74k miles (same about tranny at 64k miles). i did p/s late when i realized i had honey goo in the return tank, but it's all good now, i had no metal pieces in old p/s fluid nor in the tranny (only diff had them).

you can install Magnafine/Raybestos ATF filter for power steering to help filtering out the metal particles out of circulating fluid. i installed it on transmission cooler line (return) and it seems working great so far, my tranny ATF finally keeps red color instead of going pale next day after drain & refill. those filters are awesome
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260414674611&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

neglecting coolant flush also cost me a water pump a few years ago (and then again as i cheaped out first on aftermarket bosch crap, now OEM again)...

my solara is getting more and more strength too only problem that i haven't confirmed if my evil EGR finally works after complete rebuild of this sub-system hehe

we both notice that our cars run better in misty/rainy weather (i can see that in fuel trims getting +9% at idle vs 13-18% at other conditions). i still have one vacuum leak, waiting for replacement hose from Hong Kong (metric silicone 6mm ID), after that (and fixing front bumper reinforcement extension and some missing bolts in splash shield) i hope all will return to ole good times when car was running quieter (though it was more sluggish back then haha).

sorry for off topic to OP.

cheers.

 

[fenixus]

I've read this like four times now, and I still laugh every time I read it! I think we've all done something like this at least once or twice!

hmmm, sounds like i will have same (or worse) struggle next time i come back to that area after like 10k more miles ...

though my duralast 3/8'' ratchet with 10mm hex bit or 17mm socket fits just fine in that tight space (5s-fe/a140e) by frame and firewall.

 

[fenixus]

well, existence of separate fill plug for differential points to them being separate ... unless a seal between them is blown.... just my 2 cents.

manual doesn't even specify the differential refill amount on A541E because it's filled together with trans (this one shows only a cumulative number for both).

 

[fenixus]

That's true. But I found that on my A540E I could fill the diff with over 2 liters of fluid, and it never came out the filler plug. I was assuming that I would just put in about a liter, and have the excess drain out the filler hole, but it never did.

But seeing the A541E has only a drain plug, does that mean that unit is significantly different than the A540?

it may hold more than 2 liters.
5s-fe diff takes 1.7qts (same as 3s-fe) and trans takes 2.3qts (2.7qts per book I think it was) or so, total around 4-4.5qts or so IIRC.

I think V6 transmissions are bigger than for 4 cylinder models, and manual says up to 5qts to refill both (A541E), so something is bigger and able to take more fluid, either trans or the diff.

easiest way to check would be to drain both (keep trans drain open) and start filling diff and see if fresh fluid comes out of open trans drain plug

 

[fenixus]

gotta love the inconsistent manuals ... like the misleading information that rear (post-cat) oxygen sensor socket/plug is wired under the passenger seat haha :lol: while in fact it is on driver side