MarkATH10W

I am from across the pond, and this is rather bizzare.  In some of the states that see harsh winter conditions (cold winters, hot summers, road salt) the cracking of bushings is universal and according to toyota specific mechanics here, it is not near end of service life.

Hi All.

Sensors:

• I can't get used to my parking sensors.  They seem to only register an obstacle when I am already very close to it, therefore it is not really useful.  Maybe around 2 feet of it. 
• In my previous JDM van, an 1994 Estima with Gen 1 parking sensors, they were calibrated very well.  And I could basically drive and park with a 6th sense.  They also had a dedicated rear sensor, not just at the corners. 

Backup Camera:

• I only wish that it was tilted up a bit more to capture what was directly behind me.  the ETC warning also blocks out the top 1/5 of the screen.

What do you guys think?

5 hours ago, Lou said:

Good info Mark,

 

End of month I am planning to replace transmission oil in my 2005 facelift 3.0 5 speed U151E. Mine is around 110k kilometres.

 

I will go with dynamic oil change. 

I checked original Toyota oil prices here in Europe and it's around 15gbp per liter. I think to stick with that.

 

Did you change your filter? I am debating (in my head) about that now.

Do you or anyone knows amount oil that goes to that transmission.

 

Lukas

 

1) I decided to not change the filter even though i had 2 spares; It is a low pressure pickup filter (at the pan) and very coarse.  Based on peoples documenting their findings of filter media, it is typically not dirty at all.  The amount of labor and risk to scrape off old gasket maker (holds in the gasket) reinstall a pan is not worth it.

2) regarding the drain and fill: On my 4speed automatic transmission, there are 2 drain locations, one at the pan, and one on the round transmission housing.  I believe this allows us to drain almost 100% in a drain and fill, unlike our USDM models where there is only 1 drain at the pan and will rid about 50% of total volume.

3) consider getting synthetic fluid if the 5 speed calls for non-synthetic, i think thats biggest gain.  Hope the information above is useful for you choose this route.

Tge one from deflectors.eu is fibreglass, therefore black is likely the only option.  Here are some acrylic/plexiglass ones which come in clear and shaded: https://eng.deflektor.ru/catalog/Toyota/Alphard/2010010103002/

Hi all.  While working on my vehicle, I noticed that there appear to be 2 drain plugs:

1) drain bolt on the transmission oil pan

2) drain bolt on the very bottom of the transmission housing

If I am right about the 2 drain locations; this would mean we could potentaillly get most if not all of the transmission oil out in a drain and fill procedure rather than the normal 30-50% and without using a flush, or anything else more invasive.

Has anyone drained from the transmission housing?  Or have I mis-identified something?

Cheers,

Mark

On 9/15/2024 at 5:01 PM, Sabrina said:

Hi! 
 

I have the 2007 alphard with the Toyota 56065 head unit. We found some dvds that work but we can’t get past the menu screen. Is there a button or option that anyone knows of? Or is there a compatible remote I can buy?
 

Thanks!  

Cardinal Automotive Repair Shop in Calgary SE is parting out my 2004 Alphard Hybrid.  I believe the rear entertainment system remote was left in there, give them a call or drop by.

for my MNH15W Front brakes are shared across MANY toyota vehicles of the same vintage.  rear brakes are not; only shared with toyota sienna (north american mini van). 

Use this resource to match your vehicle and find your exact part number; u can likely buy it locally.

https://jp-carparts.com/toyota/cartypelist.php?maker=toyota&type=713120

This is a very common engine, at least in north america, it is found on: highlanders, camry, sienna.  Look up the part number and you should be able to find it locally:

use this resource, match your VIN number on the plate inside your engine bay and you will get an exact match of part:

https://jp-carparts.com/toyota/carlist.php?maker=toyota

On 7/22/2024 at 1:33 PM, Peterm69uk said:

Evening all,

 

does anyone have any advice on using premium engine oil over Toyotas own recommended? I have a 2012 Vellfire and want to keep it in tip top condition but am I throwing away money on the more expensive stuff?

 

Pete

Heads up.  Toyota switched to low tension piston rings sometime in the mid-late 00s to improve fuel economy but lead to much worse reliability, especially with extended oil change intervals.  THe way to mitigate this change is using shorter oil change intervals; use that cheap full synthetic as well.

more on it here:

Update:  I completed the rear differential gear oil.   I like the tested viscosity values for option 2 and option 4 and that they are fully synthetic.  I chose option 4 for the following reasons:

1) effectively the same price as option 2,

2) comes in a squeeze pack. 

