If your changing the gear oil then you should consider a new cover (one with the drain and fill plugs on the cover then you won't need any pump and you and might find one with magnets and an inspection window to see if any shavings have occurred

 

Well I can't possibly afford a new cover. It might not seem like much, but I just dropped $560 for a new driveshaft.

I can suck the oil out with the pump I have, i have the tubing I need, but I might pull the cover anyway.

When I refill the oil, how do I know how much to put in? Do i just fill up to the top of the fill plug?

Thanks

 

Your in for a smelly treat Gear oil will suck the life from you if you get it on yourself.lol

 

Take it from a man who didn't think to buy a pump when changing the transfer case fluid on my wifes SUV.....a man who got an ATF bath.....BUY A PUMP!!!!! Gear oil smells like A$$ new...and used it only gets better.....

 

anyone know before I find out the hard way?

 

My gear oil is a light grey color. Is that normal?

 

You can only fill it up to the fill hole. That is why they put it at that level. It is not a big deal if it is dripping out as you put the plug back in....but whatever you do don't leave it any lower that the Fill hole.

 

You do fill it up till the point where you can stick your finger in the hole and touch fluid. light grey color?? never seen it that color before. Did the oil feel gritty?

Also the rear end girdles are nice to buy but with the S197's i've read that you have to get an adapter for your panhard bar so the girdle will fit and not hit it. i think they're around 40-50 bucks.

 

They make girdles that don't require an adapter. It doesn't feel gritty, but it does smell like ****!

 

From what I've read it is a synthetic oil so I'm not sure what color it will be. I used to run a synthetic motor oil called "Black Moly Gold" and it was opaque black with a silver or gold sheen to it, like looking at a very fine metal flake paint job. The oil doesn't smell so bad, it's the friction modifier that stinks to high heaven. Don't forget to replace the friction modifier. From someone who has spent way too many hours inside a Ford 8.8, here are a few suggestions. In the following I make mention to the exciter ring sensor, My Mustang is only 4 weeks old and I haven't crawled under it yet, I'm assuming that Ford didn't go crazy with an axle design and still incorporates this sensor as it had with it's trucks. Back in the '91 model year Ford trucks only used the exciter for ABS and they had seperate electical and mechanical feeds for cruise control and speedometer respectively. In '92 when the went to the electronic speedometer and odometer they used the sensor for everyting, ABS, Cruise, Speedo , and odometer. This was such a simple design I'm guessing that they still use it. Anyway on to the suggestions:

1. Remove the exciter ring sensor and clean the metal shavings off of it, it's magnetic. Re-install.
2. Just go ahead and pull the pumpkin cover, it isn't that messy or complicated as long as you have a tub or pan to catch the drainage.
3. If you can afford it, get a new cover with fill and drain plugs.
4. Run a magnetic retrieving tool around the bottom of your housing to pick up any loose shavings.
5. Clean the surfaces between the axle housing and the diff cover with a putty knife.
6. Put a continuous bead of black hi-temp RTV silicone around the housing and let it skim over for about 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Put the cover back on and torque the bolts down to 34 ft. lbs.
8. Add the new gear oil and friction modifier. Your done.

If you have problems putting the oil in the fill plug or if you have problems removing the fill plug, you can also use the exciter ring sensor hole to fill the axle ( or at least I could on my Bronco 8.8s).

HTH