Gentlemen,

I would like to learn to change my gear oil. Can you please give me some guidance how to do this. I appreciate it!

 

I did this a couple weeks ago and have been meaning to do a How-To but just haven't got around to it.

There are two ways to do it, use a hand suction pump or remove the differential cover. I chose to remove the cover.

1. Raise the car and support it on jackstands.
2. Move a drain pan under the differential.
3. Remove the fill plug from the front driver's side of the differential housing. As you loosen the plug you will hear air going inside the case. Once you have removed the plug you will probably see small metal shaving attached to it. The plug is actually magnetic to attract any metal debris and keep it from interrupting the gears movement.
4. Remove the majority of bolts on the differential cover leaving the top one in place but loose.
5. Pry the cover away from the mating surface careful not to bend the cover. The fluid should begin draining out into your drain pan. Once the fluid is almost completely drained, you can remove the last bolt holding the cover in place.
6. Remove the cover by moving it up and to the passenger side of the car. This was the easiest way I found to do this without removing the panhard bar .
7. Use a lint-free rag to clean the inside of the cover and easily reached areas inside the differential. (Note: This may be a good time to inspect the gears for chips or cracks.)
8. Scrape off the old mating gasket with a gasket scraper or putty knife making sure the surface clean and free of any old gasket material.
9. Apply approxiametly a 1/8" bead of Hi-Temp RTV Sealant to the cover, routing the bead on the inside of the bolt holes.
10. Install the cover on the differential opposite of #6 above and hand tighten all bolts until the gasket Sealant begins to squeeze out. (Note: Do not tighten with a wrench.)
11. Allow sealant to dry for 1 hour then tighten all bolts to 33 ft./lbs in a X pattern.
12. Due to the location of the fill plug, I attached a 6' plastic tube between the fill hole and the new bottle of gear fluid. (The tube was from a suction pump for a fish tank .) Next, fill the differential housing with a 4oz. bottle of Additive Friction Modifier and fill the rest with Synthetic 75W-140 Gear Oil until the fluid is level with the bottom of the fill hole.
13. Install and tighten the fill plug.
14. Remove jackstands and lower the car to the ground.


Note: You may notice a noise from the differential for a few days until the fluid and additive impregnate the clutch pads.