Differential oil change

[CarbonSteel]

No, you don't need to remove the covers if you're just changing fluids. The reason to take the fill plug out first is sometimes people drain it first - then aren't able to get the fill plug out. Now your diff has no fluid and you're kinda screwed. It's just a precaution.

@rcadden - You can (and should) pull the covers to inspect the gears on the first drain and fill--I always do this to see what crud was left in there from the factory.

As a side note, my covers have been off no less than 10 times and I have re-used the original gasket for all 10 of them with no leaks. I only recently changed them when I installed my Motobilt covers, but still kept the OEMs as spares. So, it is very resilient AND reusable.

I torqued my front and rear to 30 ft-lbs.

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[rcadden]

@rcadden - You can (and should) pull the covers to inspect the gears on the first drain and fill--I always do this to see what crud was left in there from the factory.

As a side note, my covers have been off no less than 10 times and I have re-used the original gasket for all 10 of them with no leaks. I only recently changed them when I installed my Motobilt covers, but still kept the OEMs as spares. So, it is very resilient AND reusable.

I torqued my front and rear to 30 ft-lbs.

May be a stupid question but if/when I take the cover off, is anything going to fall out?

I.e. is the cover holding anything *together*, or is it more of a shield to keep the fluid in?

 

[jbcrane]

May be a stupid question but if/when I take the cover off, is anything going to fall out?
I.e. is the cover holding anything *together*, or is it more of a shield to keep the fluid in?

If you're ever going to change your Diff covers, coordinating when you change fluids is a good idea. Fluid isn't cheap, and changing fluids isn't something one typically does often. As mentioned already, taking a peek at the inside is good to make sure there's nothing amiss. At 20k miles I wouldn't expect anything unusual. It's also interesting to see/better understand how everything works. When you're peeking up his skirt you see it's just gears and more gears... a little less of a mystery.

 

[CenTX JPR]

May be a stupid question but if/when I take the cover off, is anything going to fall out?

I.e. is the cover holding anything *together*, or is it more of a shield to keep the fluid in?

Only diff fluid will fall out, but 'stuff' will fall in. Before you remove those covers, do your very best to clean all around the mating area between cover and diff, e.g. I did mine with a brass brush and air. Dirt from trails, sand, or just road grit will have collected around the mating area and when you crack it apart, that stuff falls directly onto the ring gear and bearing housings. And when cleaning the diff mating face to reassemble, remaining grit will dislodge and fall. You don't want any of that grit in there when done.

 

[Heimkehr]

When you're peeking up his skirt you see it's just gears and more gears... a little less of a mystery.

I know "gender neutral" was recently mentioned, but dadgum it, any skirt that I peek under will be worn by a she.

 

[jbcrane]

I know "gender neutral" was recently mentioned, but dadgum it, any skirt that I peek under will be worn by a she.

I was thinking more of a kilt... at the doctor. You know, turn your head and cough kinda thing ;-).

 

[rcadden]

I know "gender neutral" was recently mentioned, but dadgum it, any skirt that I peek under will be worn by a she.

Don't worry, my Jeep is a girl anyways, so I'm good here.

 

[jeepdabest]

@BDinTX

DO use that 75-90 you have on hand... no reason not to if you have that on hand / you purchased already.

Next time you order though, do consider buying just the 75-140 and using that in both front and rear. A bit better diff protection. Easier to deal with just one weight of fluid when ordering, doing the diff fluid changes.

I also use PINK Teflon Tape these days. For years I use yellow Teflon tape for the diffs but recently switch to PINK. Research about PINK Teflon Tape.

I use this now a days... Nice to work with.. More stout.. Industrial Grade 1296” Pink Plumbers Teflon Tape, Gas Line Pipe Thread Tape...,

Yes, I used up all my yellow Teflon tape first, then moved to the femi PINK color tape.

I'm an old guy but stay current with things so to speak...

https://www.amazon.com/D-N-Premium-...7e-82ef-ded41293973d&pd_rd_i=B08L9B9BK8&psc=1

What is your opinion on using teflon paste instead?

 

[word302]

What is your opinion on using teflon paste instead?

Works fine, make’s more of a mess.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

What is your opinion on using teflon paste instead?

There are valid reasons to use Teflon paste.. Depends ... like for with fittings with straight threads, Teflon paste is best..

For diff bolt, Teflon tape is aok to use and is quicker to use and less messy.. As I mentioned I like using the thicker pink Teflon tape..

A trick I learned many years ago is to use both. You place a tad of Teflon paste on the threads and then apply the Teflon tape over that. Doing this sees the Teflon tape much easier to apply.

 

[jeepdabest]

There are valid reasons to use Teflon paste.. Depends ... like for with fittings with straight threads, Teflon paste is best..

For diff bolt, Teflon tape is aok to use and is quicker to use and less messy.. As I mentioned I like using the thicker pink Teflon tape..

A trick I learned many years ago is to use both. You place a tad of Teflon paste on the threads and then apply the Teflon tape over that. Doing this sees the Teflon tape much easier to apply.

You da man!

 

[Fast-n-Furious]

@Rhinebeck01 first I wanted to thank you for all your insights! I’ve gone through the entire thread and learned a quite from your shared experience/knowledge.

My 2022 392 XR has 7k miles so far and I was thinking about the following:

- I’ve done zero off-roading, but lots of spirited fun drive in city and a few long distance trips. Do you think I need to mess up with the diff fluid at this point?

