Changing differential fluid - A step by step "HOW TO"

I just changed my front diff fluid today after doing the ecgs bearing change (quite the fun with that cv getting it in and out of the diff). Manual says 1.6 for front diff but after just 1 quart, oil started coming out the full plug. Is this normal? I can’t see .6qts staying in the diff from draining. I let it drain overnight before putting plug back in. Also I was on level ground. Just seemed odd it wouldn’t take the full 1.6qts. Thoughts?

 

That is a big difference and you did the right thing by leaving the plug out all night. I just changed out everything on my truck and that is what I did

I have a first GEN and everything was close to what the manual said it would take.

My manual transmission actually took more fluid than the manual state but under 10%, your percentage is a big difference . I follow this thread so hopefully someone more knowledgable than I will be able to help you figure this out!

 

How many quarts will I need if I plan on doing front and rear diff and tcase for a 1st gen?

 

According to pg 285 of your Owner's Manual, your Rear Differential takes 2.6 - 3.1 qts, depending on wheelbase and whether you have a diff lock; your Transfer Case takes 1.1 qts. With all of that in mind, you need 3.7 - 4.2 qts total.

 

Thankyou! One more thing, after it fills do I need to drive it down the road real quick and then top it off one more time? Or will the first filling be fine?

 

You're welcome. Opinions may vary, but I've always gone with nothing more than the first filling.

 

I get it. We’ll see if I have extra left over lol.

 

You're likely to have a little leftover, since it's almost impossible to get all of the oil out, but the difference should be relatively minor.

 

I got 6 quarts for front and rear diff and Tcase??

 

I missed "front" in your original post.

Pg 285 of the Owner's Manual also includes your Front Differential capacity of 1.2 qts, bringing the grand total to 4.9 - 5.4 qts, so you should have plenty.

 

75w90 is good, yeah?

 

Perfect.

 

I’m about to do this soon in the coming weeks. I was reading the original first post. And OP said to replace the fill plug. Is that Necessary? And anyone have the part number for the fill plug?

 

Think he meant replace as in "put it back where it came from and torque it to spec" not "buy a new one to replace the old one." I reused all of mine with no problem. Did replace the washers though.

 

Got cha thanks

 

Finished my second rear axle fluid change yesterday. I used Royal Purple gear oil. I'm going 30,000mi with their synthetic. It was a tad bit more difficult than I remember doing it the first time. I ended up releasing the spare tire. That created plenty of room to feed the axle. 145,000mi and still going.

 

Did my rear diff fluid change on my 2005 yesterday! By the looks of the oil, it needed it badly. I used Lucas Oil

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

75w-90 with additive included.

 

Awesome thank you

 

141,000 miles first rear diff change. Good thing it’s a Toyota.

 

2014 TRD Sport would this require additive I'm not seeing which models it's required on. Sorry if I missed this answer already!