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Rear differential fluid change?

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Gmcant33 Enthusiast

Gmcant33

Posted
Posted

Well in my experience I ran 250k miles on my 05 Colorado never change the diff oil and never left me stranded sold it to an old grandpa who still uses it and of course he wont change the diff lol and its still running today but that's my experience.granted I wont go that far on my 14 I'll do 50k maybe 75k.

Well in my experience I ran 250k miles on my 05 Colorado never change the diff oil and never left me stranded sold it to an old grandpa who still uses it and of course he wont change the diff lol and its still running today but that's my experience.granted I wont go that far on my 14 I'll do 50k maybe 75k.

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02suburbanZ71 Senior Enthusiast

02suburbanZ71

Posted
Posted

I lost the rear axle on my 02 just last year with only 119K miles. The whole carrier, spiders, ring and pinion blew up.

FL335i Enthusiast

FL335i

Posted
Posted

30k and 60k are the conventional intervals for diffs. 30k for more severe, 60k for light duty use. Then came along synthetic fluid, which, yes can go much longer intervals. However, I think the issue is the "first change" which the manufactures have dropped. But I still think the diff needs an early 1st change, to remove the break-in materials, then you can go a much longer time and just keep an eye on it. I'm at 16.8k and was planning on doing the diff at 20k. But yesterday I had the dealer replace a leaking RR axle seal. So they pretty much already did a diff lube change and (more than likely) used the AC Delco expensive fluid. So I think I'm going to wait until 25k or 30k then to my M1 75/90 change and do 30-60k intervals depending on use. You can run your oil 17,000 miles and probably be OK. Bust it's not the ideal thing to do.

BuyAmericanIron Enthusiast

BuyAmericanIron

Posted
Posted

I have to agree with both sides on this one. Does the differential really need an oil change early in it's life? Probably not. Will it likely last until you trade it off without problems if it never sees maintenance? Yes. With that said, I have seen differentials with bearing and gear failure from early contamination.

 

My truck will get an initial fluid change on the differentials and transfer case to remove break in particles and any possible contamination from the assembly process. The rear differential has a rubber, reusable gasket like the transmissions use. The front differential and transfer case both have drain plugs to make the job simple. This will be the last fluid change until it is traded at some point in the future. I feel better knowing it is done and hope it will last long after the warranty expires. They will all receive full synthetic products that meet or exceed GM specs.

Spurshot Senior Enthusiast

Spurshot

Posted
Posted

All the posts on this are anecdotal except the ones that quote the GM manual.

 

There's no supporting data for the various suggestions to change the diff oil at any interval other than the mfr rec.

Black02Silverado Senior Enthusiast

Black02Silverado

Posted
Posted

Color isn't an indication of the fluids condition or the diffs condition. If you really want to know have the fluid analized. That will tell you if things are going south.

 

I change out my differential fluids around 10k and then let them go to 100k.

 

As stated in previous posts, there are millions of vehicles that never get the fluid changed out in the differentials and never have any problems.

 

It is all up to what makes you sleep at night. If it bothers you then change it, if not follow what the owners manual states. If nothing in there then like I said, if in question pull a sample and see what's up.

 

Here is a cool video of gear oil in severe cold conditions. This is where synthetic fluid really shines.

 

 

SMiller Senior Enthusiast

SMiller

Posted
Posted

Color isn't an indication of the fluids condition or the diffs condition. If you really want to know have the fluid analized. That will tell you if things are going south.

 

I change out my differential fluids around 10k and then let them go to 100k.

 

As stated in previous posts, there are millions of vehicles that never get the fluid changed out in the differentials and never have any problems.

 

It is all up to what makes you sleep at night. If it bothers you then change it, if not follow what the owners manual states. If nothing in there then like I said, if in question pull a sample and see what's up.

 

Here is a cool video of gear oil in severe cold conditions. This is where synthetic fluid really shines.

 

 

Great video!

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