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Draining Diffs - Any cons to it?
- Thread starter dumbagain
- Start date
bluejeepkid
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Bullhead City
none if you do it right..
robert2008
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Herndon, VA
My 2000 had 70k miles on it when I bought it, and when I changed the front diff fluid it was obvious that it had never been done as it still had the factory (a grey color) RTV on it. The fluid in that diff looked like crap and was very dirty. Change your diff fluid.
winterbeater
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Royal Oak, Michigan
Hey, are you calling me stupid! Just kidding. Only con is getting the cover to seal up again. And then there is the RTV vs. Paper Gasket issue. And then the Synthetic vs. Dinosaur oil. Well, the other con is it usually stinks pretty bad.
Hasta
alex22
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- CT: waterbury area
It smells really bad.
Begster
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Cape Cod/Boston, Mass
The RTV I use is gray, doesn't necessarily mean it was from the factory. But, at 70k, unless the previous owner was some sort of maintenance nut, I would also believe it was factory.
Never seen this as an issue. Put RTV on, and it will fill in all the voids. Unless you bend up the cover very badly, I don't see this as an issue.
Yes it does. Drained my front diff at 80ish thousand miles, left it in his garage for a couple days, couldn't get the stink out of there for a week.
Now, imagine how 32 year old diff oil smells.
winterbeater
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Royal Oak, Michigan
Stick a hose in and suck out that thick shit? You would never get it all. If you do it like that, you may as well just check and top it off. Any particles would hav settled to the bottom and you won't get them out. Just do it the old fashioned way. You can do it!
Begster
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Cape Cod/Boston, Mass
Ya, take the cover off, and spray it all down with brake cleaner and get all the grime out of there. Let it evaporate, then put it back together.
whatevah
It's Yellah!
- Location
- Wilmington, DE
The owners manual should specify changing the diff fluids as part of a regular maintenance schedule. So, DO IT! 
Wanna get fancy? Buy yourself a Ruff Stuff custom diff cover with drain and fill holes. Now you'll never have to change the RTV gasket again or worry about it splashing everywhere. http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/differential-covers-c-5.html
Wanna get fancy? Buy yourself a Ruff Stuff custom diff cover with drain and fill holes. Now you'll never have to change the RTV gasket again or worry about it splashing everywhere. http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/differential-covers-c-5.html
robert2008
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Herndon, VA
If you use brake cleaner to clean all the gunk out, be careful as brake fluid and seals don't get along very well. Better to use something like WD-40 to be honest. I usually just use a rag to clean the grime that accumulates at the bottom. If you're changing it every 30k miles like you're suppose to the grime really ceases to be a problem.
Also, use lube locker gaskets for the best seal and ease of future maintenance. Taking the cover off let's you inspect the gears and look for any unusual wear.
