Schamattack
New member
Just followed this myself. One question though. I have 105K on my 07 and the fluids came out crystal clear. I assume the previous owner had done a change some point recently. Can fluids with 100k still look new?
Changing Differential & Transfer Case Fluids - Pics Included
- Thread starter snowbizx
- Start date
Front differential help
Sr. Have you ever had to remove had experience in removing the whole front differential?
My problem is that i have gone thru three differentials and was told to remove the front driveshaft from the front diff to the transfer case and convert my 98 4runner to rear wheel drive. I was wondering if this would work?
Sr. Have you ever had to remove had experience in removing the whole front differential?
My problem is that i have gone thru three differentials and was told to remove the front driveshaft from the front diff to the transfer case and convert my 98 4runner to rear wheel drive. I was wondering if this would work?
ZebRuaj
New member
Possibly. Could be the rig wasn't abused.
Bought mine at 140k with no service history for the driveline. Front and TC came out still amber and light. Rear diff was pretty dark.
Awesome thread. Answered so many questions. But I have failed to see anything (forgive me if there is, is may not have searched deep enough) about the logistics to support this drill. I changed my diff oil today, and a few things popped out at me and onto my garage floor, so I will post them here in the hope that it will help others. Is it probably garage 101 type stuff, but I have not done vehicle service for a long time in my garage/driveway and do not have the facilities of a professional garage and find like a great number of other folks, we find ourselves rolling around on the concrete floor or driveway and getting it done. And the little things help to make it that much easier.
1. Safety. Eye protection, Fire ext nearby. Any jacking or support equipment in good condition. Flashlight.
2. What to do with the old oil? Have several empty one-gallon jugs that you don't mind losing to put the old oil in. Have it ready before you begin to drain. Don't count on using the new bottles when empty. Drain the used oil off, using a large funnel, with each differential and transfer case, as you finish them. You don't want to juggle a full drain pan of that nasty stuff.
3. Rags, towels clean-up stuff. Yes, plenty this can be messy.
4. As I was not able to lift the truck up on stands or ramps, space was at a premium. I used quart bottles to pump the oil into the differentials. A gallon jug would not have fit.
5. Use a plastic tray or pan to put the oil bottles on during filling the differentials and another to put tools on. I had to vent the bottle as I filled the diffs and that da&n fill hose on the pump went everywhere, except where I wanted it to go, not to mention when changing out oil bottles. And when getting the oil overflow when full. A pan/tray would have contained the dripage.
6. I used a small plastic funnel and a short piece of ½" ID vinyl tubing to be able to transfer oil from the bottle into the rear diff. (This won't work on the front, gonna have to pump that one.) Make sure you don't overload the funnel and do this over a pan. A piece of tie-wire may help here. It is quicker than the bottle pump.Use the bottle pump to top up the final amount.
7. Spray brake cleaner or carb cleaner. To clean off tools, plugs and the area around the drain holes.
8. If you clean that area around the drain hole, you can see if is anything is leaking.
9. Old style cat litter open and on-hand to soak up spills, before it can get too deep into the concrete.
10. Buy enough oil plus some more. I now have to round up a qt of Redline to do the transfer case.
11. If you do stain the concrete this might help to clean up the stains.
A. Sawdust and solvent - wet saw dust with solvent and scrub stains with a push broom. Solvent will dissolve the oil and the sawdust will suck up the oil/solvent. DISPOSE CAREFULLY! IT IS FLAMMABLE!
B. Tide powder, broom and hose. Wet concrete, sprinkle with Tide powder and scrub with push broom.
1. Safety. Eye protection, Fire ext nearby. Any jacking or support equipment in good condition. Flashlight.
2. What to do with the old oil? Have several empty one-gallon jugs that you don't mind losing to put the old oil in. Have it ready before you begin to drain. Don't count on using the new bottles when empty. Drain the used oil off, using a large funnel, with each differential and transfer case, as you finish them. You don't want to juggle a full drain pan of that nasty stuff.
3. Rags, towels clean-up stuff. Yes, plenty this can be messy.
4. As I was not able to lift the truck up on stands or ramps, space was at a premium. I used quart bottles to pump the oil into the differentials. A gallon jug would not have fit.
5. Use a plastic tray or pan to put the oil bottles on during filling the differentials and another to put tools on. I had to vent the bottle as I filled the diffs and that da&n fill hose on the pump went everywhere, except where I wanted it to go, not to mention when changing out oil bottles. And when getting the oil overflow when full. A pan/tray would have contained the dripage.
6. I used a small plastic funnel and a short piece of ½" ID vinyl tubing to be able to transfer oil from the bottle into the rear diff. (This won't work on the front, gonna have to pump that one.) Make sure you don't overload the funnel and do this over a pan. A piece of tie-wire may help here. It is quicker than the bottle pump.Use the bottle pump to top up the final amount.
