Changed Front/Rear Differentials at 14k Miles

Replaced the factory front/rear diff oil on my 2011 Tacoma that has 14k miles. I mostly take public transportation during the work week, hence the low miles.

I filled with Amsoil Synthetic Severe 75w90. Toyota calls for 75w85. Redline is the only 75w85 I can find in synthetic, and they wanted $28 for shipping. Amazon sells it, but is back-ordered.

As I mentioned in another thread, the manual says 3.1 quarts for the rear. I ended up pouring 3.5 quarts until I could feel it with my finger. Even then it wasn't pouring out of the fill port. But I stopped there anyway for fear of overfilling. The front took about what the manual called for (~1.6 quarts)

Rear drain plug has a few shards and flakes (link to pic below). Also noticed what appears to be sludge on the plug. Front plug had sludge but hardly any metal.

The old rear differential oil was nice and amber-colored. The front was cloudy, gray, and smelled. Maybe it had gotten wet at some point.

The rear diff plugs came loose easily enough. I used a 1/2" breaker bar but probably didn't need it. The front was much tighter. I did need the breaker bar with a 10mm hex socket bit for it.

To fill the rear, I just attached about 6" of 1/2" diam clear hose to a funnel. For the front, I used about 3'. I turned the wheels to the left, and my wife filled from the wheel well while I monitored the filling.

This job took nearly 1/2 day for me. But I am very meticulous, and methodical. For example, I soak my drain plugs in paint thinner to make sure there is no grit left on the threads. After I cut the clear plastic tubing, I blew out any debris with an air compressor.

The parts guy gave me the wrong crush washer for the front fill plug. So I used one of the old ones from the rear diff. I'll probably switch it out this week once I can make it back to the dealer.

I would say this is an easy, if time-consuming, job with the right tools. E.g. use a 1/2" drive 6-point 24mm socket instead of 12-point. If not, you're just going to do far more damage than what the proper tools would have cost.

Going to do the manual trans and trans case next weekend - with Redline 75w90 GL4.

http://postimg.org/image/uhaemlz6l/

 

Just some fyi, u can get Redline stuff from summit racing. Cheaper than Amazon and quicker on shipping. I use them and have never had an issue

 

I just did my transmission and differentials this weekend, pretty much the same experience, even had my gf pour the front diff oil. I couldnt accurately measure the oil with the pump so I aired on the generous side of things.

I got redline from THMotorsports, they were the cheapest.

I also had sludge in my diff with minor shavings, i didnt think anything of it.

 

I did the diff on my '12 w/ 15,000 just a few weeks ago. Same deal. The typical 'sludge' on the plug, plus a couple of really sharp shards like you had. I'm thinking it's leftover crap from the machining process, or else part of the break-in process, based on reports I've seen from other Tacoma rear diff drains.


One guy found one of those little cone-shaped divot-looking things (that last piece of swarf you get when you drill through steel) in his front diff. These factory diff builders are not properly cleaning out their workpieces. Shameful, really, but not surprising.

 

Lets not overthink this.

The fill holes are there for a reason.

Fill with oil till the oil runs back out.

And i dont believe oil and thinner mix well together.

 

I'm not going to lie buy why change the oil I know someone with a diesel truck who had never changed the diff oils and he has 123k on his truck without any issues

 

he may not have any problems yet, but there are moving parts causing friction, which will break down the oil, and cause parts to wear and over heat, etc.

There will always be disagreements on when to change the oil

But usually everyone would agree it has to be changed

 

For me, it's peace of mind. And common sense.

 

QFT.

Oil wears out. Diff oils wear out differently (don't get as hot as engine oils, and see different types/amounts of shear), but they do wear out. All those long chains that make it viscous break apart over time.

For what it costs to put a few quarts of gear oil in every 15-30k miles, it beats the hell out of a big repair bill for a new 3rd member or new clamshell.

Are the 2nd gens using that funky copper crush washer on the front drain plug still? I've only done the rear, I need to get the transfer case and front taken care of.

 

The front diff drain is the only one

 

Yeah, it works out to about 3 Starbucks to change your front diff with synthetic. The front drain uses the big copper. The fill uses the same as the rear fill/drain.

 

Same thing happened to me....frigin retarded people. They must have it wrong in their system.

 

x3, went to the dealership and got the wrong crush washer for the front.

 

What was wrong about it? Just wondering when the time comes...

 

They gave me two of the same gasket (small silver gaskets).

You should get one small one (silver) and one larger one (might be copper). I just can't remember which was front and/or rear.

 

It was too small. They gave me the same crush washer as they did for either the rear or the x-fer case (can't remember which one). I then pulled the drain plug and realized it was too big for the washer.

 

Early in this thread (#7) someone lists the correct part numbers and quantity. If you take that to the dealer, you should be good.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...ront-diff-transfer-case-oil-change-howto.html

 

so totally unnecessary, over maintenance, happens a lot in the Porsche world too... its like a competition, OMG i maintain my car more!
maybe you should change the oil every other drive?

i brought my last truck to 225,000 miles without a single drive line failure changing the fluids every 50k. thats what the tacoma will get. oh plus another 70k on a ranger, same. theres just no need, no matter how you try and justify it. wasteful and inducing risk by simply doing the maintenance function itself.

my two cents on the 17k 2 year drive line fluids change...

 

Lots of people on this site off road where their differentials put underwater regularly. Get water mixed in with your gear oil and you're going to want to change it out more frequently. Same can be said of people who tow heavy loads on a daily basis, you need a more rigorous maintenance schedule to keep up with the wear and tear. For a daily driver (pavement pounder), I agree with you, 50k miles is fine.

 

Agree to all the above.

OP said he takes the train to work. Maybe I missed the towing / off-roading part of OP