Differential fluid change.

It is my understanding that the 75W90 is a acceptable replacement for the factory 75W85? It seems the Redline fluid is around $ 60.00 for a gallon or 16.00 for a quart. Whereas Mobil 1 75W90 is 12-13.

I'm guessing most guys would recommend Redline or Mobil 1.

I'd be changing the fluid out at 500 miles, so I'm doing it very early on to help flush out metal contaminates.

Not sure if I should I just stick to the 75W85 or just get cheaper 75W90 at the cost of MPG?

 

I wouldn't worry about that. That little magnet on the drain plug will catch that. I believe your first change is at 30,000. I did my front diff yesterday only because I changed my drivers side needle bearing. I used Amsoil 75-90 severe gear. I'm at 22,000 miles.

 

As problematic as the rear differentials have been, I would stick with 75w85; at least until the warranty is expired.

 

How would they know if it's 75-90 or 75-85?

 

I used Mobil 1. At a little over $6 a quart on sale at Pep Boys it was a no brainer.

 

You want the thickest you can get away with not, thinnest. I wouldn't put 75w85 in unless I lived in the arctic circle.

You don't really need crazy expensive fluid in these trucks, the diff's don't fail.

It's also really early for a flush, you paid for the fluid thats in the truck, use it before dumping out perfectly good fluid.

 

I used Mobil1

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

75W-90 at 11k miles in both the front and rear. In all of my paranoid research, sticking to Toyota LF 75W fluid in the transfer case seems to be the accepted way to go.

 

75-90. All the cool kids are doing it! BTW If you did have diff problems there is no way the dealer will know what oil is in there unless you tell them. Even then they would have to proove that caused an issue......It wont

 

Mobil 1 of the proper GL rating.

Wt isn't quite as critical, 75/90 is just hunky dory.

But you are way early. The drain plug, as @Jessrin suggests, will pick up any of the tiny shavings, which is all there will be.

Unless you're pounding on it at the drag strip on a regular basis, there's no reason to change it early.

And while most of the boutique lubricants are good stuff, they are not worthy of the $ delta above quality OTC products. Especially in mass produced vehicles.

 

a check may be in order here regardless.

i checked my diff at 11k on a truck with zero issues of any sort. turned out i was 0.4l low in the diff. i went ahead and filled with fresh.

 

M1 for me at about 10k miles, really wasn't as dirty as I thought it'd be. But peace of mind, and may have stopped the very minor seepage I had. Also MPGs went up not down.

 

Agree....Mine was low also, as was the front diff...just fill them up and good to go..

 

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

75w-90 is fine (close enough) and I wouldn't worry about warranty at that weight - regardless of the existing issues with some of these diffs. A large percentage of Toyota dealers use 75w-90 because it's much cheaper than the 75w-85 as you noted, even in bulk; as a matter of fact they use it for the transfer cases too, which probably isn't recommended. My point is, they themselves put it in everything - if you don't tell them, they wouldn't know the difference.

That said, 500 miles may be way too early, even if all it's for is to flush contaminates. You're going to have some crud in there for sure, but give it a few thousand miles to actually finish the break-in process. Otherwise you're just going to fill the new fluid with crud relatively quickly as well. Stick to the severe service interval for your diff fluids and driveline lubrication (not necessarily engine oil). The recommended regular intervals that Toyota provided seem to be way too long.

If you're interested, you can find some light reading here: 3rd Gen Differential and Manual Transmission (6MT) Fluid Change.

OA

 

I did a swap with amsoil severe gear 75w90 at 5,000 miles. The fluid that came out looked nearly new....which it was lol. I'd wait a bit longer, and make sure yours doesn't whine before you change the fluid. If it does, I'd have Toyota remedy that issue first because they might try to deny you if there is a different fluid in there than the factory fill. And yes they might send oil out for an analysis before fulfilling a warranty claim.

 

i was told during the diff recall torquing of the bolts, i was 5qt low....15k on truck at that time

 

LOL. I hope that it was a joke.

 

ouch...late night...Yes...I was told .5qt low....missed the decimal point.....

 

Oh gotcha! That sounds about right. I think mine might've been a tad low too when I changed it.

 

i changed my front and rear diff's to Amsoil 75w90 at 1000 miles. Front was pretty much clean as expected since it doesnt turn unless in 4wd(as I understand it). The rear was nasty, glad I changed it.

Diff's should be fully broken in by 500-1000 miles. A few heat cycles and they are good.