3) the advertised 80W90 is closest to toyota's hypoid 85W90 gear oil

4) is considered the more premium product

5) has LSD aditive, just in case my vehicle has the LSD option.

Drain and fill plugs are loosened using 10mm hex.  The procedure was a breeze due to lots of clearance to work with in conjunction with the squeeze pack.

Front transfer case is next... about 0.4-0.5L of fluid needed.  large 23-24mm bolt? (I don't have this size) to perform the service.  Less clearance to fill so I will likely need to add a tube to the squeeze pack if I don't want to do a messy job.

Across the pond:

I stick to synthetic but not exotic brands.   cheap and lab tests show that they are better than non-synthetic.

Supertech - Walmart brand synthetic

Kirkland - costco.

AMSOIL online store is quite good in terms of pricing within North America, I will be using AMSOIL moving forward with this branded oil:

AMSOIL Signature Series Multi-Vehicle 100% Synthetic - viscosity of 7.5 @100c

less viscosity variation,  better pour point (performance) at freezing.

AMSOIL OE Multi-Vehicle 100% Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid - viscosity of 7.5 @100c

25% cheaper than Signature series

On 9/10/2024 at 9:28 AM, Rojie said:

 

Remotely possible.

 

Send your reg or VIN to Picasso.

 

He can check

I did more research. Generic Translated Alphard manual page 256 states that Torsen LSD is a grade option.  The optinal LSD is manufactored by "ZEXEL TORSEN INK". While unlikely, I will need to ensure that I do not have an LSD, otherwise use gear oil option 4 which states its compatible with every use case but supports LSD.

@Picasso Can you please tell me if my vehicle has LSD from the following information?  Otherwise Can I look by looking at the differential itself?

I did some fruitful research, these are the following viable options:  I will be going with option 2 unless I find out there is an LSD in play.

1. TOYOTA GENUINE HYPOID GEAR OIL “SX”

API : GL-5

SAE: 85W-90

200L DRUM, 20L PALE CAN

08885-00503

Mineral oil.

LSD additive = No.  For LSD applications, use Toyota Hypoid Gear Oil LSD GL-5 85W-90 08885-00305

From <https://www.nakabc.co.jp/english/genuine-motor-oil/toyota-genuine-oil/toyota-genuine-hypoid-gear-oil-sx/>

2. AMSOIL Long Life Synthetic Gear Lube 75W-90

Synthetic

No LSD additive

3. MOTUL GEAR 300 75W-90

Viscosity at 40°C (104°F) ASTM D445 86.5 mm²/s

Viscosity at 100°C (212°F) ASTM D445 14.2 mm²/s

Viscosity Index ASTM D2270 170.0

Synthetic

No LSD additive. Use  MOTUL GEAR 300 LS 75W-90 for LS applications.

From <https://www.motul.com/sv/en/products/gear-300-ls-75w90>

4. AMSOIL SEVERE GEAR® Synthetic Extreme-Pressure (EP) Gear Lube

Synthetic

LSD additive

"AMSOIL SEVERE GEAR 80W-90 provides superior performance and replaces competitors’ 80W-90 gear oils. It is formulated to exceed the requirements of front and rear differentials, transfer cases, transaxles, manual transmissions, oil-lubricated wheel bearings and steering gear boxes."

Thanks for your reply.  Have you changed out the oil in your transfer case or rear differential?  Im interested in knowing what oil the community chose to perform the service.

For our information:

TOYOTA GENUINE HYPOID GEAR OIL “SX”

API : GL-5

SAE: 85W-90

Hi All, is there a possibility of limited slip differentials in the 3.0L MNH15W drivetrain?  I want to know as I will be replacing the transfer case / rear differential gear oil and need to know if I will need to use an oil that contains a limited slip differential friction additivie.