- Today I discovered that there’s no drain plug at all on either front M210 and the rear diff M220. Only fill plug. This discouraged me to change the entire fluid a bit. Instead, I started thinking about just topping off. Or I can use a fluid extractor to pump out the old fluid.

- As I read your earlier suggestions, you were using 75W140 rear and 75W90 front. At later you suggested 75W140 for both. That’s what I bought today, 3 pouches of FlexFill. Now I’m just debating if 75W90 for both front and rear would result a better flow.

I’d appreciate your insights since it’s my first Jeep and I like to take good care of it by making educated decision.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@Rhinebeck01 first I wanted to thank you for all your insights! I’ve gone through the entire thread and learned a quite from your shared experience/knowledge.

My 2022 392 XR has 7k miles so far and I was thinking about the following:

- I’ve done zero off-roading, but lots of spirited fun drive in city and a few long distance trips. Do you think I need to mess up with the diff fluid at this point?

- Today I discovered that there’s no drain plug at all on either front M210 and the rear diff M220. Only fill plug. This discouraged me to change the entire fluid a bit. Instead, I started thinking about just topping off. Or I can use a fluid extractor to pump out the old fluid.

- As I read your earlier suggestions, you were using 75W140 rear and 75W90 front. At later you suggested 75W140 for both. That’s what I bought today, 3 pouches of FlexFill. Now I’m just debating if 75W90 for both front and rear would result a better flow.

I’d appreciate your insights since it’s my first Jeep and I like to take good care of it by making educated decision.

@Fast-n-Furious

Well, the servicing and maintenance schedule tells you that your JL can go thousands of miles more then your JL has actually been driven..... before you need diff fluid change..

Reality is many many owner's go by what is recommended mileage wise in the owner's manual.. Sure, as with those owner's you could do as they do and your JL would probably be just fine..

Anyway, I would not top off as you mentioned. I would not use/try to use an extractor to evacuate diff fluid.

Sure, no diff cover, drain plug has put a kink in your plans for diff fluid changes using a drain plug.

Reality is though.... to pull the diff cover, to eyeball things and then reinstall the cover with the reusable gasket is not that big of a deal. Also ... many will tell you that it is best to always pull diff covers, even if the cover has a drain plug..

Though doing the deed your first time is a bit unnerving.... for most first timers, pulling the cover and reinstalling the cover and refilling a diff is easy to do...

By the way... You could buy aftermarket diff covers that have fill and drain holes and install them on your first diff fluid change day.. Do that and in the future you will not need to pull/reinstall diff covers..

With that said.... do some research on the forum and elsewhere so you know what is involved..you you have the know how.... and the needed tools.... and then just do it. Do the deed on a day when you have time to go easy lets say... Perhaps do with a friend that has done diff cover pull and reinstall on their JK or JL..

Suggest you do the deed fairy soon and not wait until too many more miles are accumulated.

Yes, use the Flexfill pouches.... Makes filling easy easy to do ... I would use 75/140 in both front and rear.

.

 

[Fast-n-Furious]

@Fast-n-Furious

Well, the servicing and maintenance schedule tells you that your JL can go thousands of miles more then your JL has actually been driven..... before you need diff fluid change..

Reality is many many owner's go by what is recommended mileage wise in the owner's manual.. Sure, as with those owner's you could do as they do and your JL would probably be just fine..

Anyway, I would not top off as you mentioned. I would not use/try to use an extractor to evacuate diff fluid.

Sure, no diff cover, drain plug has put a kink in your plans for diff fluid changes using a drain plug.

Reality is though.... to pull the diff cover, to eyeball things and then reinstall the cover with the reusable gasket is not that big of a deal. Also ... many will tell you that it is best to always pull diff covers, even if the cover has a drain plug..

Though doing the deed your first time is a bit unnerving.... for most first timers, pulling the cover and reinstalling the cover and refilling a diff is easy to do...

By the way... You could buy aftermarket diff covers that have fill and drain holes and install them on your first diff fluid change day.. Do that and in the future you will not need to pull/reinstall diff covers..

With that said.... do some research on the forum and elsewhere so you know what is involved..you you have the know how.... and the needed tools.... and then just do it. Do the deed on a day when you have time to go easy lets say... Perhaps do with a friend that has done diff cover pull and reinstall on their JK or JL..

Suggest you do the deed fairy soon and not wait until too many more miles are accumulated.

Yes, use the Flexfill pouches.... Makes filling easy easy to do ... I would use 75/140 in both front and rear.

.

Thank you Sir! I really appreciate your time and suggestions! People like you that shed lights on new Jeep owners deserve all the respect and lots of ???

 

[nU7OuxIx]

@Rhinebeck01
- Today I discovered that there’s no drain plug at all on either front M210 and the rear diff M220. Only fill plug. This discouraged me to change the entire fluid a bit. Instead, I started thinking about just topping off. Or I can use a fluid extractor to pump out the old fluid.

When I had my WJ about 20 years ago, I used an extractor pump to remove the fluid from the rear diff. I did so because I was afraid that by removing the bolts and popping it open, it would leak afterwards or I would mess something up. Mind you, this is when they didn't have fancy gaskets you could put around the diff; you had to use the gasket seal.

On the second oil change on that WJ, I decided to open the diff up and I was glad I did. I was able to clean all the muck off the cover and get all the oil out. I think most of the contamination sits at the bottom, where the oil extractor would have a hard time reaching.

In the end, on that WJ, I was glad I stopped using the extractor and just opened the diff covers. I would make sure you have a torque wrench around though so you know how much to tighten the bolts, and tighten them evenly. It's not that bad of a job and the worst part is the smell of the oil.

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