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Front Differential Gear Oil Change - Second Gen

Discussion in 'Technical Chat' started by Hanz, Aug 19, 2011.

  1. Aug 19, 2011 at 1:16 PM
    #1
    Hanz

    Hanz [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Brian and Chris did such a nice job with a Rear Diff How To I've decided to try and make a front diff how to.

    How to change the front differential fluid in your Second Gen Tacoma:

    Check your Owner's Manual to be sure you purchase the correct fluid and the right quantity. I picked up three quarts of 75W90 just to play it safe. The Front Differential is not a Limited Slip so you do not need any lsd/posi additive or friction modifier.

    OManual_0000ca06f552e7ab0dbda65213eeee59c02f794e.jpg

    I bought these at Autozone:

    IMG_2116_3052d39eaeeff0b87b33ad4a6c952f388cfec794.jpg

    You will need:
    New 75-W90 Gear Oil that's GL-5 Rated
    10MM Hex Bit Socket or 10MM Allen Wrench
    Ratchet and extension
    Drain Pan
    Gloves - used gear oil really stinks, wear the gloves
    Pump
    Shop Rags or Paper Towels
    Container for the used Gear Oil

    Here's the Craftsman 10MM Hex Bit, you can get one through Sears:
    HexBit_ab70693582e5f3654137af69d170e468b530a9df.jpg

    Here's the pump I chose. I bought this at the local hardware store. I know Harbor Freight carries something similar. I've read about these coming apart so I added some hose clamps and zip-ties to keep everything together. I also drew an arrow on it to indicate the direction of flow. I think I'll get some smaller worm clamps for the hose connections just to play it safe.

    ShopCraft p/n 36667

    ShopCraft36667_458b6ee69926b9fef92388b42ed6082f97aa28a2.jpg

    IMG_2115_b00809707f88e80d1d2aa74a7c076c5b45e5c59a.jpg

    I chose not to jack up the truck. It was on level ground and I had access to both the fill and drain plugs so I didn't bother to raise it up. I'm sure it's much easier on a lift but working on the ground I didn't think it would be worth the extra work to get the truck up on jack stands, YMMV.

    I like to drop the fluids when they are warm. They seem to flow a bit better and I hope they carry a bit more dirt with them on the way out. I got back from the auto parts store, gathered up my tools and headed out to the truck.

    Here's what your front differential looks like from the front drivers side:

    IMG_2122_6335d60ab1c53501d9d0ec8bc79b2f2043085667.jpg

    Move to behind your left front wheel and look forward for your front differential.

    Here's what you need to see:

    PlugLabels_82de188032a3b69b4dbeb67aa53bb73a931dcb21.jpg

    Using your 10MM Hex Socket make sure you can loosen your Fill Plug before you attempt loosening your drain plug. As Wolfpack5150 pointed out in the read diff how to thread, there's no point in draining it if you can't refill it.

    FillSocket_9c1542da0611555571f357283dd0e28d5eb07ac4.jpg

    Remove the fill plug:

    FillPlugClose_c5974b973d3d479097f3c0f8ccfe2407c5c07dd1.jpg

    Get your drain pan under the drain plug and loosen the drain plug. Try to keep the plug from falling off into the stinky gear oil.

    DrainSocket_28d0e2918a831498a56b6fa2ba40aeb900aa01a7.jpg

    Let it all drain out.

    Draining_e12a01bd39f42b10699fdbf14904d55300903319.jpg

    While the old gear oil is draining take some time to wipe off and clean both your fill and drain plugs. The drain plug is magnetic and will most likely have some build up on it. Be sure to wipe it clean.

    IMG_2138_d4d67843b4100ac9da3604edfccec2be993c099e.jpg

    In this photo you can see the fill plug's gasket is stuck on the fill plug. Take a moment to be sure you know where the gaskets (washers) are.

    PlugsOutLabeled_40b78993183937f081a59b702bea2da2a4758eca.jpg

    Here's the drain washer still stuck to the housing. I left it there and just made sure I wiped it down before installing the drain plug.

    CopperGasket-2_428a8f64c5709f7a6cef0ebd81fb2f0c43eb00cd.jpg

    Install your clean drain plug:

    IMG_2134_11e8d6e125b81e1306acfa28c697573d1fd7e1cc.jpg

    Now you have to get the new fluid up into the front differential. The pump I used needs the intake side elevated to work. I just put the pump's discharge hose of the hose into the front differential's fill hole and the pump's intake hose into a new quart of 75W-90.
    Filling-1_46ff67b1977b7dc567f1b4c3a61a63058134ae7b.jpg
    IMG_2144_567936b4f912a1010bbf7da89edd95ed52bcab15.jpg

    Since I was working alone I just tucked the container of gear oil into the wheel well. I rotated the bottle so I could see how much I was adding. That got the pump primed and the gear oil flowing nicely.