Hi All,

Some lessons learned from the recent transmission oil change at 90,000km with unknown history:

Compatible Type-IV ATF fluids with the correct viscosity (7.3 @ 100c)

**Caution** None of the lube shops I contacted had the correct fluid in stock, although they assured me it was compatible.  The universal fluids (regardless of brand) they had in stock had a viscosity of around 5.5 @ 100c, closer to the ATF-WS used in newer vehicles.  They finally looked it up when I started talking numbers and realized they had to special order compatible fluid (JWS 3309 spec)

Synthetic:

1. Motul Multi ATF - viscosity of 7.6 @100c ( I chose this)
2. Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage ATF fluid has a viscosity of 7.2 @100c (hard to find in Canada)
3. VALVOLINE IMPORT MULTI-VEHICLE (ATF) FULL SYNTHETIC AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID: 6.9 @100c (hard to find in Canada)

Non-Synethetic:

1. Mobil™ ATF 3309 (research in forums indicate that this is the exact same manufactor as Toyota branded T-IV fluid; easy to find in Canada but not synthetic).

Regarding method: Drain and fill method was selected due to:

• ease/cost
• do not trust technicians from lube shop to do a flush (requires disconnection of clamp by ATF oil cooler). 
• the oil pickup filter is a coarse filter which typically shows no buildup at this KM (source: car care nut, licenesed toyota mechianic) therefore dropping pan, replacing filter, scraping old gasket, replacing gasket is not necessary at this point.

Other information:

The Toyota Type-IV will quickly discolour, not indicating degradtion in performance... however, the synthetic fluids seem to hold their color as reported on internet forums.

Thank you for letting me know. 

Given how expensive they are, any thoughts on purchasing these used vs new?

https://autoparts.beforward.jp/detail/Cooling-Components/Other-A-C-Parts/PA98133944/?buynow=1

Hi all.  My first gen hybrid blew up.  The 2nd gen hybrid re-appeared in 2011, Im trying to get a sense if they are as problem prone as the 1st gen, or if they are more reliable.  Are there many reports of malfunctions?  Its hard to tell on this forum as there is no subforums for 2nd gen alphard hybrids.

1) 1st gen had a belt type CVT.  I've heard that 2nd gen uses the standard toyota planetary gear type CVT.  is that correct?  I've seen pictures of 2nd gen CVT teardown which make it look like they have a belt type CVT

2) Are they underpowered?  the first gen definately had issues with large hills.

3) 1st gen hybrid battery packs seem to go flat and develop issues in a matter of weeks of non use, such as when you go away on vacation

4) 1st gen inverters seem to be a common problem.

Cheers,

Mark

Heads up.  The used option is an option as well.  The inverter themselves are very affordable.  Shipping is expensive so look at all options; my exporter can buy this part and ship for about 1/3rd the cost.

My 2003 2.4 Hybrid blew up after a month of use.  metal in engine oil.  Got it towed to a japanese shop where I saw another Alphard Hybrid of the same generation getting worked on, apparently its transmission failed.

Comically, we were on the same stretch of highway for both failures.  I wrote mine off, now I own a gen 1 V6 (gen 2s aren't available to use for import yet).  So steep incline at motorway speeds killed both our vehicles (120km/h).

Id like to try a gen 2 hybrid if I can confirm that they are more reliable.

to be precise. is there any reported issue with the 2AZ-FXE?

I did a bit of research:

1) Entire battery pack: can be bought, with high capacity options thats moves away nimh from overseas.  hybrid experienced shop should be able to replace one of these without issue.

2) cell by cell repair:  really requires a specialist.  looks at voltage of each cell and replaces cells as necessary. ATH10w cells match gen 1 prius cells, and also gen 1 estima hybrid cells.  Look to cab companies.  THey may have developed this know how in house.  Our cab companies use prius vehicles.... replace battery packs 200-300thousand km driven if i recall correctly.  Engines at around 4-500k km.

21 hours ago, Rojie said:

Reading Paul's (pipsyp) input I am reminded that very high compression engines do not 'tolerate' high alcohol content fuels very well..

E10, as we call it in the UK.

Interesting.  I thought that alcohols allowed for higher compression, without actually increasing the octane rating.

• Regarding engine braking; yes I used that in the past.  I did not know about engine braking issue until literally this week.  breakdown occurred last summer, and finally diagnosed a week ago.
• Engine oil was fresh full synthetic with new denso filter.
• Notable observations at time of import:
  • visible valves under the oil cap showed darkened / hardened build up; I have never seen this in any of my other previous toyota's (all 5-6 of them), which were generally remarkably clean.
  • one of the valve cover bolts was different in appearance; is that standard? or evidence of previous repair work?
  • fresh off the boat, the vehicle stuttered due to an extremely dirty MAF sensor.  problems went away
  • engine seemed "loud", unrecognizable sounds that I attributed to hybrid system when vehicle was apparent. only occured sometimes.