I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I have never changed the gear oil in my '99 Toyota Tacoma manual 4x4.
I bought the truck in 2005 with 68,000 miles on it; it now has 386,000.

So I go to the auto parts store this morning and buy all the stuff to do it; front diff, transmission, transfer case and rear diff. Four different gear oil locations to drain and refill.

I'm baffled; all were full, none smelled burnt or odd smelling, and all looked clear with the color of medium-dark honey.

Question: Did I waste my money changing the oils? Do I have leprechauns who periodically change my fluids for me? Or ???
I'm pretty sure I was beyond the recommended change interval.

What’s peace of mind worth?


Sounds like the seals all held up well, and you haven’t submerged or overworked the truck too much. Good to know everything is still in good shape.

You need more things to worry about if that one woke you up.

Toyota baby. Toyota.

It all depends on the amount of abuse, but it doesn’t hurt to freshen up the oil I’ve never had anything go that long without have to drain it for repairs.

Better late than never.
Yoda quality is why the fluid looked good and the driver not beating the heck out of it too.

Absolutely some of the best vehicles I’ve owned.

They just run.

Old folks said if you don't change it regular don't do it now. Now that you changed it a seal will start leaking in the next 5 months. New formulation of the greases will eat up a seal. What I heard , just saying LOL

You have drove it quite a lot putting right at 20,000 a year on it.

Yup Leprechauns

For automatic transmissions very true. The fluid holds friction material and can cause transmission failure quickly if not changed regularly.
For gearboxes , possibly. But I would rather deal with a leaky seal than loss of lubrication.

Had a ford ranger manual trans had 386,000 never charged the gear oil. Trans was still quiet and shifted smoothly. Them Toyotas are quite a bit more durable than a ranger so I'd say you're fine. Wouldn't hurt to change it though.

I like and let the mermaid's do mine.
No leprechauns for this Guy

.

Your good now for another 386,000.

I have my tranny serviced every 60k ….and just had the front diff ..transfer case, rear end lube changed at 125k …a little ovah due….but nothing wrong with preventative maintenance. Don’t feel like spending another 50,000 for a truck. Hey Waggler …while you got the hood up….did you change the belts and belt tensioner…..before they break ? Also a good Rad flush wouldn’t hurt either…And a brake fluid flush too….with that kind of mileage

Better ask Coonman what he would do? He and Paul are our high mileage experts.

I never flush the transmission. Just a fluid change. There is a difference.

I might have 200k+ on my front axle oil, 441k miles on truck now

Yup. This.

At 712,000 miles plus on my 2000 Tacoma, I've never had the gear oil changed. 5 speed manual transmission replaced at around 550,000 miles. Transfer case, rear end are still original. A lot of logging road miles on that truck.