Changed my Differential Fluid today.

37755 Views 85 Replies 27 Participants Last post by LeeRenfro, Aug 30, 2014

Jekyll-N-Hyde

Discussion Starter · May 25, 2010

I dont have the pics uploaded yet however I changed my Differential fluid today on a buddies lift since GM says to do so in the service manual @ 1500 miles and WOW boy am I glad I did.

of course it is supposed to look milky grey after use of the rearend heating up breaking down the fluid. The Drain plug is a magnet on these cars I had not a lot but I guess a normal amount of shavings stuck to the drain plug.
I put my finger's inside of the fluid after it came out and it felt a litttle gritty.

I did this at a friends gear and axle shop so I had someone around to tell me if thats good or not he told me it was normal and will be good to get that trash out of the rearend :thumbsup:

I put NEW fluid in the rearend along with the GM additive that GM calls for to be installed with the fluid and she now runs much smoother.

Belevie it or not it does run smoother and you can feel it.

Total cost of this cost me about $26 thats for 1 quart of fluid and the addative. it actually takes 1.1 quarts but after the 1 quart of fluid the addative makes it 1.1 :thumbsup:

This is a simple task you could do in your driveway with simple house hold tools , jack and jackstands :thumbsup:

just 2 bolts ( drain plug and Fill plug ) I would recommend getting a piece of vaccum hose to stick over the nipple on the fluid bottle so you can reach over the exhaust and squirt it inside the rearend :thumbsup:

Also get some cardboard and stick infront of your exhaust pipe because when it comes out it will hit the pipe directly if that cardboard isnt there.

this task is so easy even Shunt could jump out of the trunk and do it :thumbsup: :lol:

took me 15 minutes tops :thumbsup:

21 - 40 of 86 Posts

Jekyll-N-Hyde

Discussion Starter · #21 · May 26, 2010

There is no reason you should have to remove the exhaust. You can fit my fist sideways inbetween my exhaust and the nut.

if you do have to remove exhaust it will be the muffler only however I dont see anyone having that problem.

RedJewel2SS

· #22 · May 26, 2010

Jekyll-N-Hyde said:
There is no reason you should have to remove the exhaust. You can fit my fist sideways inbetween my exhaust and the nut.

if you do have to remove exhaust it will be the muffler only however I dont see anyone having that problem.

:hello:

i had that problem and had to remove my driver side axle back section

Jekyll-N-Hyde

Discussion Starter · #23 · May 26, 2010

RedJewel2SS said:
:hello:

i had that problem and had to remove my driver side axle back section

With Magnaflow ? Wow how weird

I got a friend who got magnaflow installed from ADM and he doesnt have that problem.

POWERFREAK

· #24 · May 26, 2010

Jekyll-N-Hyde said:
There is no reason you should have to remove the exhaust. You can fit my fist sideways inbetween my exhaust and the nut.

if you do have to remove exhaust it will be the muffler only however I dont see anyone having that problem.

the pipe is pretty close on that side...there's more clearance on the other side.

Jekyll-N-Hyde

Discussion Starter · #25 · May 26, 2010

Funny thing when I had my exhaust installed they said oh Magnaflow fits better and wont give you any problems what so ever.......
Borla doesnt Fit worth a Dam and always gives you problems trying to get to stuff you need because of the mandrel bends.

Hmmmmmmmm I havent had any problems I can fit my fist inbetween the Pipe and the Differential on both sides with no problems.

interesting

RedJewel2SS

· #26 · May 26, 2010

doesn't the borla axle back connect after the hangers behind the differential? the magnaflow connects to the stock pipe in front of the differential

Jekyll-N-Hyde

Discussion Starter · #27 · May 26, 2010 (Edited)

RedJewel2SS said:
doesn't the borla axle back connect after the hangers behind the differential? the magnaflow connects to the stock pipe in front of the differential

No you have to take about a Foot of the factory existing pipe from the back of the factory muffler and mate the axlebacks to the ARH X pipe.
Andy at ADM Cut a section of pipe off the back of the Factory mufflers then took 3inch exhaust tubing and had them bent like the factory tubing.

The Borla mufflers happen to line up just where the factory ones do. imo they should have made them a little longer to fit with the existing Xpipe

you probably wouldnt have that problem if you went with a borla catback and ARH headers. I went with ARH headers , Xpipe and Borla Axlebacks mainly because I saw the power difference people were having with the setup I have rather than the ARH headers and Borla Catback setup. Something with that ARH Xpipe and ARH headers. If I had not gone with a ARH Xpipe I would have gotten a magnaflow Xpipe and had pipe bent to fit however I wanted something with all mandrel bends.

The orange dot thats where the drain plug and fill plug is you can fit a Grapefruit inbetween that Bend you see in the picture.

I took the Diff fluid bottle and put a hose on it where you see the Yellow Arrow I ran the hose over the pipe and into the hole.

I think with using the factory bends this is why im able to work with the Differential. Andy @ ADM said those bends are there for a reason for the factory not just for work reasons but for Certain Flow.

