Also if you have a Rubicon, read this thread. I thought by changing my diff oil every 3000 miles early on I would avoid this issue. Nope. I’m gathering what’s needed to get this done in the next week since I have the flashing rear locker lights. Don’t gamble and lose like I did.
Agree 100%. Dana recommends 75w140 - so the FCA 75w85 is BS. All for increased fuel efficiency at the expense of longevity. Dana confirms as much in their literature. Unfortunately Dana does not make a 75w140 formulation themselves. But if you go by their Specs and OEM approvals - you can match up a 75w140 axle oil very closely.
how is removing 12 (or so) bolts just as fast as removing a drain plug, per diff? Did you re-use the bolts or get new ones like the service manual says to do? What torque did you use? I read that people snap their cover bolts sometimes after using the factory spec of 30 ft lbs.
I didn’t interpret the reply from @roaniecowpony to mean ”just as fast” I read “maybe a minute or two longer”. Also it’s “worth looking inside and checking for debris” makes those extra minutes worthwhile to me. Maybe irrelevant but I have the Motobilt diff covers and they suggest 22 foot pounds. I’m on my third diff fluid change and have reused the same hardware provided by Motobilt and reused the OEM gaskets with no issues. I’m not going to contradict the info you referred to, just giving my amateur experience. I‘m just someone who enjoys doing whatever maintenance I can and I’m never in a big hurry to get a job done.
Well, I use a cordless impact and can have all the bolts out in about as long as it takes to hand wind out the pipe plug within reason. You don't need to change the bolts. If i recall, they're grade 8.8 or 10.9 bolts and the get tightened to something really low to prevent squashing the reusable gasket. Maybe it's just my perspective alone, but I don't bother with the plug. I want a look at things in there.
I use a little small body 3/8" drive ratchet sized on a 1/4" drive body and tighten by hand to what I would guess to be around 15-18 lbs/ft. The JL uses a reuseable steel core rubber gasket instead of a conventional paper gasket of old. It can't take the torque of the paper gasket and survive multiple uses. A thick flange steel cover like the Motobilt or the cast iron covers should help prevent damage to the gasket from over-torquing by evenly spreading the compression better than the stamped steel covers.
Don't let this get inside your head. It's really a simple thing to pull the cover. I have drain plugs in mine and I don't use them. You don't need to buy new bolts.. That's an error in the manual. New bolts are required when they are what are called "yield" bolts. That's when you are instructed to torque the bolt where it permanently stretches. This is in very specific critical strength areas of our jeeps, and it's not the diff covers.
I clean the bolt threads with a brass brush and reapply blue loctite.
for the front, the manual states 15ft lbs, then 20 degrees more. isn't that tty?
ahhhhh, i can see lifting the frame giving better access to the hard to reach bolts... so thanks!
yes, this hasn't changed since 2021 at least.So, I was curious as to this "replace the bolts" thing with the cover bolts. So, the tables below are from my Tech Authority Service Manual (OEM).
Indeed the rear M220 torque specs show that the bolts should be replaced after one use. Clearly it's an error. The front M210 torque specs don't require replacing the bolts, and these bolts are not structural, nor do they require being torqued to 30 ft lbs with the reusable rubber gasket. You would simply destroy the gasket.
So yeah, everything Jeep publishes isn't gospel, nor necessarily correct. I suspect the 30 ft/lbs was correct for a paper gasket like the earlier jeep used.
sorry, forgot the tables
