DIY: Rear Differential Oil Change

MJB · 12-30-2012, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannyz

Sorry guys but I am a bit confused here. Is time for me to do the Dif and Tranny fluid change but I read you guys talking about Differential Fuid change at using 75W-90 but when I read the Manual it says you have to use 80W-90 GL-5.

Am I missing something or I misread trough the posts?

Thanks!

The FSM says you can use 80W-90 "For hot climates, viscosity SAE 90 is suitable for ambient temperatures above 0°C (32°F)."

As long as its GL-5, I don't think it would be that big of a deal if you went 75W or 80W-90. I always use Redline 75w-90

mannyz · 12-30-2012, 01:02 PM

Well im in Florida so yes Temp are always above 32.

I see so you guys are just using the 75W as long as is GL-5. Ok Thanks for the clarification

Dwight Frye · 12-31-2012, 08:50 PM

I changed mine out today. Mileage on the car was about 29,350 and it was the first change. There was some sludge on the drain plug but no metal particles were seen. The original oil was pretty dark. I used the Redline 75W-90.
A couple of tips: I was able to wiggle underneath the car and do it without having to jack it up although I'm not a particularly big guy. I suggest putting one of those large sheet metal drip pans under the car. No problems getting the old oil out, but while pumping the new oil in with a Harbor Freight hand pump, at one point the filler hose popped out of the fill hole and a big spurt of oil splashed down on the drip pan. A piece of duct tape was used to hold the hose in place for the remainder of the job. As others have mentioned, you just pump at least 1 1/2 quarts and when full the excess will drip out. Which is another reason for a drip pan or the used oil container to catch the overflow. Lastly, when done filling the pump needs to be cleaned and pumped a few times to get the excess oil out of the hoses and body. More oil squirting everywhere. Work over the drip pan.
But, about a third of a roll of paper towels and some Simple Green and everything cleaned up well.
One more caveat: Some pumps are designed to screw right on the top of a quart or gallon oil jug. The Redline bottle necks are smaller than a standard quart bottle. And my Harbor Freight pump just has an input hose and an output hose, no screw cap on the input side. To lessen the chance of tipping and/or spilling, next time I will bore a hole in the cap of the oil bottle just big enough for a tight friction fit of the input hose. That should also hold the end of the hose down at the bottom of the bottle and ensure maximum drain when pumping.

Mwagner07 · 01-01-2013, 12:49 PM

SOLD
(6MT) Manual Tranny Fluid change and Rear Differential Oil.
- I have for sale:
(3) qts. of Red line MT-85 Tranny Fluid,
(4) Nissan OEM Gasket Plugs Part# (38351B)
(1) hand held siphon pump,

ALSO - for Rear Differential Gear oil change I have
(2) qts. ENEOS GL-5 75w-90 Gear Oil
I believe 2 of the above listed 4 OEM gasket plugs get used on the tranny plugs - Please double check.

PM me and I will setup a ebay sale.
TOTAL with shipping $70.00 (Continental USA Only)
Please refer to your manual for proper service.

SOLD

B&W_Evader · 01-02-2013, 12:47 PM

Just changed mine... 18556 miles
Used under 2 quarts

Had a bunch of metal shavings stuck to the magnet but the oil was very clean. Looks like the magnet is doing it's job!

Put in redline.

JARblue · 01-18-2013, 05:26 PM

Just did this today at 30K miles - such an easy DIY. My drain plug looked likes the first few pictures in this thread - it was pretty dirty with a good amount of metal shavings. Redline 75W90

mannyz · 01-19-2013, 12:13 AM

I finally did mine and I have to say I had more challenge getting the Dealer to order the washers than me changing the fluids lol. Both plugs were clean, the differential was with a bit of shaving but that's it, the oil was still new, I guess I dont beat up my car that much.

By the way trough the adventure I went with the dealer I found at least my closest dealer uses Pennzoil 80W-90 NON SYNTHETIC (they claim thats what Nissan send them) and just for curiosity I asked how much was the differential oil since the one they had wasnt synthetic. I hope all of you reading this are sitdown on a chair and please grab the arm rest so you don't get an stress attack.

