Differential Oil?

Hey guys. First post and recent 1st gen tacoma buyer! I'm looking to do serious maintenance and moderate upgrades to start out. It is my daily driver so I dont want to go nuts. I do want to change my diff. Oil though being that it's a new to me truck. Does anyone have suggestions for oil and or begginer mods? I'm fairly mechanically inclined and enjoy mechanics so dont hold back.

 

Go to: Forums, Mod’s and Tutorials, 1st Gen How To’s

 

I would go ahead and change all your fluids, not just the diff. Check your coolant, if it's clean you can probably just leave it.

I would go ahead and do all the maintenance that's recommended for your mileage. Assume it hasn't been done unless you have detailed maintenance records.

Depending on your mileage, you're looking at shocks, control arm bushings, balljoints, etc...

Arfe you 4x4 or a pre-runner?

 

So far great suggestions guys and I'm a 2wd pre-runner with e locker jbrandt

 

Redline MT90 GL5 in all your cases except for the manual trans, then its the GL4. Good call on the coolant above. I just looked at mine and it's disgusting.

I did the entire front end as far as ball joints, UCA, LCA bushings, all that.

 

Good advice above. I prefer Amsoil GL-4 for the manual transmission, but that's just my personal preference.

For the rear differential, the synthetic gear lubes of the appropriate weight are great but one thing to consider is the cost if you need to replace them. If you frequently submerge the axles in water, you may want to use the regular gear oil of the appropriate weight just to reduce the cost if you need to drain and replace it.

I agree you should assume nothing has been serviced if you are not certain. When I get a "new to me" vehicle I always change the fluids to reset the service interval. I also know what is in there because I'm the one that put it in there.

While you're doing that work, get your grease gun out and hit all of the zerk fittings.
Change the oil & filter in the engine.
Clean the battery terminals and put them back on. I prefer the spray on sealant if they have never been coated in grease. If they have been coated in grease by a previous owner - continue that practice.

Antifreeze - if the antifreeze is clean and it tests to the proper temperature rating, you can leave it in there. Get a bottle of water pump lube/rust inhibitor, drain about a quart out of the system and add the rust inhibitor. If you have any doubts, drain the coolant and replace it with new coolant at the proper mixture.

Check the air filter, replace if needed. Check the brake fluid and the fluid in the clutch master cylinder. Check the power steering fluid.

Check the spare tire ! Make sure you can lower and raise it. Make sure it has the right amount of tire pressure. Check the jack and make sure it works throughout its entire range. Check ALL of the lug nuts, make sure you can get them all off and re-torque them to the proper rating.

Check the brakes and look for fluid leaks from the brakes and rear axle seals. Check the parking brake for full travel and release, adjust as needed.

OK, you should now be ready for your first coffee break.......

 

Great info above

 

All good tips here, one piece of advice I can give is when you change the fluid be sure to remove the fill plug 1st. Never want to drain your diff then go to having issues with being able to refill it.

 

When you drain all the fluids out of the engine and diffs I'd recommend taking a look at "Dimple Products" before you do it. They make a whole line of magnetic drain plugs that suck all the metals out of the oil. That is a plus but when you comb this forum you will find "numerous" posts on stripped fill and drain plugs.

The factory Toyota drain plugs as well as the fill plugs leave a lot to be desired. They are short so when off-roading the don't get ripped off or damaged but they are also "very soft" and the metal the are made of is as soft as "playdough" for kids. They routinely round off and are nothing but a PIA. The "off-road" feature of being short doesn't allow a wrench or a socket to get any grip and they round off because the metal is too soft.

Look into Dimple. They are $34 a piece but well worth it IMO. I had to wear a Chastity Belt, grab my ass cheeks and hold my cheeks together for a set of drain plugs from Dimple and I also ordered their oil filter magnets for my oil filter. I've already had a problem with one of my fill plugs rounding off on the rear diff. I have yet to find aftermarket quality plugs for the fill plug and I'm NOT buying Dimples for fill plugs at $34 each.

All in all, I suspect my sore ass from paying for dimples will just reduce down to a barely distant throb after a few months then disappear knowing that I can actually "unscrew" my drain plugs for the next diff, tranny and transfer case drain.

I'll continue my search for a real, metal drain plug on the fill end. I can't see a problem if one owns a real torque wrench and uses anti-seize.

 

Never had a problem with Toyota drain plugs.