Changing Differential & Transfer Case Fluids - Pics Included

MarieDJ · Jan 25, 2014

Brownfaux said:
Well, I wouldn't worIt's ry about overfilling , it can only be filled up to the fill plug anyway. When I did mine is used less than I expected. They must have flushed a ton!

I could be wrong though , wait for someone else to chime in before you listen to me.

Honestly, I'm thinking they kept some of it.

This walkthrough is great and I look to do it myself next time. I just happen to live in an apartment and not allowed.

4runner423 · Feb 11, 2014

How important is it to use a torque wrench in this process? I do not have one and don't feel like spending $ on something I will rarely use.

A10GAC · Feb 12, 2014

4runner423 said:
How important is it to use a torque wrench in this process? I do not have one and don't feel like spending $ on something I will rarely use.

The drain/fill plug crush washers are designed to deform and seal within a specified torque range, too little pressure and they leak, too much and they can fracture and leak. Too tight and you also risk deforming the threads on your drain plug & diff.

Can you get away without a torque wrench? Probably, but beam style torque wrenches are less than $20 and a decent break-away (click style) one will only set you back around $50. For me, it's cheap insurance for something I only touch every 50k miles.

NCSCOTT · Mar 4, 2014

4runner423 said:
How important is it to use a torque wrench in this process? I do not have one and don't feel like spending $ on something I will rarely use.

I agree with what A10GAC posted, however based on my own experience:
I changed the Gear oil in my 04 @ 50K miles and did not use a new crush washer or a torque wrench and have never had a leak(over 147K miles now).

I also do not use a new crush washer or a torque wrench when I change the engine oil on any of the Toyotas in the family, (04 4Runner, 05 Camry, 08 Sequoia, 09 Rav4) none of them ever leak. I have never stripped out a drain plug on any vehicle in over 20 years of changing oil in everything from Semi trucks, Farm tractors, lawn & garden equipment and countless cars & Trucks of varying brands. I only snug these drain and fill plugs by hand, always spinning them in hand tight first to make sure they are not cross threading.

On the other side of this I do use a Torque wrench on every vehicle I rotate tires on to help reduce brake rotor warping. I even break all the lugs lose after discount tire rebalances my tires and retorque all of them. I do not trust those "torque Sticks" but that is a whole other thread!!

IMHO a Torque wrench is not required, but if you are not familiar with working on vehicles then I think it is a very good idea!!

4runner423 · Mar 15, 2014

If using the Mobil 1 synthetic 75-90 gear oil should I still change every 30k or will it last longer?

OrdnanceMarine · Mar 17, 2014

NCSCOTT said:
I agree with what A10GAC posted, however based on my own experience:
I changed the Gear oil in my 04 @ 50K miles and did not use a new crush washer or a torque wrench and have never had a leak(over 147K miles now).

I also do not use a new crush washer or a torque wrench when I change the engine oil on any of the Toyotas in the family, (04 4Runner, 05 Camry, 08 Sequoia, 09 Rav4) none of them ever leak. I have never stripped out a drain plug on any vehicle in over 20 years of changing oil in everything from Semi trucks, Farm tractors, lawn & garden equipment and countless cars & Trucks of varying brands. I only snug these drain and fill plugs by hand, always spinning them in hand tight first to make sure they are not cross threading.

On the other side of this I do use a Torque wrench on every vehicle I rotate tires on to help reduce brake rotor warping. I even break all the lugs lose after discount tire rebalances my tires and retorque all of them. I do not trust those "torque Sticks" but that is a whole other thread!!

IMHO a Torque wrench is not required, but if you are not familiar with working on vehicles then I think it is a very good idea!!

I'd say my use of a torque wrench depends on the application. When I left active duty 13 years ago I actually used torque stripe when working on suspension components, etc. just as a habit from my experience with military aviation where torque requirements are very narrow and very critical. My rule of thumb is if you're a novice, use a torque wrench for pretty much everything. If you're experienced, use it for critical applications (because we all make mistakes) and for components that have a narrow window of acceptable torque (aluminum components are a good example).

I changed my oil this weekend and didn't bother with a torque wrench on the steel oil pan on my T4R but you bet I'll use it on any alunimum pans I work on.

OrdnanceMarine · Mar 17, 2014

4runner423 said:
If using the Mobil 1 synthetic 75-90 gear oil should I still change every 30k or will it last longer?

I'd be willing to bet it's good for a lot longer but ultimately it depends on application (how much 4WD you do, what kind of loads do you apply).

Ryinc004 · Mar 28, 2014

Diffs and transfer case

So, I just bought my dream truck: '11 T4R SR5 PT4WD. I am really digging this site.

Anywho, I want to do this over the weekend as the truck has 63,000 mi. and the previous owner (who was getting his oil changes and air filters changed at the dealership, so its all recorded) doesn't appear to have done or requested this service. So is all the crush washers/gaskets the same size from year to year? Any one have any other tips for a 2011 model?