7. Spray brake cleaner or carb cleaner. To clean off tools, plugs and the area around the drain holes.
8. If you clean that area around the drain hole, you can see if is anything is leaking.
9. Old style cat litter open and on-hand to soak up spills, before it can get too deep into the concrete.
10. Buy enough oil plus some more. I now have to round up a qt of Redline to do the transfer case.
11. If you do stain the concrete this might help to clean up the stains.
A. Sawdust and solvent - wet saw dust with solvent and scrub stains with a push broom. Solvent will dissolve the oil and the sawdust will suck up the oil/solvent. DISPOSE CAREFULLY! IT IS FLAMMABLE!
B. Tide powder, broom and hose. Wet concrete, sprinkle with Tide powder and scrub with push broom.
T case
My thoughts on the transfer case specifically. I have a 2016 4Runner btw. For those that are anal retentive like me and the thought of the wrong fluid (75w-90) going into the t-case keeps you up at night. After much reading, I decided to put the OE 75w Toyota branded transfer gear oil. It takes Exactly 1liter. I replaced the diffs using the popular Mobil1 75w-90 1st. Therefore I was able to directly compare the fluids. The 75w Toyota fluid is much different. It is much “thinner” in viscosity and ran like water. The 2 different fluids are nothing alike. I feel that the Toyota fluid is the way to go! Nobody knows why the fluid is different,and for those of you who are like me, don’t agonize over it anymore and just use the right fluid. I am going to do it every 50k FYI.
I also used the kitchen can opener to open the can!
Torque 27ftlbs.
I also recommend the Motive power fill
https://www.motiveproducts.com/coll...tractors/products/powerfill-pro-1-gallon-tank
My thoughts on the transfer case specifically. I have a 2016 4Runner btw. For those that are anal retentive like me and the thought of the wrong fluid (75w-90) going into the t-case keeps you up at night. After much reading, I decided to put the OE 75w Toyota branded transfer gear oil. It takes Exactly 1liter. I replaced the diffs using the popular Mobil1 75w-90 1st. Therefore I was able to directly compare the fluids. The 75w Toyota fluid is much different. It is much “thinner” in viscosity and ran like water. The 2 different fluids are nothing alike. I feel that the Toyota fluid is the way to go! Nobody knows why the fluid is different,and for those of you who are like me, don’t agonize over it anymore and just use the right fluid. I am going to do it every 50k FYI.
I also used the kitchen can opener to open the can!
Torque 27ftlbs.
I also recommend the Motive power fill
https://www.motiveproducts.com/coll...tractors/products/powerfill-pro-1-gallon-tank
The "75" part refers to the viscosity, so technically they're identical assuming you're checking them at room temp (not full operating temperature). How did you compare the two oils? It may be a "fig newton of your immigration" (a figment of your imagination).
Just did this. Thanks for the great info!
Back fill and drain were a ***** to get off.
Front fill and drain came off easy.
If you have a long torque wrench and working off the ground, forget about being able to torque the fill plug in the front differential. There is not enough room to operate with a long wrench. Even on ramps there was not enough room. I had to buy a second torque wrench that was of the 14" length variety.
Used 75w/90 Mobile 1 in both.
The smell of diff oil is how I imagine rotting dead bodies must smell like. It is near the top of the most foul smell I've ever encountered.
Back fill and drain were a ***** to get off.
Front fill and drain came off easy.
If you have a long torque wrench and working off the ground, forget about being able to torque the fill plug in the front differential. There is not enough room to operate with a long wrench. Even on ramps there was not enough room. I had to buy a second torque wrench that was of the 14" length variety.
Used 75w/90 Mobile 1 in both.
The smell of diff oil is how I imagine rotting dead bodies must smell like. It is near the top of the most foul smell I've ever encountered.
Last edited:
4thGenFireAndRescu
New member
Just changed my rear differential oil this weekend. It had 150,000 miles on it, it was black, smelled burnt, and there was metal on the drain plug. I filled it back up with AMSOIL 75W-90 using a hand pump made by AMSOIL. That pump makes your life so easy. Changing the rear differential oil has to be one of the easiest maintenance tasks you can do.
Rapid_Amble
New member
Super helpful, thanks.
I've used Redline gear oil in differentials of rwd cars before. Will probably use their 75w85 GL-5 gear oil when the time comes.
I've used Redline gear oil in differentials of rwd cars before. Will probably use their 75w85 GL-5 gear oil when the time comes.
Fareastplaza
New member
I finally changed oil for 2 diffs and transfer case and thinking it's my turn to contribute something here.
Mine is 2010 4runner I believe it is 5Gen. I would like to say, Diffs and TC are exactly same as the picture showing on the first page of 4GEN if it is as described by OP. But, somehow dealer provided 6 gaskets there are 3 of them don't fit. What they give to me, based on receipt, same as the one listed here in first page. So, I had thought it is correct but they are not.
Dealer give to me 3 small, 2 middle, and 1 large (cooper). Due to the receipt, they are 12157-10010, 94030-18008 and 94030-24003.
When I doing the work, I noticed, other than the large cooper one for Front Diff drain, rest are same (or similar) middle size of gasket. None of 3 small can be put in.
