I got around to changing the differential oil today. I went to AutoZone and bought a three pack of metric hex bits (wish I could have bought only the 14mm which is the one I used) and a quart of Exxon Superflo 80 W 90 Gear Oil.
I managed to crawl underneath the rear of the car to access the differential. I sprayed a little Free All deep penetrating lubricant to loosen the filler plug (always remove the filler plug before removing the drain plug!). I used a breaker bar with the 14mm hex to unloosen the plugs. I have no idea how long it's been since the oil has been changed. I've had the car almost two years and this is the first time I’ve had this done.
The old oil smelled really bad. Like it was burnt. I checked for metal filings and rust but didn't see any in the old oil. Once it was drained (didn't take long as the differential wasn't full) I put the drain plug back on and opened the new oil container. The container was one of those tall plastic bottles with the cone tip. Cut the tip off with scissors and inserted tip into filler hole. There wasn't much clearance to tilt the bottle completely up so I just had to squeeze the bottle to force the oil in. I then placed the filler plug in and cleaned up. Took the car for a little spin and everything checked out fine.
All in all it wasn't too hard a task to perform. I recommend changing yours if you haven't in awhile. Later.
08-07-2002, 08:58 PM
Differential Oil Change
Linear Mode
