Decided to change my diff fluid so I thought I would post some pics and sort of do a how to writeup.
By the way this is and extremely easy mx task so don't be afraid of doing it or pay someone a ton to do it.

First off you will need a few items:
Gear oil: Toyota Genuine Differential gear oil LT 75W-85 GL-5 or equivalent

The front and rear diffs use the same fluid.
Front takes:
1.50 to 1.60 liters (1.59 to 1.69 US qts, 1.32 to 1.40 Imp. qts.)

Rear takes: (Trail edition)
2.60 to 2.70 liters (2.75 to 2.85 US qts, 2.29 to 2.38 Imp. qts.)
All other models take
2.65 to 2.75 liters (2.80 to 2.91 US qts, 2.33 to 2.42 Imp. qts.)

Really all you need to know about adding fluid is add it till it runs out and then wait for it to stop coming out the filler plug and then you are full. Toyota states it is full when it is 0-5mm from the opening.

You will need new gaskets for the drain and fill plugs.
The rear diff uses two silver gaskets and the front diff uses the silver for the fill and the copper for the drain.
The gasket part numbers from Toyota are:
x3 12157-10010 (Silver)
X1 90430-24003(Copper)


So lets start with the Rear diff since it is the easiest.
Lower plug is the drain and the upper is the fill. Both are 24mm.


When you pull the drain you will notice the plug has a magnet in it to catch shavings. Since this is the first time the fluid has been changed there was some sludge on the magnet. Also ENSURE the old gasket is removed, sometimes they can stick on the diff.


After all the fluid drains out install the new gasket on the drain plug and install it with a torque spec of Torque: 49 N·m (500 kgf·cm, 36ft·lbf)

Then add fluid till it runs out of the filler hole. When it stops running out install new gasket and plug and torque to Torque: 49 N·m (500 kgf·cm, 36ft·lbf)
And thats it for the rear diff.

Now the front diff isn't hard but you will have to remove the aft skid plate. Which is just x4 12mm bolts and its down.
Then you will see the front diff.


Now with these plugs you will need a 10mm allen for both. Again upper is the filler and lower is the drain.


Both plugs are easy to remove and install. You can see in this picture that my copper drain gasket stayed on the diff. It sort of suctioned itself there, don't forget to remove it and replace it with a new one.


Again the lower drain plug has a magnet in it for metal shavings and such.


Make sure you install the drain plug with then new copper gasket and torque it to Torque: 65 N·m (660 kgf·cm, 48ft·lbf)

Now filling the front diff is tricky unless you have a hand pump. I HIGHLY recommend one. It is a really tight area and it is almost impossible to fill it from the containers. I constructed a crazy funnel setup that worked for me but I will buy a pump next time.

After you fill it and it stops running out the filler plug then install the new gasket and plug and torque to Torque: 39 N·m (398 kgf·cm, 29ft·lbf)

Don't install the skid plate yet, take it for a drive and then come back and check the level and for leaks. If all is good then install the skid and you are all done.

As for my fluid condition: Rear was dirty and I think needed changing, Front was pretty clean and probably didn't.
I have taken my runner in the water quite abit and that is why I changed them just to be safe. I have 20k miles on my 2010 so you can tell I don't drive much but the whole process took me less then an hour and only cost $30 in supplies so it was worth the piece of mind I now have. Hopefully this helps someone out there.

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Mijwb23, Thanks for sharing! It will help those of us who are less mechanically inclined/to be more confident and not afraid to work on own truck!

Thanks for the awesome write up, when does Toyota recommend to change em? I have 32k on my '11

Nice write-up, same miles here so I'll be doing this soon. What size gaskets are they? I have 20k miles too and was thinking of doing this. Also it's good practice to release the fill plug before draining the oil. You don't want to drain and find the fill plug stuck or damaged. Thanks.

Ditto on always removing the fill plug first.

While pricing the Toyota gear oil, I noticed that it's around $34/qt. I think I'll try something else.

Thanks for the write-up.

Great DIY post. Thanks for sharing...

I changed mine a little while back. My job was more difficult because i had to remove bb skid plate and diff plate. Only about 21k miles on the truck and the fill plug on the rear and drain plug on the front were difficult to remove. Used pb blast and eventually even got out my electric heat gun to heat up the front plug. I recall using a long extension to reach it and have leverage. I used amsoil and the hand pump from its website that fits the bottle. There was a fair amount of metal paste on the magnets. Nothing concerning or chunks or snything but good to change it.

Yes definitely make sure you remove the fill plug first.

The gasket part numbers from Toyota are:
x3 12157-10010 (Silver)
X1 90430-24003(Copper)

I didn't buy Toyota oil, but I did buy what my dealership uses from them for about $5 a quart. I didn't go synthetic because I know I will be changing it again after a few more off-road trips.

At 15,000 mile increments this is what Toyota recommends:
Driving while towing, using a car-top carrier, or heavy vehicle loading:
Replace front differential oil (4WD)
Replace rear differential oil
Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis and body

Otherwise it just has you check the fluid level and condition. If its bad change it, if its low find out where it went and fix loss and add. If its high find out where its coming from (water, over serviced,...)

Awesome writeup! Needs to go in the sticky!

Pretty soon we will have a complete DIY section for the 5th Gen maintenance schedule!

Brakes, tranny fluid, all that stuff...

Good writeup, thanks for sharing!

I was going to change out my diff fluids here soon as I just rolled over 40,000 km about a week ago. Next oil change I'll likely do it. Was thinking about doing the transfer case as well. Also straight forward like the diffs are?

Yes actually the transfer case is much easier then the front diff.

Why not put a thread on as a sticky that has links to all these other threads. It would help in not having 11ty billion stickies up top in 5 years.

Great idea....but, Jesse already thought of that:

Modifications, Write-Ups, Quick Links, and FAQ's

Top of the 5th Gen home page- LOTS of info and stuff.

Would it be okay, actually I know it would but just want to hear clarification, to run 75w-90 instead of 75w-85? The 85 is not readily available, and I would like to knock out at least the rear diff before my trip up to Colorado. At 35k now and a lot of towing and wheeling I would say at least the rear needs done. I do not feel like dealing with it but the dealer wants $60 per diff and $60 for the transfer case. $180 is ridiculously steep.