Front Diff and Transfer Case Oil Change Howto

Thanks for the write up!

 

Quoting for part # reference...very helpful

 

I have a 2013 SR5 4x4 is the front and rear diff. and transfer case have synthetic oil or conventional oil and will I need to add LSD additive, planning on changing all this weekend just making sure before starting.

 

subd your subd!

 

Awesome. glad I could help!

 

My SR5 front skid plate doesn't seem to get in the way of anything. Is that just a non-TRD thing?

 

It has been a while since I read the exact last year that needed lsd additive but it was around 08. So you should be good there. You can use conventional or synthetic. Most people recommend synthetic since it is such an infrequent change but either work fine.

 

I got this done yesterday. Thanks for the great post. I didn't need to remove the skid plate on my '14. I had the front jacked up so the truck was level and just crawled underneath. I did manage to cut my elbow wide open on the rear cat when I broke the front diff fill plug loose. The front diff had gray sludge in it, but my tcase fluid looked new still. Rear diff needed changing, but no sludge.

 

I changed all three around 400 miles ago. I found that the rear and x case was pretty easy to add majority of fluid with just the bottle itself and top off using the pump. On the front there is no way to get any fluid in with just the bottle unless you have a hose so a pump is an absolute there. I did the rear and x case this way so I didn't spend 10 mins just pumping lol. Quickest way to do all three at once is get as much fluid in rear and x case from bottle as you can and when you put the pump on for the front top off the other two. I did remove my spare to be able to do the rear this way just a heads up. I was at 15k so enough to get enough shards out but not to much for the magnet to get totally full. I will change again at 30k and follow required maintenance per every 30k after that. For those that have been having milky like fluid coming from front diff it could be due to not engaging 4x4 enough per month. I know I read in the manual if you do not use 4x4 regularly to at least drive 10 miles a month with it engaged. If it's dry out I will engaged on long straight aways but if it's raining out I will engage and drive to work which covers then ten miles in one shot. Just food for thought.

 

Ya both front/rear diffs had like a grey/green/milkiness color. Need to utilize my 4x4 more often for sure.

 

I found this on Amazon - just ordered - has these ring part numbers and in the proper qty you quoted above...just FYI all...

$14 GENUINE TOYOTA GASKET KIT FOR TRANSFER AND DIFFERENTIAL SERVICE

http://www.amazon.com/GENUINE-TOYOT...F8&qid=1462150580&sr=8-2&keywords=90430-A0003

 

This was on my front diff magnet at 12k miles... oil has long since spread out since I did the front diff about 2.5 months ago.. mostly metallic particles.



Will be doing transfer case and rear axle in the next few weeks. Red Line 75-90 for replacement oil all around.

 

Big thank you to the OP.

 

This is exactly what I am doing at this very second

 

Thanks to the OP for the write-up. I changed my front diff fluid this weekend at 16K miles. The fluid was dark but not as black as the rear differential's fluid. There were some finely ground metal particles on the drain plug magnet.
When my fluid pump failed (o-ring dried out and leaked) I should have just stopped and bought a new o-ring or pump the next day. Instead I pressed on and found out it's a real pain to squeeze the fluid into the front diff since there isn't a lot of room to work under the rig (I did not jack up the truck). I ended up asking my wife for help since I couldn't hold the bottle in the wheel well and hold the tube in the fill hole at the same time. Next time I'll definitely make sure I have a working pump before starting the job.

~ Steve

 

I started the job without a pump. Thankfully, in anticipation of changing out the rear diff, I had ordered one of these Amsoil bendable spouts that are fitted for their gear oil bottles. I was able to fill the front diff with it while holding the bottle in the wheel well, while lying underneath the truck between the diff and wheel well. But because the bottle was level with the fill hole, I only managed to fill just over half a bottle's worth at a time by squeezing it in. Not a big deal, doing the first half of the first bottle, then the first half of a second new bottle, and then filling half of one into the other, and doing half of that one.
I guess some could argue that it's rather appropriate that an Amsoil product comes with a douche nozel. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No he din't!!!!!!!

 

So...just a bit more on my fluid swap out experience...37K miles... purchased adapter hose similar to that of the OP...from Autozone...it was not good quality and popped off bottle twice. Had similar issues with fill port being level with bottle while filling the transfer case. Old Oil condition was excellent in transfer case, fair in rear differential, and black black in front differential. My assumption is that the front has more action (more turning/relative motion) despite the fact that it is not provided with power for the majority of the time...? Next time I do this, I will try some sort of oil pump.

 

I have about a half bottle of 75w90 (Royal Purple) sitting in the garage. Maybe a stupid question but does it go bad? I was thinking about mixing with new(er) 75w90 grade oil (Mobil1) for reuse.

 

Thanks OP