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***DIY: Rear Diff Oil Change (w/ pics)***
#1
***DIY: Rear Diff Oil Change (w/ pics)***
2007 GS350 RWD with 80k. Scale of 1-10 of difficulty it is a 3. But messiness is a 7
Disclaimer:Attempt at your own risk. This is the method that I found most useful and efficient –yours may differ and may not be the exact as described herein. As with any do‐it‐yourself project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. This project should be construed as theoretical advice. I will not be held responsible for any injury due to the misuse or misunderstanding of this DIY project.
Here we go...
Items needed: Rhino ramps, jack stands, jack, 10mm Allen, Mobil 1 synthetic 75w90 gear oil (2 quarts), large syringe or pump (your choice), rags, brake cleaner
online photo sharing
I used rhino ramps then jacked the back up. You could use jack stands at all four corners but it is up to you. I used the diff to jack the rear. Note: try to make car as level as possible!
photo storage
Next step is important. Note the drain plug and the fill plug.
****LOOSEN THE FILL PLUG FIRST!*** WHY? Because if for someone reason you cannot get it to budge you did not drain your oil first. Make sense? I had to use an open end wrench and attach it to the allen for added leverage. Then I broke the drain plug free. Oil was a little dirty -there seemed to be about 1-1.3 qt come out.
Drain plug
Fill plug
Now that the fill plug has been loosened, remove the drain plug
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Look at the metal shaving on the magnetic plug (eeek!). And then the clean plug...
upload
Return and tighten the drain plug. It is too tight a fit to squeeze the oil into the fill hole with the container it comes in so you must use another device. I chose a large syringe. Add the oil until it slowly drips out. Then return the fill plug. Make sure it is torqued to spec.
image
Lastly, I hosed everything off with brake cleaner as it is a pretty messy process. It depends on driving habits, but you should change every 30k.
Disclaimer:Attempt at your own risk. This is the method that I found most useful and efficient –yours may differ and may not be the exact as described herein. As with any do‐it‐yourself project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. This project should be construed as theoretical advice. I will not be held responsible for any injury due to the misuse or misunderstanding of this DIY project.
Here we go...
Items needed: Rhino ramps, jack stands, jack, 10mm Allen, Mobil 1 synthetic 75w90 gear oil (2 quarts), large syringe or pump (your choice), rags, brake cleaner
online photo sharing
I used rhino ramps then jacked the back up. You could use jack stands at all four corners but it is up to you. I used the diff to jack the rear. Note: try to make car as level as possible!
photo storage
Next step is important. Note the drain plug and the fill plug.
****LOOSEN THE FILL PLUG FIRST!*** WHY? Because if for someone reason you cannot get it to budge you did not drain your oil first. Make sense? I had to use an open end wrench and attach it to the allen for added leverage. Then I broke the drain plug free. Oil was a little dirty -there seemed to be about 1-1.3 qt come out.
Drain plug
Fill plug
Now that the fill plug has been loosened, remove the drain plug
photo sharing websites
Look at the metal shaving on the magnetic plug (eeek!). And then the clean plug...
upload
Return and tighten the drain plug. It is too tight a fit to squeeze the oil into the fill hole with the container it comes in so you must use another device. I chose a large syringe. Add the oil until it slowly drips out. Then return the fill plug. Make sure it is torqued to spec.
image
Lastly, I hosed everything off with brake cleaner as it is a pretty messy process. It depends on driving habits, but you should change every 30k.
Last edited by alchemist; 10-30-12 at 06:19 PM.
The following users liked this post:
Farqui (02-16-18)
#2
Thanks for sharing,
Have you changed the rear diff oil before on this/your 07 GS? I too agree that 30k is a good interval yet if yours was the first time and it had 80k on it, it looks quite clean.
As for the magnet - that makes me think this "was" the first drain. But the amount on the magnet is very typical for a rear end. Much of that came from the first few 100 miles from new etc..
Cheers
Have you changed the rear diff oil before on this/your 07 GS? I too agree that 30k is a good interval yet if yours was the first time and it had 80k on it, it looks quite clean.
As for the magnet - that makes me think this "was" the first drain. But the amount on the magnet is very typical for a rear end. Much of that came from the first few 100 miles from new etc..
Cheers
#5
Thanks for sharing,
Have you changed the rear diff oil before on this/your 07 GS? I too agree that 30k is a good interval yet if yours was the first time and it had 80k on it, it looks quite clean.
As for the magnet - that makes me think this "was" the first drain. But the amount on the magnet is very typical for a rear end. Much of that came from the first few 100 miles from new etc..
Cheers
Have you changed the rear diff oil before on this/your 07 GS? I too agree that 30k is a good interval yet if yours was the first time and it had 80k on it, it looks quite clean.
As for the magnet - that makes me think this "was" the first drain. But the amount on the magnet is very typical for a rear end. Much of that came from the first few 100 miles from new etc..
Cheers
#7
I plan to buy the pump that attaches directly to the bottle. You can get these electrically powered too
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#13
Lead Lap
iTrader: (5)
a few notes for others:
-when you have the car raised, you want the front and rear of the car as level as possible. this will ensure proper drainage, as well as proper fill amount (fill til fluid starts coming out the fill hole.)
-the front crossmember and the rear dif are the usual jacking points called out by the factory service manual of almost every vehicle, in case any of yall were iffy about it.
using jack stands
the way the jack stands are under being used is incorrect.
the seam/pinch is not supposed to be used to support the weight of the vehicle. the seam/pinch will eventually fail and bend/fold over. it is the space directly to the right/left of the seam/pinch that is supposed to bear the weight. to do this, one would have to acquire special adapters for the jack stands, or make a cut in your current jackstands.
can you 'get away with' putting a regular jackstand ON the seam/pinch? perhaps...
perhaps the worse thing that will happen is that itll flatten out. we just dont want it to flatten out
while youre under the car, that can be bad.
lastly, never work under a car that is ONLY supported by a floor jack or scissor jack. a scissor jack can fail as well as a floor jack. only work under a safely supported (jack stands and/or ramps) vehicle.
-when you have the car raised, you want the front and rear of the car as level as possible. this will ensure proper drainage, as well as proper fill amount (fill til fluid starts coming out the fill hole.)
-the front crossmember and the rear dif are the usual jacking points called out by the factory service manual of almost every vehicle, in case any of yall were iffy about it.
using jack stands
the way the jack stands are under being used is incorrect.
the seam/pinch is not supposed to be used to support the weight of the vehicle. the seam/pinch will eventually fail and bend/fold over. it is the space directly to the right/left of the seam/pinch that is supposed to bear the weight. to do this, one would have to acquire special adapters for the jack stands, or make a cut in your current jackstands.
can you 'get away with' putting a regular jackstand ON the seam/pinch? perhaps...
perhaps the worse thing that will happen is that itll flatten out. we just dont want it to flatten out
while youre under the car, that can be bad.
lastly, never work under a car that is ONLY supported by a floor jack or scissor jack. a scissor jack can fail as well as a floor jack. only work under a safely supported (jack stands and/or ramps) vehicle.
#14
Well done. I'll have it done soon when I do my timing belt as well.
I'm not a fan of jacking up the car from the differential. It was never designed to carry the weight of the car from that angle . I don't let anyone do it with any of my cars.
I'm not a fan of jacking up the car from the differential. It was never designed to carry the weight of the car from that angle . I don't let anyone do it with any of my cars.