Thanks!

emelianenkov · Apr 5, 2014

Sub'd

Thanks for the writeup

Dylan · May 7, 2014

TallCool1 said:
Snowbizx et al, thanks for this post! Great to have pics, tools, fluid capacities and torque specs all in one place.

Remember; 2 crush washers for each (minus oil drain pan of course...) -

Front Diff Drain
9043024003 (x2)

Rear Diff Drain
1215710010 (x2)

Transfercase Drain
9043018008 (x2)

I have a 2004 V8 and called my dealer. Here's the part numbers he quoted me for the CRUSH WASHERS for this year/model.

Front Fill Plug, Rear Fill plug and Rear Drain plug all use the same washer:
Part - 12157-10010 @ $1.45 each, x3.

Front Drain Plug:
Part - 90430-24003 @ $1.99 each, x1.

Transfer Case Fill plug and Drain plug:
Part - 90430-A0003 @ $1.81 each, x2.

So for the six washers involved, three styles, comes to just under $10 before tax.

Dylan · May 7, 2014

I read through all 13 pages, but I didn't see the torque specs on the T-Case plugs. I see the Rear Fill & Drain plugs are 36 ft/lbs, and Front Fill 29 ft/lbs and Front Drain 48 ft/lbs. Anyone know the T-Case torque specs on plugs?

cahall18 · May 7, 2014

Very First Page

Next was the transfer case:

Drain Plug - 24mm socket, 27 ft/lbs
Fill Plug - 24mm socket, 27 ft/lbs
Fill quantity - 1.5 qts.

paraplan · Jul 4, 2014

Hi guys!

I need an urgent advise. I have 2005 T4R V8 Limited. I just changed the fluid in all 3 boxes: front, rear diffs and transfer case to synthetic Red Line MT-90 75W90 Gear Oil. I got it here: http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/gear...FZJbfgodIEMAqA
I just noticed that this fluid is rated as GL-4 where as the manual suggests GL-5 type fluids. I'm not sure what to do at this point, do I need to drain this fluid once again and use the correct stuff or having GL-4 is just fine?
Please help!
Big thanks in advance.

Brownfaux · Jul 5, 2014

Google gl4 vs gl5. I got plenty of results. But I didn't read it that much. But now I'm going to check what I put in my car

snowbizx · Aug 2, 2014

I'm really glad the pictures have been useful. It's just about that time for me again... gear lube rd. 2! I updated the first post with the recommended part numbers for the washer replacements - along with drain/fill pugs if needed.

I'll be ordering another batch of engine and gear oil from Amsoil (just signed up as a dealer again). I do it for the discounts, not to make any money, so if anyone in the Boston/Southern NH region needs anything, let me know and we'll save a few bucks by consolidating shipping. You can just pick it up in Manchester or Milford (work) and it'll be the same dealer/preferred pricing I pay. Just trying to help out! ;-)

snowbizx · Aug 2, 2014

Also, let me know if any of the part numbers are incorrect or updated/replaced by Toyota. I'll do my best to keep the OP current.

dr_UMMER · Aug 16, 2014

Does anybody know if it is ok to drive with bad rear differential?
I just changed oil and it had A LOT of metal shavings.
It makes constant noise when driving, which dissapears when shifting to neutral.

Notice the golden color of the oil when I was draining it in the video:

http://youtu.be/qxY2liBnOFE

...

Rocket61 · Aug 18, 2014

dr_UMMER said:
Does anybody know if it is ok to drive with bad rear differential?
I just changed oil and it had A LOT of metal shavings.
It makes constant noise when driving, which dissapears when shifting to neutral.

Notice the golden color of the oil when I was draining it in the video:

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=ObcLovovDuY

...

Your video link doesn't work.

Is it ok to drive with a bad dif? Not really. You run the risk of being stranded somewhere or having your rear wheels lock up while doing 70 on the highway. You'll also put other drivers in danger because a blown dif will throw metal and gear lube everywhere on the road.

dr_UMMER · Aug 18, 2014

I corrected the link, it should work now:

http://youtu.be/qxY2liBnOFE

...

Drak · Aug 31, 2014

Just did mine a few days ago, thanks to this thread it went flawless.
Followed all the advice here.
Soaked all plugs with PB Blaster for 2 days, did the changes the 3rd day, no problems.
A few probably too obvious notes:
Since I dropped the spare to do the rear diff (as recommended here and excellent advice), it gave me a chance to inspect, clean, and check the pressure on the spare as I just bought this 2 months ago. 7lbs!
Probably never touched since the car was new (2003).
So a great opportunity to kill 2 birds and put air in the spare.
Also, I don't do anything underneath without a cardboard box opened up to catch any spillage and to lie on.
I actually didn't lose anything on the driveway from the diffs or transfer, but did when I removed the stinkin' oil filter!
I didn't need to use any jackstands, was able to access everything with the car flat on the ground.
Rear diff was dirty and disgusting, transfer and front diff not too terribly bad.