hey guys got a 2002 v6 4x4 tacoma and i forgot to mention this to you guys last week. when i drained my t-case it looked like nothing but motor oil came out.. no thick 75-90 oil but loose 5-30 type oil. same color of motor oil at like 1000 miles.. stained light brown color... i was like wtf and played with the oil bc i coulndt believe it.. its like someone put motor oil in there instead of 75-90 or whatever.. now i have used the 4 wheel drive a few times before i realized this but everything was fine.. whats your take on this?

 

Some fancy new synthetic, I PRAY. Might wanna flush it all out and just start from scratch. There are some transfer cases that require ATF fluid, none with motor oil, I'm aware of anyway. No that isn't correct some do need motor oil, maybe not Toyota.

 

Just drain and refill with the correct weight oil, it will be fine.

 

no that year it calls for gear oil just like in the diff cases... i was pissed.. the funny thing is i bought it used at yota and its certified used car haha... some assholes

 

i did but what idiot puts motor oil in a t-case? well for that year bc it states in the book 75-90

 

Who knows?!

Just as long as you corrected it.

 

true but toyota has to inspect all fluids to get certification.. when i bought the truck the air filter was nasty as hell, now found motor oil in my t-case and when i changed the rear end diff right after i bought it was black... i called them and they acted stupid.. go figure... so if you live in NC dont go to Leith Toyota in Raleigh..

 

OMG.....a car dealer that lied to you.
I'm sorry but that's just not possible!!!

 

yeah yeah yeah

 

Damn that sucks...if you really want to know what kind of oil it is do an analysis.

 

Send a sample to Amsoil to get an analysis done on it.

 

You can tell by the smell for sure if it's gear oil or motor oil. Gear oil smells pretty distinctly pungent, whereas motor oil just has a flat oil smell(unless you're using German Castrol, then it will smell like hand soap kinda).

 

yea, its pretty easy to tell if its gear oil or not, at work you can smell the gear oil from a bay or two away, motor oil isnt as strong.

 

Exactly what i was thinking. You should be able to easily tell weight difference between 80 gear oil to 30 motor oil.

 

It's a Toyota. The transfer case would probably last a lifetime with olive oil in there.

 

I got a true life story, mine. I drove a VF1A chaindrive transfer case, with a 1/2 cup of water for lube, somewhere around 3500 miles. Not purposely, that's just how long it took to even make a sqeak loud enough to hear. Two new bearings, two seals and a good cleaning, GOOD AS NEW! I like the olive oil idea, don't even tell me that's based on a true story. Cause I'll probably believe it.

 

it was motor oil. very thin compared to 75-90. very thin.. and yes it smelled like motor oil