Front/Rear diferential oil change question

[BSchulte]

All,

I will be changing the front and rear diff. oil shortly. What supprises will I find. Do I have to re-seal the covers after I drain the old lube? What kind of seal/gasket is on it now?

Do I need to get a replacement from the dealer?

Don't want to start the project, then find out that I needed something

thanks for your response.

 

[RankRam]

The only surprise I found was how well the original gasket worked. I think you could use the gasket over and over without any problems.

 

[XJSuperman]

I just did mine a couple days ago. Something I'm going to do next time is to not remove the top 1 or 2 bolts completely on the diff covers... just loosen them. Reason being is I got a little frustrated trying to line the gasket back up right and get the first bolt through.



Not really a big deal... and I'm sure a lot of folks already do it this way but it was my first change with a reusable gasket... so I learned from it.

 

[BSchulte]

XJSuperman,

Makes sense. Thanks.

Did you wipe the gasket before you re-assembled the cover back on?

Was there any small shavings that drained out at the end?

Just thinking that this could prevent a good seal when bolting it back on.

What torque setting did you use.

 

[Grunt]

I took my covers all the way off in order to wipe out the housing and check for metal shavings etc. Also cleaned the gasket and cover before reinstalling them. Torqued the bolts at 30 ft pounds and the plug at 26 ft pounds.

I also had a hose that slipped tightly over the nozzle of the quart bottle and into the fill hole... made the fill job somewhat easier. Maybe next time I will spring for a suction pump to do the fill with.

 

[BSchulte]

Thanks Grunt

How far did you fill the front and rear cases with oil?

 

[Grunt]

I put 4 3/4 pints into the front and 7 3/4 pints into the rear( I believe it calls for 7. 65 pts)

That put the level @5/8 of an inch below the fill hole.

 

[XJSuperman]

I did wipe the gasket up to about where the oil level was. And if you pulled all but the top bolt off... you could just rotate the cover/gasket up out of the way to wipe the inside.

 

[JMelcher]

One other helpful hint - loosen the fill plug first before unbolting the diff cover. No sense in draining the pumpkin if you find out the plug is stuck and can't get new lube in.



I thoroughly clean the diff cover and the gasket, it helps in looking for cracks in the cover, and tears in the gasket.

 

[bchesley]

I changed mine on Friday. One thing I would do is make sure what ever you are draining into has a large enough opening to catch the fluid, wipe everything down, and use a hose like others said so you don't spill any. I was shocked at how thick the gasket was, it is really high quality. Overall it is a really easy job. I put in Royal Purple in both differentials for 30 dollars less than the dealer wanted to do just the rear!!!!



Brad

 

[BSchulte]

Thanks Guys for all your help !!

Everything worked well. Good to go, for a few 1000 more

 

[KBertetto]

Fellas,

Plan on doing both of mine this weekend. AM I correct in assuming that both the front and rear gaskets are reusable?? Also, what is the consensus on viscosity of the lube and do I need a friction modifier or just straight oil? Thanks.



Bert

 

[klenger]

AM I correct in assuming that both the front and rear gaskets are reusable??

Yes



Also, what is the consensus on viscosity of the lube

75W-90 Full synthetic



and do I need a friction modifier or just straight oil?

No

 

[Buffalo]

Hi, Klenger.

I have an '03 Dodge and just checked the owners manual. It recommends GL-5 75W-90, for the axles.

BSchulte has an '04. Do they, now, use 85W-90?

I know you have a great information site and I'm not sure if you want to add this to it, or not but, I just received an e-mail from Red Line Oil Co. regarding their gear oils and trans. fluid.

It states: "Thank you for contacting Red Line Oil, the MTL meets the MS9224 spec. It is well suited and will perform well in the NV-5600 transmission. The C+ATF will meet and exceed the MS9602 spec and is suitable for use where the ATF+4 fluid is called for. "

Hope this helps.

Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[klenger]

Hi, Klenger.

I have an '03 Dodge and just checked the owners manual. It recommends GL-5 75W-90, for the axles.

I was quoting from memory, which I have found is the 2nd thing to go as you get older. I fixed the reference in the above post. Tanks.

 

[rbattelle]

The '04 trucks use the same axles as the 03 trucks... can't imagine they'd change the viscosity spec.



I can't find anywhere in Redline literature that MTL meets the MS9224 specification. I'm not saying they're liars, I'm just curious why they don't list specifications that MTL meets.



-Ryan

 

[Buffalo]

Red Line Oil MTL & Chrysler spec. MS9224

Hi, Rbattel,

I got this information, in response to my e-mail, from -- email address removed --.

I suppose they could give out information, via e-mail, that is not accurate. Written documentation would probably be better.

Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[BSchulte]

FWIW

I put in amsoil 75-140 heavy duty synthetic.