Differential fluid exchange at 30k?

I am coming up on my 35,000 mile maintenance. Service writer told me at 30,000 I need to do a front and rear differential fluid exchange. Agree??

 

Agreed.

 

Heck yeah, but be prepared for a very unfriendly estimate. I would leave the T case fluid alone until at least 60k.

Super easy DIY.

 

Couldn’t hurt. I did mine at 48k and still had a good color and minimal magnet build up

 

I did mine at 20,000KM and it had quite a bit of gunk on the magnet.

 

Not a talented DIY person here...I will have it done. Thanks.

 

If you have an oil pan and I believe a 24mm socket it takes a total of 13 minutes.

I timed it based off of dinner.

 

Absolutely do it.

It’s also even easier than an engine oil change. DIY range for pretty much anyone with tools.

Dealers charges for this service are hard to understand as it is less involved than engine oil. Assumption is they charge more for it because they can get away with it on an infrequent service.

 

Diff fluid change is a perfect place for the non dyi guy to get their hands dirty and start learning the truck. Super simple and incredibly hard to mess up.

 

I've heard some dealers quote $700 for diffs and T case fluid change. I charge $130 ish.

 

A word of advice:
Make sure that you can get the FILL plug loose & removed, before you remove the DRAIN plug.

 

I did mine at 15k, transfer case and diffs again at 30... Front and read diffs both had pretty gross fluid and alot of metal. So it depends on the use, I guess.

I would say the service can be done really easily diy but not in 13 minutes, especially by a novice. There are many reasons this could seem daunting to a real beginner but it really is simple if you want to save the money. Although then you'd want to change the oil too, again not difficult but another thing to learn.

However maybe it's cause I buy quarts I have to pump in, but it's never been that quick for me... Not to mention I poke around at everything else while I'm down there.

I think if you can save over 400 after getting the tools and taking the possible 3 hours figuring out how to do it all, take the oil back to an auto parts store, etc, you should absolutely do it.

 

Squeeze Bag Gear Oil is easier than messing with the pump if you can find them.

 

Truth!!

I am not the most tech savvy but I did the front/rear and the TC. I found a local hoist that I was able to use for a small fee and having the truck in the air made it super easy

 

I drove mine up on ramps to loosen the plugs with a breaker, and then drove it off and drained/refilled. It's just too hard to get a breaker under there without lifting the truck a bit

 

Fluid change on a Tacoma is so much easier than a GM product. No drain plugs on some of the diffs. You need to pull the covers for a drain. I haven’t done it yet, only 11k on the toy but I plan to do all three at 25k then every 35k after. The first change you get the initial break in metal, then normal wear after unless you play submarine commander. Then change it sooner.

 

OP you got this! Oil pan, pump, correct socket & driver size. Here & youtube are great resources. Like others said, make sure you can loosen the fill before trying the drain plugs.

I had never done any fluid other than oil and coolant but the diffs/transfer case really are straight forward and great confidence builders for routine servicing your truck. Take a few minutes, look around the belly of the truck and familiarize yourself with parts, reference youtube/online pictures for your generation truck and you should be A-ok!

 

If you are asking if we agree to do the service ... what does it say in the manual that came with your Truck? The Toyota engineers are pretty good at indicating service intervals for all components.

If you are asking if we agree that the service writer advised you to do that .... how would we know unless we were there?

So for me, I would say that if it is the first ... grab a wrench, get ready to smell some very pleasant fluids, and change the diffs and transfer case fluids. If it is the second ... I will abstain as I was not there and can neither confirm nor deny their statement was made.

 

Fords too! It's that way on my 2006 Mustang. I try to do to DYI as much as I can and looking forward to some of the maintenance on my Taco. Mine is 2WD and changing the rear diff fluid looks easier then a oil change.