Changed Differential Oil myself - 06 GS300 AWD
01-02-11, 05:46 PM
#1
Driver
Thread Starter
Changed Differential Oil myself - 06 GS300 AWD
Just finished changing the differential oil and would like to share a few tips about the front differential that may help those wondering.
Visiting the dealer's parts department was helpful. When I picked up the crush gaskets that go on the fill/drain plugs they printed up an assembly drawing of the both differentials and mark the location of the fill and drain plugs. They also ran my VIN to make sure I was getting correct parts for the model year and production run.
The fill plug of the front differential was the main concern as the space around it is very tight, and there seems to be no direct way of getting a hand or any tool at it except a 12-point box-end wrench. I had to buy one that is 8" in length end-to-end for the front fill plug. My other 14mm wrenches are too short, and there is no room for an extension pipe down there -- the allowed wrench sweep is barely 30 degrees. Forget gear wrench, there is no room for that.
It's a good idea to mark the plug bolts and the differential casing with a marker pen, so that one has an idea of how far to crank the plugs in when putting them back.
I had to tap the wrench with a hammer a few times to break the fill plug loose. Once it broke loose I sneaked a finger at the plug and unscrewed it by rubbing the rim of the flange to turn it. The drain plug was nothing worth a word.
When I filled the diff-boxes I used a funnel and a length of 3/8" OD clear vinyl tubing as fill hose. For a better flow I heated the oil up beforehand by bathing the bottles in hot water. If you do this you want to open the bottle cap a bit to let the pressure out. I tied the tubing to the exhaust pipe (for the rear diff-box) with a zip tie to secure it in place and keep it from slipping out of the diff-box. I tied it to the anti-roll-bar when I filled the front. I ran the tubing to the side of the car up through the wheel well, then let the gravity do a good job pouring the oil in.
It was tricky to put back the fill plug onto the front diff-box as one can only get a finger or two about the fill hole and there is no room for maneuvering. I had to improvised a supporting tool with a length of solder wire, and it worked. It is lead free solder, the same type for plumbing work, and is about 1.5mm in diameter, stiff enough to support the weight of the fill plug, and soft enough to work with easily. I wound the solder wire a couple turns onto the thread part of the fill plug, this would keep the gasket on the plug in place. Then held the solder wire and maneuvered the plug into the fill hole with one hand, and with the other hand I slip a finger in and rub the rim of the fill plug flange to turn the bolt. I happened to find the middle finger to be the best finger for the job. Once the thread engaged I pull the solder wire. It unwound itself by turning the bolt (I wound the solder wire the way that when I pull it it would tighten the bolt, by the way). It was all downhill from that point.
Visiting the dealer's parts department was helpful. When I picked up the crush gaskets that go on the fill/drain plugs they printed up an assembly drawing of the both differentials and mark the location of the fill and drain plugs. They also ran my VIN to make sure I was getting correct parts for the model year and production run.
The fill plug of the front differential was the main concern as the space around it is very tight, and there seems to be no direct way of getting a hand or any tool at it except a 12-point box-end wrench. I had to buy one that is 8" in length end-to-end for the front fill plug. My other 14mm wrenches are too short, and there is no room for an extension pipe down there -- the allowed wrench sweep is barely 30 degrees. Forget gear wrench, there is no room for that.
It's a good idea to mark the plug bolts and the differential casing with a marker pen, so that one has an idea of how far to crank the plugs in when putting them back.
I had to tap the wrench with a hammer a few times to break the fill plug loose. Once it broke loose I sneaked a finger at the plug and unscrewed it by rubbing the rim of the flange to turn it. The drain plug was nothing worth a word.
When I filled the diff-boxes I used a funnel and a length of 3/8" OD clear vinyl tubing as fill hose. For a better flow I heated the oil up beforehand by bathing the bottles in hot water. If you do this you want to open the bottle cap a bit to let the pressure out. I tied the tubing to the exhaust pipe (for the rear diff-box) with a zip tie to secure it in place and keep it from slipping out of the diff-box. I tied it to the anti-roll-bar when I filled the front. I ran the tubing to the side of the car up through the wheel well, then let the gravity do a good job pouring the oil in.
It was tricky to put back the fill plug onto the front diff-box as one can only get a finger or two about the fill hole and there is no room for maneuvering. I had to improvised a supporting tool with a length of solder wire, and it worked. It is lead free solder, the same type for plumbing work, and is about 1.5mm in diameter, stiff enough to support the weight of the fill plug, and soft enough to work with easily. I wound the solder wire a couple turns onto the thread part of the fill plug, this would keep the gasket on the plug in place. Then held the solder wire and maneuvered the plug into the fill hole with one hand, and with the other hand I slip a finger in and rub the rim of the fill plug flange to turn the bolt. I happened to find the middle finger to be the best finger for the job. Once the thread engaged I pull the solder wire. It unwound itself by turning the bolt (I wound the solder wire the way that when I pull it it would tighten the bolt, by the way). It was all downhill from that point.
01-04-11, 09:48 AM
#3
Driver
Thread Starter
Nothing absolutely at all, unfortunately or fortunately. My wife didn't feel anything either. She didn't know the oil change when I asked her if she had felt anything different with the way the car drives.
The old oil was crystal clear dark amber in color when it flew out. One would think it'd been un-necessary to change it by the way it looks, though I was 6k miles over due. There was some build-up of metal pigment over the magnet on the drain plug that feels like some sort of grease.
The old oil was crystal clear dark amber in color when it flew out. One would think it'd been un-necessary to change it by the way it looks, though I was 6k miles over due. There was some build-up of metal pigment over the magnet on the drain plug that feels like some sort of grease.
03-31-11, 03:59 PM
#5
Driver
Thread Starter
Yes, "ehadi". I changed oil in both front and rear differential cases.
And no, I did not touch the tranfer case. I believe it's in fact part of the integrated transmission case and they share the same fluid and get a fluid change at the same time, which is quite a while ahead from now for me.
And no, I did not touch the tranfer case. I believe it's in fact part of the integrated transmission case and they share the same fluid and get a fluid change at the same time, which is quite a while ahead from now for me.
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