Front Diff and Transfer Case Oil Change Howto

First was at 5,000 to be proactive

Second was trying to avoid the ECGS bushing install (I do all three locations rather than just one to keep consistent and to have to remember different change intervals)

Third was when the ECGS bushing was installed

4th is now - 40,000 after bushing install.

Front fluid was milky and strong odor. Middle and back was really dark brown with mild odor.

Not overkill.

 

FYI on the front diff, The pump i had took forever, so i had some 3/8" clear tubing on hand, ran it down through the engine bay and man was that easier. Tried 1/4" first but way to slow. Did the same for the transmission fluid, just longer tubing

 

Same here ! Nothing in the way.
Maybe its aftermarket ?

 

It must be, I got to mine without touching the skid plate too.

 

My understanding is that only the off road has the 2nd skid plate that must be removed. I had to remove mine, definitely not aftermarket. (2013 trd dcor)

 

I have a TRD Sport, there is a tiny one on the transfer case I believe, and only the Sport baking pan in front
* Your understanding makes a hole lotta sense
Re-edit my edit

 

Do you have two skid plates or one? If you have the very front one thats angled up, that doesnt have to be removed. That basically covers from the bumper to the radiator. The other which is right after that would have to removed, at least on mine.

 

I THINK that those are the only things that take a 10mm hex bit in the area, so that should be a pretty good indicator that you are in the right spot.

 

Go to the beginning of this thread and read it repeatedly until you completely understand where everything thing is located before you start or just have it done by a mechanic. It's very easy, trust me, if I can do it anyone can.

 

I had to jack up the front end when using my torque wrench to tighten up the front diff bolts because of the large swing of the wrench, i used a breaker bar when loosening so i didn't need to. Jack up the front to give yourself more room for leverage. Just make sure to lower and/or level when filling. For future reference, i keep a can of aero kroil on hand for loosening bolts, best thing out there. You have to order it online but great to have.

 

I did mine on the ground and ran into the same problem. The extension made it so that I could not get enough torque to break the bolt. I ended up using an L shaped allen wrench and hitting it with a rubber mallet to get it loose. Not sure why that bolt is torqued much higher than any of the others.

 

I also didn't need an extension, just a 3/8 ratchet with the 10mm attached right to it. I laid on the passenger side of it of the diff to do mine. That drain plug is really in there though. I stopped at least 3 times to make sure I was going the right direction because I thought there was no way it could be that tight.

Did you take the skid plate under it off?

 

Why arent you taking off the skid?

 

4 bolts, 2 minutes, and your front diff change will be 100% easier

 

its like a cookie sheet, but to each his own. I tried, but you will save yourself much grief.

 

If you can hold 8 pounds above your head you will be fine. Cookie sheet is a good description. My 90 pound sister could put one on.

 

AkArin - skid plate is pretty light. Also, there's two helper tabs on them that when you reinstall them, you hook those tabs over the other forward skidplate which holds the front end up, giving you the ability to bolt on the two rear bolts.Then you can bolt the other two bolts onto the frame.
Not sure I explained it correctly, but it's easy. If I can do it, then anyone can do it, including JeffreyB's 90 pound sister.

 

I think if I were at your point I would probably take it to a mechanic or the dealer, they have tools to deal with this. You could get stuff to try it but I would be frustrated enough at this point and think it is worth the money to let someone else deal with it. Make sure if you take it somewhere other than the dealer that you bring a new drain plug for it.

Yours must have never been changed. I thought I was gonna strip mine out on a new truck, add 80,000 of road grime and those things really stick. I wouldn't let this deter you from doing it yourself in the future, when re-torqued properly they are easy to remove after the first time.

 

I'd get a quote from both a dealer and a private mechanic before taking it anywhere. Shops like to act like a stripped bolt is a worse situation than it really is and try to take advantage of you. Just dont freak out and act hastily. At 80k, another 1000 miles won't make a difference

 

Holy sh*t! That's pretty extreme. I definitely would have given up before trying anything like that, but I don't blame you. Next time, try something like the L wrench and mallet. The short taps can work better for breaking a bolt than constant pressure.