Rear Differntial Oil Change

As I'm planning on changing my rear diff oil this weekend, I'm wanting some heads up on what I should look for within the oil. Considering I'm the second owner and have not a clue about the maintenance history, I'm suspecting the oil has never been changed from the factory. (Truck is approaching 104k miles.) What oil brand should I purchase? I prefer local pickup, so I don't have to order anything online unless it's totally worth the wait. I'm going to the dealer tomorrow to pick up some air filters, so I could pick up some oil there I suppose? Any help is appreciated!

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/changing-differential-fluid-a-step-by-step-how-to.24545/

 

I've already looked through that thread, just looking for some more opinions. Thanks for the fast response!

 

The thread is god.

Key points:
1. Don't spill the fluid that comes it. It fucking stinks.
2. Make sure you have some good way of getting the new fluid in, like a bottle hand pump.
3. When you remove the drain plug remember to clean the shavings off of it

That's about it. You have an offroad so you don't need LSD additive. I use full synthetic in my truck. It's not super necessary but considering how long it's in there it's not a bad idea. Any brand is good. Pick what you like in the correct weight and it'll work fine.

 

It's just 90 weight gear oil. Simple. Don't waste money on synthetic. Just get cheap 90 weight gear oil. And do yourself a favor sand don't let 100k+ miles pass by before you change it again. Try to do it every 30k.

Are you still using paper engine air filters? Your post said that you were picking up air filters. And why would you ever get air filters from the dealer? You can buy them super cheap on Amazon.com. Stock up. I get all my cabin air filters there for about $6 each. And for engine I use a lifetime K&N so never needs replaced. Just a quick hose off and respray then good for another 15k. Over the life of your truck you'll save hundreds of dollars and get a better performing filer also.

 

K&N Filters are garbage, if I can hold an air filter up the lights in my garage and clearly see light through it why would I trust it to filter out dirt and dust? OEM Paper filters are the only filters I use for that reason alone.

 

Yeah the previous owner may have changed the diff oil, but I will never know. I was planning on heading to the dealer because I need to get my 4Runner serviced and was really just going to buy a few there. I'm currently using the K&N filter on the Taco, but was reading up on it and found it lets small dust particles through the filter. It gets pretty dusty here during the summer months, so I probably need to recharge it. Think I should just leave the K&N in?

 

6 point socket, breaker bar or impact. Hand pump, be sure and spin wheels back and forth once you get close to full and then top off. I would buy your product from somewhere other than the auto parts store, it will be cheaper. I have a warehouse sale place here that I get Mobile 1 from for $8 a quart.

 

Yeah, like I said synthetic is a personal preference. I use my truck offroad quite a bit and also do some towing so I like the little bit of extra protection from early fluid break down. Plus the company I used had a sale so it was pennies on the dollar to pick it up. The correct oil for the truck is

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 if IIRC. Is straight 90 weight really cheaper? I've known guys to throw whatever was available in there (75w-80 or even 75w-140). I've never heard of it causing a problem but then again why not use the weight Toyota says it was designed for.

I get my cabin air filters at Walmart or Canadian Tire. They are just as cheap as Amazon unless you want to order a full box of them and then Amazon might be cheaper.

Again, this is personal preference, but I avoid all thing K&N or oiled in general. They do give you re-usability but, if cleaned and oiled improperly, they can cause more issues than they are worth. Your article was correct, K&N doesn't hold up it's filtering well over time, but again a lot of it is personal preference so I don't want to start a filter pissing match. OP I'd just stick with factory air filters. Again, Amazon is a good place to get those cheap. If you want a reusable filter go with a dry filter like the aFE pro dry. At least then you don't have to worry about over or under oiling the filter and the issues that can happen from doing either.

 

I thought you didn't need a hand pump considering there was enough room to squeeze a bottle into the fill port? Or does the hand pump make it easier?

 

With the spare up there is no room to fill the differential IMHO. You'll spill at least a little oil and the stuff stinks.

 

Alright, I'll check my manual and purchase whatever weight it suggests. I'm planning on getting rid of the K&N I currently have installed. I think I'll go back to OEM filters, so I don't have to worry about oiling nor aftermarket quality.

 

Good choice on the filter. If I was still naturally aspirated I'd just run the stock filter too.

 

Mobil one 75/90 good for all three rear/front diff and transfer case?

 

Make sure you remove the filler plug first,,, if you drain and can't get the filler open your screwed.

 

Yes

 

Going to get a million opinions with that one, but yes it's fine.

 

I hate those fucking pumps and always end up getting fluid everywhere when I use them.

Lower the spare tire and use a funnel to fill it. I'd much rather take the couple minutes to lower the spare and use a funnel than use one of those fucking pumps.

K&N filters are crap. You're not gaining anything using it, but you're definitely feeding your motor more dirt than it wants.

 

^This this this! I changed the diff fluid in my Camaro. I started to pull the cover off but thankfully stopped when it occured to me the fill plug might not cooperate. Went to remove the fill plug and I could not get it to budge (not a lot of room in there). I was able to drive it down to a local shop where they put it on a lift and broke it loose for me.

 

I got my air filters from Amazon after calling the dealer and finding out how much $ they were. I don't know what your opinion is on Fram but they seem well put together and when I held them against the old factory units looked like the same.