OK so it's time to change the fluid in both my front and rear differentials.. the specs on my truck are in my sig and I noticed while looking through the forum it's easier to "suck" the old fluid out of the fill holes...

I spent time today got a breaker bar and got both plugs off the front and rear, but couldn't for the life of me figure out how/what to get the fluid out with, so i ended up just cleaning the plug and topping (very little needed) with the new Lucas 80W-90 i bought today to do this with.

What i noticed seemed to be that the little siphon thing I got from Harbor Freight couldn't get in the hole and go anywhere to get any fluid.. i think the biggest issue with the rear is that as soon as i remove the fill plug you see gears, no room :( SO what do you use to drain it with because honestly I don't want to take covers off and open up another can of worms if I cant get it sealed correctly when I put a new one on..

 

I recommend taking the cover off to do it right. As long as you clean both machined surfaces and use RTV when putting the cover back on it won't leak.

 

yea how about the front though that's not an easy one. I'd like to do the whole cover deal at some point, but for now i figured it'd be best to at least get new fluids in there, it's probably been 50k+ since it was done. certainly not done by me and I got the truck at 67k.

 

^This basically says it.

Make sure you use a parts cleaner or brake cleaner to clean both surfaces off before applying the RTV. Otherwise it will leak.

 

Oh yeah. The hand pump will be best for the front diff.

Its a pretty tight spot up there.

 

but like what hand pump. the rear diff i could drop, just need to get the seal sometime. But the front and rear fill plugs I had off today and no way to get it out.. poor planning on my part so what hand pump do you recommend?

 

For re-filling I just use a suction gun I picked up from work (Carquest).

 

The cheapo orange hand pump I got at the parts store has an adapter and a smaller hose that let me GET IT IN THE REAR END, YEAH!

But seriously, it is way easier when the oil is warm.

 

wow that was easyif I just do it the right way!! At least the rear diff was, I got the seal for like $5 and did it in less than an hour no problem. I didnt tackle the front because I see no easy way to get to the bolts and get that plate down, reseal it and put it back up, filling it would be with a tube and bottles of gear oil i assume.

How do others do the front diff and does it really need to be done?

 

If the front seal isnt bad, then most people just pump out the old fluid and replace with new fluid.

Its a pain trying to get in that tight spot.

 

That's fine, what pump do you recommend as I already struck out with the HF I got...? Seal is fine and the the fill plug will come off fine.

 

Im not sure of any certain brand, but I believe any good 'ol hand pump from an auto parts store will do.

They should have hoses small enough to fit into the differential fill plug.

 

I picked one up from O'Reillys for like $10 that worked just fine.

 

ROTFLMFAO

but on a serious note, I seen a hand pump at oreilly's that looked like it would work fine. don't quote me though, because that was a while ago. but ryan said he got one from there, so you can quote him on that

 

Search 'hand pump' on their site and it's the first result. If you don't have one in your area I'm sure most parts stores will have something similar.

 

A Pela 6000.

Boating supply stores seem to be a good source.

Google Pela.

 

I am doing a front/rear diff fluid change also. Is it necessary to use the RTV on the rear seal if you have a new gasket?

 

If you have a new gasket that you are going to install, then no. It will not be necessary to use the RTV.

RTV is basically a gasket maker.