I was told that there's a clogged vent on my rear differential.. where exactly would I find this? I took a quick look today, but couldn't see anything

 

hmm when i changed my fluid in myne, there was a vent looking type thing inside the cover... that could be it... im not too sure....

 

This is my first vehicle that I've actually started working on, so if I take the cover off, will liquid start pouring out or gears spring out or something like that?

 

Fluid will dump out, but nothing else should...

 

how would I fill it back up? and would it be just tranny fluid, or reg 10w30 oil or something?

 

No offense, but step away from the tools...

Do some reading. Check your owners manual. Search and browse here.

Your off to a good start by asking for help here.

When you change the rear diff fluid you take the cover off first. The fluid will drain out. When you are ready to close it up clean the cover off and apply a thin bead of RTV silicon to the cover. To refill locate the hole on the other side of the differential. You open it up with a 3/8ths socket driver. Fill it up till fluid starts coming out of the hole.

The oil that the differentials use is Gear Oil. Your owners manual can tell you the exact weight and amount. It will be something like 75-90 or 80-140 weight gear oil. Typicly 2.5-3 quarts.

If there is anything you don't understand feel free to ask before you do anything, we don't want you to have any problems.

(again, don't mean to offend, just don't want you to have bigger problems later)

 

I think I'm going to try it in shop with one of my friends who's an apprentice mechanic... I took it to a mechanic but he wants $90-100 to clean it out, and that doesn't include the cost of oil or anything..
I was looking at replacing the rear diff in the summer anyways with a newer one with posi

 

I would just double check the manual. I know most of them take about 3 quarts, but for the experienced guy, do you fill it up until oil comes out of the top on the Rangers? I thought you were supposed to leave some room so the fluid could expand and not leak out, or maybe that was just procedure for my Scotty, just a thought.

 

There is plenty of room. The fill hole is maybe 2/3rds of the way up the pumpkin..

 

Put the socket wrench down and back away slowly......

You can easily do this yourself. Just be ready so there are no surprises. Read a Haynes manual and it will show you. Just a word of warning: The oil that comes out of there is really putrid smelling and makes a huge mess if you spill it. And you'll probably have better luck putting the new oil in if you get a cheap suction gun. You can use that to pump the oil into the hole in the pumpkin a lot easier than trying to squirt from the plastic bottles.

Once it drains good get up in it, feel around and try to find any metal slivers. That will give you a good indication of how things are wearing, the less the better. It probably won't all drain completely, so I usually take a rag and soak up anything left and wipe it out.

I would suggest you go synthetic with what you put in. For a little more $ it worth it for better lubrication and less wear.

Seal it up well with a good RTV sealant, being sure to tighten bolts like a tire, do the ones across from each other until they are all tight. But don't overdo it, you do not want to bend the cover up.

This is also a good time to get a can of Duplicolor and paint the cover to match your truck. Looks pretty good that way. Or cheap on ebay you can find chrome covers.

Good luck!