    SiphonWell_a55525b7518b2f44d7f0d159bd4cd9ae2d6654b6.jpg

    After 1.6 quarts I pulled the fill hose and installed the fill plug.

    IMG_2120_e965eb04b3d4dfec994604d1c401cc0a8f728dfe.jpg

    All that's left to do is clean up and get the old gear oil ready for recycling. :cool:
     
  2. Aug 19, 2011 at 2:28 PM
    #2
    george3

    george3 Well-Known Member

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    Nice job. Thanks:D
     
  3. Aug 19, 2011 at 2:56 PM
    #3
    ItalynStylion

    ItalynStylion Sounds Gooooood

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    How often should the differential fluids (front and rear) be changed?
     
  4. Aug 19, 2011 at 3:15 PM
    #4
    Hanz

    Hanz [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Thanks. I don't think my camera will ever smell the same. :eek:

    I have 30K on my truck. I'm not sure what Toyota recommends.
     
  5. Aug 19, 2011 at 3:20 PM
    #5
    george3

    george3 Well-Known Member

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    I'm pretty sure 30 is the number. My front was OK compared to the rear. The rear was really nasty. The pics are nice an clear.
     
  6. Aug 25, 2011 at 8:45 AM
    #6
    johnnym

    johnnym Well-Known Member

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    sweet writeup !!
    i need to do this asap
    Thanks:thumbsup:
     
  7. Aug 28, 2011 at 7:12 AM
    #7
    Srpat

    Srpat Active Member

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    Just changed mine. Sweet write up. Couple hints from what I learned.

    You need to take off the body armor if you have it. Also, the 10 mm hex socket was too big for my drain and fill plugs. 8 mm was too small. I ended up using a 9 mm allen key with a deep socket and aou t 12" of socket extensions for leverage. Fill plug came out easy, drain plug took some persuasion...
     
  8. Aug 28, 2011 at 10:10 AM
    #8
    Mudman

    Mudman Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for the post good sir. I will be doing mines very soon. :D
     
  9. Aug 29, 2011 at 11:16 AM
    #9
    Crom

    Crom Super-Deluxe Member

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    Excellent writeup. Very clear pictures. :)
     
  10. Aug 29, 2011 at 12:16 PM
    #10
    ItalynStylion

    ItalynStylion Sounds Gooooood

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    .......I've gone wayyy too long. Hitting Autozone later today.
     
  11. Aug 29, 2011 at 3:00 PM
    #11
    Gabex35

    Gabex35 Well-Known Member

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  12. Aug 29, 2011 at 6:24 PM
    #12
    Hanz

    Hanz [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Thanks guys. I'm glad you found it helpful. :thumbsup:

    It's not too difficult and well worth doing.
     
  13. Sep 17, 2011 at 3:24 PM
    #13
    JLink

    JLink Well-Known Member

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    Nice write up! thanks for doing this!
     
  14. Sep 18, 2011 at 12:18 PM
    #14
    92LandCruiser

    92LandCruiser Well-Known Member

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    Nice write up. One thing I wanted to add was that I usually keep pumping until it dribbles out the fill hole. Some even go so far as to lube it, run it, let it settle everywhere and see if they can add more.

    Nice work guys.
     
  15. Sep 18, 2011 at 12:25 PM
    #15
    georgeandkanoa

    georgeandkanoa the point is simply this

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    nice write up,I hope they make it a sticky Chris??? someone, Bueller
     
  16. Sep 19, 2011 at 6:21 AM
    #16
    Hanz

    Hanz [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the compliment. Just be careful of overfilling the differentials. I could probably get 8 quarts of oil in my engine's crankcase, that doesn't mean it's ideal. ;)
     
  17. Sep 19, 2011 at 6:32 AM
    #17
    mgrande

    mgrande iKill

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    As much as I take care of my truck I got to say that changing the front diff every 30k per toyota sounds a bit crazy. I guess if you use 4wd every day, but if not than just think about how many mile out of that 30k are actually in 4wd. Now if your dealing with a lot of dirt and water things change, but for the most part I'd say a 2 to 1 ratio of rear diff to front diff would be fine. Unless my logic is way off.

    EDIT- but good write up OP, def not taking away from you at all.
     
  18. Sep 19, 2011 at 8:39 AM
    #18
    BlueT

    BlueT Well-Known Member

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    Filling up to the "fill hole" is not overfilling. I know amount of oil is mentioned several times but "proper" way of filling diffs is to fill until it drips on level ground.
    Not enough oil will always cause premature wear.
     
    jmarquez808 likes this.
  19. Sep 16, 2013 at 3:37 PM
    #19
    kyleanegus

    kyleanegus Member

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    Did this a few weeks ago, thank you so much to the OP for this post. Amazing detail and easy to follow. Thanks to Tacoma World my truck my love longer than I do
     
    Bill Anderson likes this.
  20. Sep 16, 2013 at 3:49 PM
    #20
    Chepo

    Chepo Tankoma!

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    Gonna do this next weekend!
     

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