I ends up reuse 3 of them for fill as I cannot drive out to purchase anything without my ride is ready. I am little worried if there is problem for reusing them. They call crash washer, and I am actually saw it is crashed when I wrench them in indeed. Should I get correct washer and redo the job?
Mine is 2010 4runner I believe it is 5Gen. I would like to say, Diffs and TC are exactly same as the picture showing on the first page of 4GEN if it is as described by OP. But, somehow dealer provided 6 gaskets there are 3 of them don't fit. What they give to me, based on receipt, same as the one listed here in first page. So, I had thought it is correct but they are not.
Dealer give to me 3 small, 2 middle, and 1 large (cooper). Due to the receipt, they are 12157-10010, 94030-18008 and 94030-24003.
When I doing the work, I noticed, other than the large cooper one for Front Diff drain, rest are same (or similar) middle size of gasket. None of 3 small can be put in.
I ends up reuse 3 of them for fill as I cannot drive out to purchase anything without my ride is ready. I am little worried if there is problem for reusing them. They call crash washer, and I am actually saw it is crashed when I wrench them in indeed. Should I get correct washer and redo the job?
Fareastplaza
New member
Also, about using torque wrench, I know everyone suggest to use it as newbie sometimes just don't know what they are dealing with.
My last night experience was totally opposite.
I changed real diff first. After all old oil drained out, I put the plug back, set my be loved torque wrench to 36 which some one mentioned here. I turned and turned and waiting for the 'click' sound. The 'click' music didn't come out of it before I actually crashed "too much" the crash washer. I then realized I might tight it way too much. I headlight it and look at it, I saw crash washer was squeezed too much and one side had already extended to broken. It is not leaking yet. But I am worried.
So, last night, for all other plug, I forgot torque wrench, only used common sense. torque tight enough I think should be ok.
My friends later told me, I am using a large torque wrench which only accurate on higher setting even it has lower setting in the mark. Also since I set high value on it entire time (mainly used for change tires) when you just set it back to low setting, the spring inside doesn't addjust in time. That might be the reason why I didn't hear 'click'.
After all, I highly suggest to use your common sense, do not rely on some fancy tool. My torque wrench is very expensive so I trust it wrongly :-(
My last night experience was totally opposite.
I changed real diff first. After all old oil drained out, I put the plug back, set my be loved torque wrench to 36 which some one mentioned here. I turned and turned and waiting for the 'click' sound. The 'click' music didn't come out of it before I actually crashed "too much" the crash washer. I then realized I might tight it way too much. I headlight it and look at it, I saw crash washer was squeezed too much and one side had already extended to broken. It is not leaking yet. But I am worried.
So, last night, for all other plug, I forgot torque wrench, only used common sense. torque tight enough I think should be ok.
My friends later told me, I am using a large torque wrench which only accurate on higher setting even it has lower setting in the mark. Also since I set high value on it entire time (mainly used for change tires) when you just set it back to low setting, the spring inside doesn't addjust in time. That might be the reason why I didn't hear 'click'.
After all, I highly suggest to use your common sense, do not rely on some fancy tool. My torque wrench is very expensive so I trust it wrongly :-(
Super simple and helpful post - thank you! I just did rear diff, TC, and front diff, in that order. It was easy and took about 2 hours in total.
Only a couple of thoughts to add about my experience:
Only a couple of thoughts to add about my experience:
- Sprayed every bolt with PB Blaster the day before, and had no problems getting them loose with a breaker bar today.
- The rear diff fill bolt was reverse threaded - counterclockwise tightened it. Strange.
- The front diff drain bolt was tough to get out, as it is so low and I could not get a good angle with my breaker bar, and could not break it free with a standard length socket wrench. Finally got it to break free at an awkward angle.
- Rear diff fluid had been replaced a few years earlier with the previous owner. It and the TC fluid were pretty clean. But the front diff fluid was literally like grease at the very bottom. The rest came out dirty and fluid, but the first little bit at the bottom dear the drain plug was THICK. Glad I got it changed.
SHagood
New member
Just changed my front/rear diff and the transfer case yesterday with [MENTION=91393]papabeach[/MENTION] walking me through step-step.
Thoughts:
Very easy maintenance, but have a ton of shop paper towels and cardboard to mitigate oil stains on the driveway. Overall, good learning experience but a messy job. Didn't find any metal shavings in any of the drain plugs, but the gunk that was caked up was disgusting. Bought 7 quarts of Mobil 1 75w 90 off Advanced Auto Parts for about $10/quart with free 3-day shipping.
Thoughts:
Very easy maintenance, but have a ton of shop paper towels and cardboard to mitigate oil stains on the driveway. Overall, good learning experience but a messy job. Didn't find any metal shavings in any of the drain plugs, but the gunk that was caked up was disgusting. Bought 7 quarts of Mobil 1 75w 90 off Advanced Auto Parts for about $10/quart with free 3-day shipping.
Itsme71190
New member
Attempted this yesterday on my front diff. My drain is seized. Drawing board
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