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Yellow 2SS

· #28 · May 26, 2010

Thanks for the info Jekyll-N-Hyde. We service about 8-10 racecars every week. My boss loves the Redline stuff. After every race weekend when we change the fluids, we always get a little grit out of the diff. Where it comes from, I don't know. We have only had 2 diff failures in 3 years. (Due to someone forgetting to fill them!)

We have pumps filled with Redline 75W-90 and MT-90. It will be easy for me to do with the pumps. That is why I recommended we get them, 8 cars a week with 2 people and a funnel sucked! On a Miata you have to take a rubber plug out of the trunk for the funnel method. HAHA

I think any fluid meeting the GM specs should be fine. What do you guys think?

Randy

demonspeed

· #29 · May 26, 2010

Yellow 2SS said:
I think any fluid meeting the GM specs should be fine. What do you guys think?

yes

Rock-it Man

· #30 · Jun 14, 2010

Does anyone have the drain and fill plug torque specs? And thread sealant ID?

Thanks in advance!

RedJewel2SS

· #31 · Jun 14, 2010

Rock-it Man said:
Does anyone have the drain and fill plug torque specs? And thread sealant ID?

Thanks in advance!

i just hand tightened mine, and had no leaks!

2010_5thgen

· #32 · Jun 14, 2010

where does it say that gm recommends changing the fluid after 1500 miles? i just turned about 2300 on mine and i guess if helps, i probably need it done.

RedJewel2SS

· #33 · Jun 14, 2010

2010_5thgen said:
where does it say that gm recommends changing the fluid after 1500 miles? i just turned about 2300 on mine and i guess if helps, i probably need it done.

its in the owner's manual. couldn't give you an exact page, but it does say "for racing purposes" change the diff fluid at 1500

Yellow 2SS

· #34 · Jun 15, 2010

Rock-it Man said:
Does anyone have the drain and fill plug torque specs? And thread sealant ID?

Thanks in advance!

Book says 24 ftlbs on both drain and fill plugs. Doesn't talk about sealer, it must be gasketed somehow. I will be doing mine soon and will find out I guess......

Rock-it Man

· #35 · Jun 15, 2010

Thanks. Let us know how it goes.:thumbsup:

2010_5thgen

· #36 · Jun 15, 2010

RedJewel2SS said:
its in the owner's manual. couldn't give you an exact page, but it does say "for racing purposes" change the diff fluid at 1500

well, since im a race car driver :lol: i should probably change it. my dealer said they would do it under warranty. their going to put royal purple in for me though. hes a great guy :thumbsup:

RedJewel2SS

· #37 · Jun 15, 2010

2010_5thgen said:
well, since im a race car driver :lol: i should probably change it. my dealer said they would do it under warranty. their going to put royal purple in for me though. hes a great guy :thumbsup:

thats a great deal!

i bought 2 quarts of mobil 1 75w-90 LS fluid for $30 and did it myself one weekend.

wasn't too hard of a job, but hell if you can get it done for free, that's awesome!

2010_5thgen

· #38 · Jun 15, 2010

i got about 20 bucks in summit racing credits. so im gonna run up. buy a bottle. got another bottle at home from when i changed the fluid in my silverado(calls for 1 1/2 quarts). then dropping the car off and their gonna take care of it for free.

Morpheus

· #39 · Jun 15, 2010

RedJewel2SS said:
its in the owner's manual. couldn't give you an exact page, but it does say "for racing purposes" change the diff fluid at 1500

Where are you guys getting this? Here's what my owner's manual states.

Service and Maintenance page 10-5

First Engine Oil Change After Every 80,000km/50,000 Miles

-Engine air cleaner filter replacement Cleaner/Filter on page 9-15.

-Automatic transmission fluid change(severe service) for vehicles mainly driven in heavy city traffic in hot weather, in hilly or mountainous terrain, when frequently towing a trailer, or used for taxi, police, or delivery service. See Automatic Transmission Fluid on page 9-14.

-Rear axle fluid change(severe service) for vehicles mainly driven in hilly or moutainous terrain, when frequently towing a trailer, used for high speed or competitive driving, or used for taxi, police, or delivery service. See Rear Axle on page 9-29.

So, according to my manual, you should only change the fluid every 50k miles with severe service or 100k miles with normal service.

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weland

· #40 · Jun 15, 2010

Morpheus said:
Where are you guys getting this? Here's what my owner's manual states.

Service and Maintenance page 10-5

First Engine Oil Change After Every 80,000km/50,000 Miles

-Engine air cleaner filter replacement Cleaner/Filter on page 9-15.

-Automatic transmission fluid change(severe service) for vehicles mainly driven in heavy city traffic in hot weather, in hilly or mountainous terrain, when frequently towing a trailer, or used for taxi, police, or delivery service. See Automatic Transmission Fluid on page 9-14.

-Rear axle fluid change(severe service) for vehicles mainly driven in hilly or moutainous terrain, when frequently towing a trailer, used for high speed or competitive driving, or used for taxi, police, or delivery service. See Rear Axle on page 9-29.

So, according to my manual, you should only change the fluid every 50k miles with severe service or 100k miles with normal service.

I couldn't find anything about service at 1500 miles either. :dunno:

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