diff. fluid?

[mmm240]

hi all, i am looking for some differential fluid for my 93 man tran 240, (don't think transmission matters, but now ya know if it does)i did some searching and found transmission fluid, but not diff fluid, i need to know what weight i should go with, i have a chilton and it says 80/90, but i can't match that with anything redline atleast, i hear some good things about them so thats what i want to find.i will be changing my transmission fluid this sat (mt 90) and would also like to get the diff changed, help me before then pleasealso thank you to loveless for that awesome transmission fluid change write up, i am hoping to just use the fill plug on the transmission instead of pullling my shifter apart

[naed240sx]

um 75w/90 or 80w/90. I reccomend the 80 if you are gonna be doing some aggresive driving. People say that if you use really thick stuff, your open diff will react more like a limited slip, but I am sure that stuff thick enough to do that will slow your car down alot. Mobil one 80w/90 is fine. Any name brand synthetic is what you want. For the transmission, yeah the fill plug is easiest to use. Just make sure you have a good pump.

[mmm240]

this is prob. a newbie question and this is the first real mechanical car work i will be doing, but pump?

[naed240sx]

you need a pump for the fluid, There is no way you are gonna pour fluid into the diff or transmission from underneath the car without a pump to get it in there. You will also need a square drive ratchet and a breaker bar to get those bolts loose. I think it is 1/2 inch. Make sure your car is reasonably level when refilling the diff or transmission.

[mmm240]

can't rig up a funnel and a piece of tubing like a beer bong?

[mmm240]

or maybe a squeeze bottle?

[naed240sx]

sure, If you can make it work, its all good. As long as the fluid gets in there. Pumps are only like 20 bucks though.

[vvaffle]

I went with mobil fludi for the differential. Also, when I changed my transmition fluid I seem to remember the fill plug being a MALE square, as if you needed a square socket to get it off. Is this normal? I just used some big pliers to get it off.

[naed240sx]

ohh yeah. Thats right. Forgot about that one. Yeah a good wrench and a hammer should do the trick(acts kinda like an impact wrench)

[OldmanPurdy]

Get a fluid pump it will make it alot easier trust me gear oil stinks real bad, I got one at Napa for $13. And one more thing I was always told to remove the fill plugs BEFORE you losen the drain plugs. I heard the fill plugs will get stuck if you don't remove them first?? not sure why that would happen but I didn't feel like finding out the hard way that it true.

[vvaffle]

The fill plug won't necesarily get stuck if don't take it out first. It's just a good idea to take it out first because if you can't take it out then, ohh well, you can still drive the car. However, if you take out the drain plug first and then realize you can't take out the fill plug... well then you're kinda screwed because all your oil is gone and you have no way to fill it up (in a differential at least, in a transmition you could fill it through the shifter).

[OldmanPurdy]

The fill plug won't necesarily get stuck if don't take it out first. It's just a good idea to take it out first because if you can't take it out then, ohh well, you can still drive the car. However, if you take out the drain plug first and then realize you can't take out the fill plug... well then you're kinda screwed because all your oil is gone and you have no way to fill it up (in a differential at least, in a transmition you could fill it through the shifter).

That makes sense.

[JimmyMethod]

or maybe a squeeze bottle?

Screw that, just flip the car upside down and pour it in.

[naed240sx]

hahaha thats in my sig now.

[tiger]

you guys just dont take out the shifter? That's the way I do it. To take out the drain plugs, you just need a 1/2 inch drive with a short extension and possibly a breaker bar. OR a breakerbar with the 1/2 drive on the top.

[Dookie]

you guys just dont take out the shifter? That's the way I do it. To take out the drain plugs, you just need a 1/2 inch drive with a short extension and possibly a breaker bar. OR a breakerbar with the 1/2 drive on the top.

Well for the transmission you can, but not for your diff.

[tiger]

<<<~ feels retarded....

[mmm240]

thx guys, i got some redline fluid in the transmission , but still don't know what diff fluid to go with?

[vvaffle]

mobil 1 is fine for differential as far as i know.

[naed240sx]

I told you. Just get 80w-90, and don't buy the cheapest stuffmobil 1 is good

[zero_gripS13]

dont forget... only gl4 in transmission .. onyl ones i can think of ar mt90 (redline) and pensoil syncromesh..

gl5 for the diff...

no one mentioned this.. dont want ur transmission to burn up..(gl5 is bad .. it eats brass and yellow colored metal syncros like the nissan trannys :P)

[benemorius]

I'm going to quote this and put it in bold because too many parts store jackasses will try to tell you otherwise.

dont forget... only gl4 in transmission .. onyl ones i can think of ar mt90 (redline) and pensoil syncromesh..

gl5 for the diff...

no one mentioned this.. dont want ur transmission to burn up..(gl5 is bad .. it eats brass and yellow colored metal syncros like the nissan trannys :P)

GL4 in the transmission; GL5 in the diff

[vvaffle]

heres a few helpful linkshttp://forums.nicoclub.com/zer...age=1http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=89599http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=114085

[mmm240]

much thx fellas, i did go with mt-90 for the transmission, haven't noticed a difference though, i know that when the old stuff came out it looked horrible and the plug was full of shavings (it was nice to get those off).one bad thing is: when i filled it the car was level front to back, but leaned a little to the drivers side (side the fill plug is on.... dang), put as much as possible in there though.anything bad come from being maybe .3 liters shy of 2.4. i know it can't be good, but was wondering if i should not drive it till i get that corrected . I will for shure fill it up once i find a place to store it for winter .so gl5 good to know thats what i needed to know, my bro was telling me to just put the same mt-90 i used in the transmission in the diff (i didn't think that sounded right)thx again all, still continuing to keep my faith in these cars!

[zero_gripS13]

np.. just glad to let u know before u filled it up with gl5 and had to drain and buy new fluid...

u should of used 2.5 bottle of mt-90.. if u did ur fine.. if u didnt add some more when u can :P

[slipnfall]

Yeah have fun filling the diff... like someone above said, transmission/diff fluid stinks! BTW I used Valvoline Synblend GL5 in the diff, and it runs just fine. They have a tapered tip on the bottle that you can attach a rubber hose too. The hard part is keeping the other end stuck in the diff: best(meaning least messy!) if you have two people here, or as others suggested, a pump.

[naed240sx]

Last time I changed my transmission fluid, I forgot to close the drain plug, and started filling her up. My car was barely raised up, so I was essentially pinned, and the oil just started dumping all over my chest, arms and neck. Fun times. I had to shower with super orange.

[slipnfall]

haha, yeah I made a very dumb move too when I changed my diff fluid: I didn't look very hard and assumed there was only one plug: to fill and drain... So I took the plug out, raised the front of the car, and drained it all out. Lowered the front, proceded to fill it back up untill it reached the edge of the hole. Took it for a test drive. WOOPS! I drove it for about a mile or so untill I heard this *gawd* awfull screaching. It was so bad it I thought it had to be another car...

Anyways, long story made short, my diff was run low on fluid, so now there's a permanent 'whine' to it... lesson learned...I didn't dare drive it home, I had my g/f drive out my jack and some diff fluid.