Changing Front Diff Oil

Anyone know how to go about changing the front diff on an Automatic?

 

Also how much gear oil it takes? Weight?

do search on this forum there a a few how to's on here.

 

Capacity is 1.3 qts, 75w90 or 80w90 are fine.

O.

just any gear oil?

Go synthetic, it's not like engine oil where switching to synthetic at 100k will cause leaks or anything. It's a little more expensive, but well worth it. And definitely 75w-90 for the northern states.

I purchased Redline 75w-90 Gear Oil for differentials. I'll be doing this service after my engine work.

do you think my local quick lube oil station will be able to do the transmission and front diff with my oil change...

 

and about those tranny filters... i hear they are behide the pan? so if i have found metal shavings on my dip stick what should i do....

 

 

i have a tranny pan gasket.. already

The quick lube shop will indeed probably try to "upsell" your differential service more often than scheduled maintenance is specified. I wouldn't expect synthetic availability, however.

do search on this forum there a a few how to's on here.

 

Capacity is 1.3 qts, 75w90 or 80w90 are fine.

O.

 

I looked around and found things about the rear but nothing on the front.

The quick lube shop will indeed probably try to "upsell" your differential service more often than scheduled maintenance is specified. I wouldn't expect synthetic availability, however.

 

thats, fine.. i dont need the best. just need all my lube changed

The drain plug is under the passenger drive shaft.

 

I have a mt so don't know size.

 

O.

the drain plug for the front diff is in the center , side to side, but in front of the oil pan on the trans. the housing around the area has fins or ribs on it. it is a torx nut. i think. that's the drain. to fill you add new gear oil in to the dipstick hole, REALLY SHORT dipstick, on the passenger side of the trans. (yellow handle fairly low, dip stick is about 3 inches long.)

 

the AT dip stick is about 24 inches long , on the driver side near the fire wall under the ac lines / hoses. do not mistake the two.

 

pull the plug, drain the oil , replace the plug, add new oil. easy.

what about metal shavings... should i just take the pan off and run a magnet around the pan to get all the shavings? of should i get a new tranny filter too?

what about metal shavings... should i just take the pan off and run a magnet around the pan to get all the shavings? of should i get a new tranny filter too?

 

you asked about changing the front diff oil. the pan is unrelated to that. the diff may or may not have a magnetic plug to capture metal shavings, i don't know. there is no really easy way to open the front diff without pulling the trans and cracking it open.

 

the auto trans does have a pan with a drain plug. and you can drain and refill the trans fluid as well. but again, do not confuse the 2 different dip sticks / fill tubes. there are several folks who have toasted a trans by draining the AT fluid and then over filling the front diff with ATF. not a good thing.

 

the easiest way to replace the trans fluid your self is to drain the AT fluid and measure how much you drained. add the exact amount of new ATF (it should be ~3.5 - 3.75 qts). drive the car around the block and manually shift into all gears. repeat the drain and fill process.

 

if you do this 3 times you will have about 90% new fluid. and unlike motor oil this replacement method id ok for ATF.

 

the AT dip stick is notoriously difficult to read, so assuming you start this process with the correct amount of fluid, you eliminate the possibility of NOT adding enough fluid.

 

do not remove the pan unless you have a real problem. there is not any reason to. the so called ''filter'' inside is really just a screen whixch never needs replacing. and i hear that ALL auto trans have metal shaving in the pan and that it is normal. but it is also what a trans shop will show the customer to justify some auto trans service or rebuild. leave the trans pan alone unless you have a specific problem.

 

do you have a trans problem?

I thought it was closer to 4 for MT and something like 7-8qt's for AT's? I will check my manual.

the ej25 auto trans hold close to 10 qts, but a fair amount is in the torque converter and will not drain out when you pull the drain plug. so you get less than 4 qts out. more if you elevate the front of the car. but to keep it simple, just add back the same amount you drained. do it several times and you have replaced almost all the fluid.

 

and you didn't pay $125 or whatever to have it done.

the ej25 auto trans hold close to 10 qts, but a fair amount is in the torque converter and will not drain out when you pull the drain plug. so you get less than 4 qts out. more if you elevate the front of the car. but to keep it simple, just add back the same amount you drained. do it several times and you have replaced almost all the fluid.

 

and you didn't pay $125 or whatever to have it done.

 

Awesome. I did a trans flush last time. I heard it was a bad idea and didn't figure that out till after I did it. Thankfully my transmission is still running well.

 

I will do it this way next time.

ok... so should i just pay my local instant lube to flush the atf fluid? sound easier then replacing the fuild 3 times.

 

and ill bring them some gear oil for the front and rear diffs. they can do that while they are at it.

This is awesome info, johnegg, thanks for your detailed postings on this topic. Sounds great to me saving a "buck and a quarter" on this job doing it myself.... but just doing the math here... if one were to use synthetic, kinda stinks to have to do 3 drainings x 3.5qts of $11 Redline ATF/qt (~$115 plus tax in materials cost) and much of the fresh stuff comes right out again in the process... I'll mull this over for a bit before I tackle this job myself.

that why im gonna have it done by pros.. they probably can get all of it out. or do they do it same way

that why im gonna have it done by pros.. they probably can get all of it out. or do they do it same way

 

the pros have a way to pump the old fluid out as they pump the new fluid in. it takes less than 30 minutes but they charge

$$$ for it.

 

one guy i know does a drain and fill every time he does an oil change. i think that's a bit much but you could do it for a year and then stop.

 

yeah, synthetic changes the equations a bit, but since the car came with regular dextron 3, i see no reason to change that. but that's just me. these are really good auto trans as long as you change the fluid as scheduled. but if you fail to follow the schedule they will fail.

 

pick your poison, but change the fluid as needed with what ever you choose.

 

happy motoring.

there is a walkthrough in the stickys under maintenance. it starts with LGT, procedure and placement is basically the same.

 

O.

local shop wanted 95 bucks for a flush and new fluid.. good deal? or look elsewhere?