collector Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Proud newbie owner of 92 Itasca Spirit with a V6. Bought last summer with 19000 miles. The lady just didn't drive it. Oil change was from 2010 and only had 1000 miles, so i changed that. Put 2500 miles just driving within 75 miles of home and it runs good. Now expanding trips distance to 300 miles. Coolant is orange in color. Transmission is red. Runs great. Should i change these fluids and how and with what brand? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Yes change all those fluids and have the brake fluid changed, differential oil everything! I really don't want to get into the debate about which type is best there have been duals fought on the forum, on weather to use synthetic (most oil sold as synthetic is plain old dino oil) Red or green antifreeze (hint color means nothing) So do your due diligence and make your decision. Welcome to the forum, great source of information. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I would wait on the trans fluid to 30K then do a full service not just drain the pan and then repeat every 30K. Use what Toyota recommends for antifreeze it usually is sort of red but color hasn't a lot to do with it, it is different chemistry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 4 hours ago, Maineah said: I would wait on the trans fluid to 30K then do a full service not just drain the pan and then repeat every 30K. Use what Toyota recommends for antifreeze it usually is sort of red but color hasn't a lot to do with it, it is different chemistry. The transmission fluid could be 25 years old, you would still wait to add 11k miles before a change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVdaytrader Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 if antifreeze is toyota red, then replace with toyota red. Or flush real good first if you want to use green as they do not mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collector Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 Thanks. I'll get the fluids changed. Excited about taking the longer trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 11 hours ago, collector said: Thanks. I'll get the fluids changed. Excited about taking the longer trips. One member who had some overheating issues posted this picture when the coolant was drained, this coolant had some miles on it. Red and green do not seem to play well together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 On 2017-05-17 at 1:44 PM, jjrbus said: The transmission fluid could be 25 years old, you would still wait to add 11k miles before a change? The fluid never wears out it just gets contaminated. If it's good and red leave it alone I highly recommend 30 K changes (all of it) through out the life span of the unit with some thing like a MH no matter what size they are. Being a 92 it has a lockup converter they are a lot easier on trans heating because of the lockup converter. Now if it is high mileage and brown you would be better off to drive it till it quits other wise 2 weeks later you'll be walking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 On 2017-05-19 at 9:16 AM, Maineah said: The fluid never wears out it just gets contaminated. If it's good and red leave it alone I highly recommend 30 K changes (all of it) through out the life span of the unit with some thing like a MH no matter what size they are. Being a 92 it has a lockup converter they are a lot easier on trans heating because of the lockup converter. Now if it is high mileage and brown you would be better off to drive it till it quits other wise 2 weeks later you'll be walking. Thanks for the response. I am a believer in fluid changes, did my Ford Windstar on a regular basis, they were know for transmission issues. Got rid of it at 180k without rebuilding the transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collector Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 Thanks. I'll focus on the coolant first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bufbooth Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 How old are the tires and are they Load Range D? If tires are 8 years or older (regardless of the miles), you probably should replace them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collector Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 Replaced all 6 they were old but looked great, went with nexen brand 8 ply 185R14. It wasn't worth taking a chance on. I had a big rig winne blow out couple years ago on a vacation, no fun. Learned my lesson on old tires that look great. I did go to buy oil 10w30 mobil 1 and filter and didn't get the coolant as the autozone was promoting universal coolant that was green. Any recommendations on what type and where to buy coolant. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wannagos Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 I would drop the rear diff gear oil ASAP as well. I just picked up an 85' escaper with only 40k miles and the rear diff gear oil looked pretty knarley. Recommend a high grade synthetic gear oil with 50% Lucas heavy duty. Only takes a minute to do 15/16 socket on my one ton rear end... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collector Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 Thanks for everyone's posts. I followed a number of the posts on here and changed most all the fluids. Put 1500 miles since Memorial Day weekend going to the North Shore in MN and Rochester MN and the camper is running well as usual. It's good to have the piece of mind of having done the preventative maintenance for the longer trips. Rear Differential used carquest synthetic 75W90. advanced auto $9 per quart, less than 2 quarts to fill - super easy to fill Brake fluid dot 3 - friend had a machine to replace the dot 3 by pushing out the old fluid with the new fluid Transmission - same buddy filtered the transmission fluid using a transmission filter system engine oil - mobil 1 10W30 5 quarts with mobil 1 filter coolant flush - flushed for quite a while after draining to get clear water, - went with zerex Asian coolant from advanced auto - 2 gallons around $15 / gallon New ?: I'm sure I should change the power steering fluid. Should I change the power steering fluid? How do you changed the power steering fluid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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