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Transfer Case Fluid Change

jcolby

By jcolby
in Ask A GM Technician

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jcolby Enthusiast

jcolby

Posted
Posted

I'm getting ready to drain and fill my transfer case for the winter. In my Chilton manual, it says to use GM Transfer case fluid. On my 4X4's in the past, I've used synthetic gear fluid in the transfer case. I just purchased a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 and didn't know if it requires "transfer case fluid" instead of gear oil. Any advice would be appreciated.

silverad03 Enthusiast

silverad03

Posted
Posted

If you have the Autotrac transfer case, I believe you should go ahead and use the GM fluid - which is blue. There might be an aftermarket version of this around by now, though.

 

Here are some more threads about this...

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...sfer+case+fluid'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...sfer+case+fluid'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...sfer+case+fluid'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...sfer+case+fluid'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...sfer+case+fluid'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...sfer+case+fluid'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...sfer+case+fluid

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...sfer+case+fluid

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...sfer+case+fluid

hoorders Enthusiast

hoorders

Posted
Posted
I'm getting ready to drain and fill my transfer case for the winter. In my Chilton manual, it says to use GM Transfer case fluid. On my 4X4's in the past, I've used synthetic gear fluid in the transfer case. I just purchased a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 and didn't know if it requires "transfer case fluid" instead of gear oil. Any advice would be appreciated.

If you have the autotrac....4wd switch in the dash........use the fluid from GM..........its called 'autotrac 2'.......and yes its blue..

cmoore74 Enthusiast

cmoore74

Posted
Posted

You may want to double-check, but I'm almost positive the modern standard part-time transfer cases (i.e. not AWD or auto 4WD) use Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) not gear lube. I think the viscosity of gear lube is much higher than ATF fluid. Not sure what would happen if you use gear lube.

 

If it is an auto 4WD or AWD your owners manual will state you need to use the GM Auto-Trak fluid. I think it is about $7 per quart so it's not terribly expensive. If it's a half ton I think it takes just over 2 quarts.

jcolby Enthusiast

jcolby

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and and got the autotrac 2 stuff from the dealership. I was just nervous about buying it, I was expecting to pay $20 a quart but it was only $7. I was asking the parts guy if it was synthetic or not. He said that he thought it was but there is no idication on the bottle that if it is synthetic or not.

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