Sweaty front diff?

[Qxxx4]

so today I decided to take off my skid plate and see how hard it is to do an oil change laying down, wow boys, i didnt realize how the height is perfect, just lay on your back and everything is reachable! gunna change it on sunday for the first time alone...wish i did it sooner but ive always been so damn busy when it comes time to do it.

Anyways, this pic, is this the front diff? its very "moist" no coloured fluid but its sweating and theres no leaking as far as i know, is this ok? How do I check the level of it? Its due for a change in 8000km

[Pwnin O'Brien]

To check the gear lube level in your diff. you will need to park the vehicle on a completely flat surface (this is extremely critical). You will then remove a plug just like the one in your picture (NOT the one in the picture) which is located on the front face of the differential. Use a breaker bar, no need to be gentle, it may be a bit tough to loosen at first.

Once you have removed the plug, you will just stick your finger in the hole, the gear lube should be level with the bottom of the plug hole. To replace the gear lube, you just warm up the diff., remove the plug in your picture, drain it, and then refill it on the plug hole on the front of the diff.

To refill the diff. you will need a lube pump with a small hose, that is the only way to pump the gear lube into the diff.

The whole process should take no more than 30 minutes.

[Qxxx4]

that sounds real easy, maybe ill do it myself and use synthetic. They charged me $100 regular oil to do each diff, and another $100 to do transfer case, it doesnt seem so hard....

[bmlawless]

Just smell the liquid. If it is gear oil, it has a very distinctive odor due to the sulphur additives that help it maintain viscosity at high heat.

[Pwnin O'Brien]

Yeah, it's a really simple process. I think the service manual recommend 85W90 oil. It's kinda hard to find fully synthetic in stores, you may have to order online. You can probably change out both diffs within 45 minutes.

[JonathanPrem]

Im also doing my my rear diff in a week or so. its 80/90 gear oil and you need about 3L. Only problem is i can only find 75/90 in synthetic.. Can i use that instead of 80/90.

Here a link Qxx4 if you want some really good oils

Precision Tuning (www.precisiontuning.ca)

[Pwnin O'Brien]

My bad, 80W90 is what the manual recommends.

75W90 is so close to 80W90 in weight that you should be able to switch to a fully synthetic 75W90 with absolutely no problem. The only thing to check for is to make sure the oil is API GL-5 rated. This will determine how well the oil stands up to heavy duty applications such as off-roading or towing.

I also recommend Royal Purples fully synthetic 75W90 gear oil, some of the best oil money can buy. Amsoil is also another top pick.

[Qxxx4]

yeah ive heard great things about it but i havent seen any royal purple products here in canada

[Pwnin O'Brien]

Yeah, you'll definitely have to have it shipped. You can probably order it from Summitracing.com, they probably have it for a reasonable price.

[Qxxx4]

ill probably just use castrol and do it more often. This may be a dumb question, maybe because Im a canadian, whats a breaker bar?

[WPGQX4]

A breaker bar is just a solid bar that a socket fits on the end of. It's usefull beacause you can put constant torque on it to get those hard to turn fasteners off.

[Pwnin O'Brien]

If you purchase a breaker bar for the diff., you should buy the same size breaker bar as the diff. plug. I think the diff. plug square measures 3/4" (don't quote me on this) and you can just pick up a 3/4" breaker bar and you don't need any sockets, the end of the breaker bar will fit in the plug. It makes the job 100 times easier.

[GRNMACHINE]

Yes, exactly what O'Brien said. Makes it alot easier, dont need any kind of socket! I didnt use an extension on the end of the breaker bar, was easier to get to. A cheap pump makes the job very easy to refill. I used 75w90 Mobil 1 synthetic. Found Royal Purple locally after I did the diffs on the Pathfinder, used that on my Ex.

[Adnan]

my rear diff leaks a bit,nothing visible but you can see the residue on the axle I've also noticed when hit the throttle you can hear a slight bang right under the rear passenger seats

I havent touched the fluid at all since i bougth the truck so i have no idea whats in it,would it be okay to just top it up or should I flush out the old fluid?

btw sorry to threadjack Brian...also how the hell do you have a skid plate?i dont think mine has one lol...or does it?