differential oil change
#4
#6
Okay, here's how to do it.
Draining & Refilling the rear differential is actually quite simple, but you will need a pump or a turkey baster (see #3 below).
1. Jack up the car and get it on jack stands so you will be safe. Under no circumstances should you attempt this without jack stands, ramps, or a proper lift.
2. On the rear of the differential, about half way up, you'll see a plug that you can remove with a 3/8" ratchet and a short extension. There is no drain plug on the bottom. This is the only plug on the differential. Remove it.
3. If you have one of my TC Kits, you can use the pump in the kit to empty the differential by getting some plastic tubing that fits the bottom of the pump at your local home store, inserting the tubing as far as possible into the bottom of the differential, and pumping out as much stuff as you can. If you don't have the kit, you can buy a turkey baster at your local kitchen supply store and some tubing that fits the end of the baster and use that. The idea is that you have to suck all the old fluid out, or at least as much as you can.
4. Refill the differential with the pump or the turkey baster. The correct fluid level is to the bottom of the plug hole, so keep filling till it flows out.
5. Replace the plug.
6. Lower the car.
7. Go get a cold brewsky and congratulate yourself on a job well done.
1. Jack up the car and get it on jack stands so you will be safe. Under no circumstances should you attempt this without jack stands, ramps, or a proper lift.
2. On the rear of the differential, about half way up, you'll see a plug that you can remove with a 3/8" ratchet and a short extension. There is no drain plug on the bottom. This is the only plug on the differential. Remove it.
3. If you have one of my TC Kits, you can use the pump in the kit to empty the differential by getting some plastic tubing that fits the bottom of the pump at your local home store, inserting the tubing as far as possible into the bottom of the differential, and pumping out as much stuff as you can. If you don't have the kit, you can buy a turkey baster at your local kitchen supply store and some tubing that fits the end of the baster and use that. The idea is that you have to suck all the old fluid out, or at least as much as you can.
4. Refill the differential with the pump or the turkey baster. The correct fluid level is to the bottom of the plug hole, so keep filling till it flows out.
5. Replace the plug.
6. Lower the car.
7. Go get a cold brewsky and congratulate yourself on a job well done.
#7
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#8
Oil
I've been using Sta-Lube Syn-Go 75W/140 Synthetic, which states M2C192A compliance on the label. M2C192A is the Ford/Jaguar spec for the TC lube and for the rear differential. I got my Syn-Go at a local NAPA.
It's not that I don't like Royal Purple or RedLine or Mobil 1: it's just that I can't nail them down as far as suitability. Neither Royal Purple nor RedLine nor Mobil 1 will, in my communications with them, state that their lube meets or exceeds the specification for the transfer case fluid.
I suspect that, since the spec was written 8 years ago now, the above-mentioned lubes are better than the spec. Problem is, I can't get verification. Since there is little upside and a very big downside to experimentation, I’m recommending the easy-to-get lube that meets the spec, but you can, of course, use anything you like. (In the interest of full disclosure, after changing my TC fluid with Syn-Go four times, I am now trying Mobil 1, but you should not think of this as an endorsement of Mobil 1.)
It's not that I don't like Royal Purple or RedLine or Mobil 1: it's just that I can't nail them down as far as suitability. Neither Royal Purple nor RedLine nor Mobil 1 will, in my communications with them, state that their lube meets or exceeds the specification for the transfer case fluid.
I suspect that, since the spec was written 8 years ago now, the above-mentioned lubes are better than the spec. Problem is, I can't get verification. Since there is little upside and a very big downside to experimentation, I’m recommending the easy-to-get lube that meets the spec, but you can, of course, use anything you like. (In the interest of full disclosure, after changing my TC fluid with Syn-Go four times, I am now trying Mobil 1, but you should not think of this as an endorsement of Mobil 1.)
#9
#10
Changing TC Lube
I change my oil & filter every 5,000 miles and I change the TC lube at the same time. My reason is very simple. Lube is cheap, TC's are not.
Since draining and replacing the TC lube doesn't really add any time to the oil & filter change ( I change the TC while the engine oil drains), it's just cheap maintenance.
Plus, I've discovered that the TC lube looks like chocolate malted milk after only 5,000 miles. There's a breather on the top of the TC that allows air to escape when it heats and expands then lets outside air back in when the TC cools. I suspect that the color of the lube after 5,000 miles is due to the hot TC cooling and drawing in cool outside air with some level of humidity that then condenses inside the TC and contaminates the lubricant. I do know that the translucent fluid you put in is quite changed when you drain it.
So, I change mine regularly.
Since draining and replacing the TC lube doesn't really add any time to the oil & filter change ( I change the TC while the engine oil drains), it's just cheap maintenance.
Plus, I've discovered that the TC lube looks like chocolate malted milk after only 5,000 miles. There's a breather on the top of the TC that allows air to escape when it heats and expands then lets outside air back in when the TC cools. I suspect that the color of the lube after 5,000 miles is due to the hot TC cooling and drawing in cool outside air with some level of humidity that then condenses inside the TC and contaminates the lubricant. I do know that the translucent fluid you put in is quite changed when you drain it.
So, I change mine regularly.
#11
I'll change the TC lube in mine again at my next engine oil change and see what I have (after 10,000 miles). Be interesting as I did the first change at around 70,000 and although the fluid looked slightly "old" it wasn't dark by any means.
True dat!
#12
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aholbro1
XJ XJ6 / XJR6 ( X300 )
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08-05-2021 05:02 AM
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