When should I change my diff oil?

I've never had issues with hex (allen) heads. On my past rigs I've changed everything to allens. I will do the same on this 2020.

 

Depends on where u live I think. The rust belt is brutal.

 

Oh I’ve got one of those. The bags are way better.

 

Right on.

 

I smashed my thumb under the breaker bar when that damn plug broke free, goes from a ton of torque to zero torque in a fraction of a turn.

 

Helps if you have 1/2'' quality allen wrench socket bits with a good drive ratchet to get the proper bite on those plugs.

 

Front or rear diff?

I just did the fluid change on the front, and there could not be two plugs with less room to maneuver a breaker bar on the whole truck. Perfect setup for smashed knuckles, too.

Soaked mine in PB Blaster hours before I tried to remove.

 

Exactly, I thought for sure I’d broken something (the hex bit? The plug? My hand?) when the plug finally moved. It was sudden and violent.

 

A couple times in the first 10K-20K and then a decent few years after.

My front plug was buggered up by the shop who did my regear and lockers - so they fixed it and installed a magnetic plug with hex head.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/amsoil-products-atf-mtf-gear-oils.639632/page-14

$28 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75W-90 front, 75W-110 rear

 

Rear was fine, breaker bar and some dings to my thumb and it was loose.

Front is the hard one it seems. I read about using a hammer but didn’t understand that the hammer goes to the plug and diff to break tension. And I honestly don’t feel comfortable whacking a vehicle with a hammer.

I munged the Allen a bit from torquing it on some ramps. It’s now into the danger zone where another tug might round it entirely.

The funny part to me is that I’ve wasted 2 full days getting no help on this from my local shop. TW was/is far more useful. They didn’t even have a pump and whined about the time to remove the front skid which I had off before I dropped it, as if this request was just too difficult for them, despite having 5 or 6 lifts.

I’m not sure if I can trust the dealer any more but at least they can order parts if they destroy something else.

 

I did my front/rear and Xfer case all at 60k. Rear was a bit darker, everything else looked new. The bolts put up a little fight, but Im in the rust belt. That may be a good reason to do it earlier if you care.

 

The only way my front came loose was by cutting into the plug. Basically cut a straight groove and chiseled the mangled bastard off. NICE to have a REAL fill plug.

 

The first time I did mine the front drain plug was a PITA. And, the second time I did mine the front drain plug was a PITA. Like others have said it sounds like you have broken something when I finally lets loose. Make sure your fingers are out of harms way or it will hurt like a son of a bitch. IMO a breaker bar and a 1/2" allen socket are a requirement for the task.

 

The next time I do the front diff I’m hitting the breaker bar with a rubber mallet.

 

Man I love living in AZ.

 

The underside of my truck is still pretty pristine living here in NC. It’s the hex plugs...if they were 24mm like the rear diff, they’d be easy.

 

Buy this tool for next time: https://www.kaon.com.au/diff-drain-plug-removal-tool-to-suit-toyota-hilux

 

Folks be heaping hate on the allen drain plug, but all I have is a set of $8.00 harbor freight allen sockets like this


It's plenty salty around here, but with a breaker bar the drain plug came out without too much of a fight. Well, lean on the breaker bar, see it flex, almost sure something is going to break, lean a little harder, think I should give up, CRACK! Count the fingers, still got ten, check diff case for damage, none, what broke? Oh, the plug is loose!

 

Stock gears I did 30k changes but with 5.29s and 35s East coast gear supply recommends 15k changes. I wheel a ton so it's needed

 

I’m gonna do mine at 100k. Just oil and filters (oil, intake, cabin) until then. Fluid swap front to back at 100k and plugs. Just me. I’ve done the same schedule on all my cars and never had an issue. I’ve had anything from outback’s to M3’s to cobras. Just always been my go to