Front and Rear Differential Fluid Change

[sledr]

Guys - I have my 04 SBEC Z71 going in this Friday for service. Besides the usual oil change I am getting the transfer case fluid changed as well as both front and rear differentials. I have 87000 km on the truck and these fluids have never been changed. The owner manual says nothing about differential fluid service intervals. My buddy at work here questioned having the differentials done. My dealer told me it is a good idea. I do some towing in the winter going up north but that is about it.

How often do you change your differential fluid??

What does a Canadian dealer charge ???

 

Thanks,

Sledr

[Bish]

Guys - I have my 04 SBEC Z71 going in this Friday for service.  Besides the usual oil change I am getting the transfer case fluid changed as well as both front and rear differentials.  I have 87000 km on the truck and these fluids have never been changed.  The owner manual says nothing about differential fluid service intervals.  My buddy at work here questioned having the differentials done.  My dealer told me it is a good idea.  I do some towing in the winter going up north but that is about it.

How often do you change your differential fluid??

What does a Canadian dealer charge ???

 

Thanks,

Sledr

 

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I change both of mine every 40-50K. I do it myself and use Mobil 1 for $8(US) per qt instead of the purple GM lube that is $27(US) per quart. If you go through your dealer, prepare for around $100(US) or more for the rear ($75 in fluid). Less than $50(US) if you use Mobil 1 and do it yourself with a new gasket. Front diff should be cheaper fluid as it does not require synthetic (at least mine does not). I run Mobil 1 in both front and rear.

[Buggle_96]

Dealer quoted me over 100 dollars in just front and rear diff fluids and 60 more for labor. Go grab yourself some mobil 1 75w90 and do it yourself. Much cheaper.

 

It is cool when you change the rear fluid it smells like grabes, well mine did at 25K miles.

[juliedean]

We did all that ourselves. Used Mobil 1 in both the front and rear differentials. Our truck is not a full-time 4WD, so the manual does not call for synthetic oil in the front diff, but it is much simpler to use fewer kinds of fluids in the garage if we can help it, and as long as you put better quality stuff in there, it doesn't hurt at all (aside from the few extra bucks from your wallet). We are in the States, so we are not sure about how much prices mean to you, but we paid around 7 or 8 dollars for a quart of Mobil 1 75W90 Synthetic. Unsure of the exact capacities when we were purchasing, we got three quarts for each diff and one extra quart for just in case (we were also replacing the rear diff cover with an aftermarket one with a drain plug and with extra capacity. Thus, we didn't know excatly how much we would need). Ended up using between two and three quarts for each.

 

We got the "blue juice" for the transfer case from our local dealer. They charged $7 per quart, and the transfer case needed two quarts.

 

 

We did the fluid change at 37,000 miles. The transfer case fluid was pretty clear but not as nice and blue as the new stuff. The oil from the differentials was pretty disgusting -- especially when compared to the new stuff. It was thick and dark, almost sludge-like.

 

We don't (or at least haven't so far) tow but do go on long road trips, where occasionally we do 500 to 800 miles non-stop all loaded up. So, we are planning on changing the differential fluid every three years.

 

The rear differential is without doubt the most ignored part of the power train; yet, it is one under constant pressure. So, the 20 to 30 bucks and a few minutes it takes to drain the old oil and pour in the new oil is most likely the least work with the greatest benefit you can do to your truck. Of course, we now have a drain plug on the rear differential, so we don't have to take the cover off every time.

 

Probably the best or most meaningful advice we can give you is concerning pouring in the fresh oil. No problems there regarding the rear diff; plenty of room to pour right out of the bottle -- the Mobil 1 bottle has a funnel-like top end. For the fron diff and the transfer case, we got a simple pump from Ace Hardware for $3.99. The pump is designed to fit on top of the standard, plastic quart bottle. So, you just put it on the transfer case fuid bottle and pump away until the proper level is reached. The Mobil 1 bottle is significantly higher than the standard one quart bottle, so the pick-up line will not reach down to the bottom of the bottle. We got some tubing from OSH with the right inside diameter to slide onto the bottom of the pump. We cut it to size, and it was good to go. You could also just pour the oil into a clean standard quart bottle and use that one with the pump. So, if you end up doing it yourself, get a pump or two (if you want to be neurotic about cross-contamination -- we got two; cheap enough at $3.99 so we don't have to be concerned about chemical reaction between the two different types of oil. For four bucks we didn't have to do any research or extra cleaning). That will make your work much faster and cleaner.

[Dana_15]

Dealer quoted me over 100 dollars in just front and rear diff fluids and 60 more for labor.  Go grab yourself some mobil 1 75w90 and do it yourself.  Much cheaper. 

 

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Couldn't agree more. Its easy and argueably your getting better fluids. You can do it yourself for 1/4 of the cost (roughly).