Differential fluid?????
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Differential fluid????? Is there a drain plug in the stock rearends? I would like to drain my fluid out of the differential and put in new fluid. I wasnt sure if there was a drain plug or if you can seiphon it out, or need to remove the bolt on pumpkin cover. Its not leaking so I dread taking the cover off and putting a new gasket on for fear of it leaking.
Also, What differential fluid do you guys recommend???
Thanks......
Also, What differential fluid do you guys recommend???
Thanks......
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 156
Likes: 0
From: Chicagoland
Re: Differential fluid????? There is no drain plug on the stock diff. cover. You'll either have to take the cover off to drain it or get some type of pump to suck it out.
Taking the cover off is preferred since you can really clean everything out including the magnet that's on the cover, and it also gives you a chance to inspect the condition of the gears, etc.
I've done this twice - once on my '99 and once now on my '01. Both times I used 1 gasket from GM and had no leaking issue. I did torque the bolts to the proper torque and cleaned the mating surfaces really well before hand. For some reason, my '01 had 2 gaskets stuck together from the factory. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />
Taking the cover off is preferred since you can really clean everything out including the magnet that's on the cover, and it also gives you a chance to inspect the condition of the gears, etc.
I've done this twice - once on my '99 and once now on my '01. Both times I used 1 gasket from GM and had no leaking issue. I did torque the bolts to the proper torque and cleaned the mating surfaces really well before hand. For some reason, my '01 had 2 gaskets stuck together from the factory. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Re: Differential fluid????? Does anyone knot the gasket # from GM.
Also, if both surfaces are clean, is permatex recommended or is it a gasket that will seal properly when torqued down?
What torque???
What diferential fluid whould you guys recommend??
Thank you.......
Also, if both surfaces are clean, is permatex recommended or is it a gasket that will seal properly when torqued down?
What torque???
What diferential fluid whould you guys recommend??
Thank you.......
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 712
Likes: 1
From: Dallas,Texas
Re: Differential fluid????? here is how I did my rear end fluid
http://ls1info.com/article.php?sid=214
http://ls1info.com/article.php?sid=214
Teching In
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Iowa
Rear Differential Fluid Drains - AMSOIL Hi, I'm John and I'm an AMSOIL synthetic lubricants dealer. I perform service on my customers vehicles and highly recommend pulling your back cover off and getting a 100% drain, this will also allow you to clean the magnet. While you have the cover off, you could install a drain plug for future drains. You can weld on a half-collar, drill and install a pipe plug; or Jeg's and Summit typically sell drain plugs for transmission pans that will work if you have a flat enough area to get a good seal.
Getting the break-in oil out of the differential and manual transmissions is critical to long life and trouble-free service. Changing these fluids is not that expensive. I've drained rear differentials on pickups with 6,500 miles and they look as bad as the ones with 100,000 miles. Most of the break-in wear occurs in the first 3,000-5,000 miles.
I would recommend you install AMSOIL synthetic gear oil in your rear differential. It has all the friction modifiers needed in the gear oil, so you don't have to buy or add extra additives. The Severe Gear is our premire gear oil for high performance applications. Our list price is about half of GM and Ford. Check out my website at www.johnsoils.com or www.amsoil.com for more product information.
Good luck and I'd recommend buying a new gasket for your cover. You should be able to get one at any GM dealer for around $7.00 list price. John
Getting the break-in oil out of the differential and manual transmissions is critical to long life and trouble-free service. Changing these fluids is not that expensive. I've drained rear differentials on pickups with 6,500 miles and they look as bad as the ones with 100,000 miles. Most of the break-in wear occurs in the first 3,000-5,000 miles.
I would recommend you install AMSOIL synthetic gear oil in your rear differential. It has all the friction modifiers needed in the gear oil, so you don't have to buy or add extra additives. The Severe Gear is our premire gear oil for high performance applications. Our list price is about half of GM and Ford. Check out my website at www.johnsoils.com or www.amsoil.com for more product information.
Good luck and I'd recommend buying a new gasket for your cover. You should be able to get one at any GM dealer for around $7.00 list price. John
