2005 Tacoma differential/transfer case oil

Hi everyone, I am planning on doing oil changes for my front and rear differentials and my transfer case for my 2005 tacoma v6 4.0L 4x4. The owners manual however states that I should use sae 90 gear oil for my rear diff, and after calling a bunch of places asking which specifc oil I should use, I just got mixed answers. Some people told me

$26 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90, some said 80w-90, and some 85w-90. I live in LA so the weather isnt to brutal at all. Can I use any of these oils or is there a specific one I should use? I also was wondering whether it would be bad to use a limited slip oil in my transfer case and my front diff which I believe is not LS.

 

Lots of guys have used 75w90 in all 3 and had no problem.
I’ll likely be doing this the next time I change mine.
I used 80w90 in my Rear Differential, I had no issues.

As far as running the LSD Additive in the Open Diff and Transfer Case, I don’t see how it would really hurt anything.I’m sure there are other guys that know for sure. So I’d wait an see what they say.

 

75w90 of whatever modern gl-5 you want.

don’t even worry

 

Any of the three you mentioned would be fine. It’s just gear oil, the diffs won’t care.

 

I run 75W90 syn in the rear diff & X case with no issues, front diff gets Lucas 85-140 as per ECGS when I did the bushing.

 

that's what I use, also in more than just my truck, It's pretty good oil & its cheap.

 

With the needle-bearing issue, I'm running Valvoline 85-140 synthetic in the front anyway. It can't hurt.

 

Thanks for the responses I already have gotten! The dealer guy said I should put the ls additive as well as the oil that already says it is for ls diffs. Is that a bad thing to do? It is contrary to what I’ve heard a lot of people say.

 

you can if you want, I usually just try to find an oil that has the friction modifier already in it

 

Do you have the Trd sport with limited slip rear end?

If so the rear will need fluid with the limited slip additive, either the tube of paste or the oil itself with the additive incorporated. If you use the oil that already has additive you can use that in all three without issue. Or you can buy the non-limited slip oil for all three and add a tube of paste to the rear only.

Some people still have chatter in the rear even when they use the oil with friction modifier included and they end up adding a tube of paste to the rear to smooth it out. There’s no need so add the paste to the front or transfer case.

 

Yeah I have the trd sport with Ls in the rear. Ok so there’s no harm in adding a tube of the additive to the Ls oil that already contains some additive in it?

 

Thats fine. You might want to see how it behaves with just the oil that contains modifier already. If it doesn’t chatter then don’t worry about adding more. If you get some chatter you can always buy a tube of the modifier and squeeze it in.

 

Mechanical LSD's (requiring the LSD additive) were only from 05-08.... so if you have anything 09 or newer, regardless of TRD package, you can throw non LSD additive stuff in everything.... that stated, its hard to find gear oil WITHOUT LSD additive and it wont hurt jack diddily to run it.

$26 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 with built in LSD additive synthetic stuff (valvoline, supertech, mobil1) here with zero issues.

The BIGGEST KEY, especially with the rear diff, IS FRESH FLUID. Rear, change that bitch every 30k. Tcase and front every 60k.

 

Yeah I bought the thing used about a year and a half ago so I am just changing all of them now. Thanks for the responses, I will add the LS oil first and if that gives me any issues I will add some additive. What does diff chatter usually sound like?

 

It sounds like chatter. You’ll know it if you hear it.

 

Hey guys one more questions. The bottle of gear oil I already have is gl5 but doesn’t say anything about hypoid gears. In my manual is calls for hypoid gear oil api gl5. Does the bottle need to specifically say for hypoid gears, or is it okay as long as it says gl5?

 

Hypoid is a type of gear. Its not really the classification of the oil.
I’m betting the manufacturer didn’t put Hypoid on there, because why limit the oil to being just for hypoid gears when it will also work for other GL-5 gears.( LIKE THE ONES IN A TRANSMISSION )

The classification is GL-5. The oil I used didn’t say it was hypoid oil.
It only said it was designed to be used in Non-synchronized transmissions and with hypoid gears. So far, so good in almost 50k miles.


BTW, what oil did you buy?

https://www.oilspecifications.org/api_gos.php

 

I got the Castrol axle limited slip gear oil 80w-90. Api-gl5. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Castrol-...110374516?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0
Yeah it doesn’t really say anything about hypoid on it. It just worried me because the manual seems to specifically say hypoid gear oil on it.

 

You think too much lol.

 

I really do haha