Rear End Fluid Change...

[Need4Camaro]

I got a 97 V6 with 3.42's... I've seen alot of threads including a rear end fluid change and honestly, I never even knew there was fluid IN the rear end... What I'm asking is this...

How on EARTH do you change the fluids in the rear end? I have ramps, also how much fluid am I going to need and will I need any replacement gaskets? How much is this going to cost me?

[97rs4life]

How many mile are on your car? Yea there is a fluid there and does need to be changed over time. You have to take off the back diff cover to drain it. There is a plug at the top of the cover you can take out to see how your fluid is doing.

It is kind of messy, but you can do it yourself if you wanted. Just go to the parts store and by a few quarts of rear diff fluid.

[hockeyman]

-put car on ramps
-place a bucket under the differential cover
-Undo the 10 bolts on the differential (rear) cover
-place a screwdriver behind the cover and slowly pry open, fluid drains into bucket
-clean the rear cover with rags and apply new gasket/silicone
-replace rear cover and torque bolts to 22 ft lbs
-refill with 80w90 fluid (I used a synthetic gear oil)
-on the passenger side of the rear's housing, up towards the front of it, there is a nut that you remove with a 3/8" ratchet, this is your fill-plug. Get the car as level as possible (front & back) and fill until the fluid starts to drip out of the hole you are pouring the fluid into. That is the top fill point.
-replace the nut, torque to 26 ft lbs and you're good to go!

The Chilton's Manual says the rear holds 3.5 pints of fluid. It is a good idea to get a bottle of "Limited Slip Differential Additive" from a GM dealer. The small bottle cost's about $10, and you add it to the fluid when you are pouring it in.
As for the gasket, I just used silicone on the rear cover and let it dry for a few hours before installing it. Works great!

All-in-all, you are probably looking to spend about $30-$40 on supplies for the Gasket and/or silicone, fluid, & additive.

Go out and get a Chilton's or Haynes Manual and it'll show you pictures along with a walkthrough of the procedure. ;)

[hockeyman]

http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/fbody/lubeoil.htm

Go down to the "rear differential oil change" section

[V8 Killer]

How often do we need to do this fluid?

[D_Fisher]

I change mine every 30K, just like the antifreeze.

Doug

[FunkZ]

Hockeyman has it all laid out.

Be forewarned, gear oil stinks to high heaven. Don't wear your Sunday best. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Savage Messiah]

i like the smell of it...

[HeadyFirebird'00]

waitwait wait a sec... if u have a pump u can pump it out of that little filler holer. but my guess is you dont have a pump you can use any type of pump, then you won't need no bloody gasket or to take out the bolts. its easy as getting hi. then get three bottles of synthetic rear oil with the LSD juice and dump it in there.

[Dan Vincent]

He has a 97... ergo, I would use 75W-90 non-synthetic. Synthetic in the 93-97 differential makes posi chatter.

"All-in-all, you are probably looking to spend about $30-$40 on supplies for the Gasket and/or silicone, fluid, & additive."

At that price, I'd rather take it to a shop, as that's how much I've seen differential services go for. Two quarts of gear oil, a tube of posi additive, a gasket and some RTV shouldn't cost $30-$40.

[Need4Camaro]

Well, the car has 140K on it now and given I'm the car's 5th or 6th owner... I seriously doubt if this job has ever been done since last I checked it's still running on GM Stock plugs, Wires, Fuel Filter, ect... (I just changed the Fuel Filter, Air Filter, and PCV Valve... doing the plugs and wires today when I get home...)

Given the fact it's a messy job and I need a replacement gasket and a tourque wrench maybe... I'll just have a shop do it... Probably castrol since most of my lubrication products are from them anyway...

[hockeyman]

Taking it to a shop to get it changed is just pointless to me, with the exception that you don't have the tools, time, and knowledge to perform the task. Also, you don't know who is filling it up and if it was topped-off correctly. Personally, I live by the motto; "If you want something done right...(you know)".
If and when I buy a used car, I always assume that the previous owner didn't do anything to it. Although they may tell me that the oil was just changed and what-not, I always start from square one for my own self insurance.

[Savage Messiah]

ef. dont need a torque wrench for this job

[V8 Killer]

Originally posted by Need4Camaro:
Well, the car has 140K on it now and given I'm the car's 5th or 6th owner... I seriously doubt if this job has ever been done since last I checked it's still running on GM Stock plugs, Wires, Fuel Filter, ect... (I just changed the Fuel Filter, Air Filter, and PCV Valve... doing the plugs and wires today when I get home...)

Given the fact it's a messy job and I need a replacement gasket and a tourque wrench maybe... I'll just have a shop do it... Probably castrol since most of my lubrication products are from them anyway...

You might want to change the Tranny fluid also.

[shenanigans]

YOu don't need a torque wrench.

If you have NO tools, go to a lowes buy a $17 TASK FORCE basic socket set, pretty sturdy and decent quality, especially for the price, go buy a set of Stanley screwdrivers from walmart $3.50

Go to autozone...
-diff gasket ~$3
-~$10-15 in fluid

I changed my differential in like 3 hours, fluid coudl probably be done in less then an hour. probably 10-15 min in work once the car is up in the air.


If you can get it done for cheap go for it, but I always feel satisfied from a job well done, and saving some money.