The guy flipped the monitor to me and says "this is the one that Nissan recommends Synthetic Blend Nissan Hypoid $140 per qt"

I ran away and got me two bottles of Valvoline 80W-90 GL5 for $8.99 per qt.

XwChriswX · 03-20-2013, 10:30 PM

Swapped mine... Finally.

47xxxk (No previous swaps)

Enjoy! Definitely understand what people mean when they say it STINKS lol I related it to used cat litter.

2qts of Redline 75w90 from Z1, thanks guys for the super fast shipping.

Ordered Friday, at my door Tues.

I ended up not needing the washers as I gave them a good inspection and there were no damage/wear/cracks. I did the recommended fill it until it starts to drain new oil out. I let it drain until there wasn't much coming out then capped it.

On to the

!

Car on jacks ready to go.

The yummy smelling fluid pouring out. I was expecting it to be darker after so many miles, the flash doesn't do it well, it was more the color of chocolate milk when it first started pouring out...

The drain plug itself had a LOT of shavings on it, so this definitely should have been done sooner, I know. Shoot me.

But hopefully this should help out with the rear diff.

Up close it's even crazier, cell phone pic so horrible quality, but you get the idea..

Looks like where they got the idea for the Asteroid in Armageddon..

I have the full size pics but didn't want to load them, if you wanna see anything in full size let me know.

Also, I don't have a 1/2" to 3/8" adapter yet so I wasn't able to use my torque wrench to tighten them back down. I just gave them a solid hand tightening, then another good tug, hopefully that will hold right?? I've got a cloth sitting under it right now to check for leaks in the morning, then I'll give it a quick test run before any long hauls to make sure everything worked.

MR.nismo · 03-25-2013, 09:40 PM

I replaced the fluid today. It was crazy, I did not had a "pump" so it took me over an hour just to do the 1st bottle. I used Lucas 80w-90. Then I went to the auto part store and bought a pump. Let me tell you, I was happier than a fag with two *** holes.

That pump made so easy, I'm still thinking why I have not purchased one before. The plug didn't have metal shavings but alot of sludge.
20130325_144947.jpg

Jsolo · 03-26-2013, 02:32 AM

^^Interesting place for the spare tire

You do realize with the car on this angle, you're not getting the diff drained as much as it would be if the car was level - I bet quite a bit still remains. Same thing when refilling it, your level would be off. Fluid level will be low when the car is 'leveled'.

Do it once, do it right. Get some jack stand for all 4 corners. If your car is lowered, then use your ramps to get enough clearance to jack it up.

Also, this type of ramp arrangement is a good way to cook your clutch.

When I do any type of maintenance that doesn't require the wheels to come off, I jack up the front under the K member, place 2 rhino ramps under the wheels, then repeat the same process for the back wheels. I place jack stands all around as a precaution, and leave the floor jack either under the front, or rear (depending which area i'm working under). Probably overkill, but better safe than sorry. End result is the car is as level as the garage floor, which is quite level for now.

Footloose301 · 03-26-2013, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannyz

I finally did mine and I have to say I had more challenge getting the Dealer to order the washers than me changing the fluids lol. Both plugs were clean, the differential was with a bit of shaving but that's it, the oil was still new, I guess I dont beat up my car that much.

By the way trough the adventure I went with the dealer I found at least my closest dealer uses Pennzoil 80W-90 NON SYNTHETIC (they claim thats what Nissan send them) and just for curiosity I asked how much was the differential oil since the one they had wasnt synthetic. I hope all of you reading this are sitdown on a chair and please grab the arm rest so you don't get an stress attack.

The guy flipped the monitor to me and says "this is the one that Nissan recommends Synthetic Blend Nissan Hypoid $140 per qt"

I ran away and got me two bottles of Valvoline 80W-90 GL5 for $8.99 per qt.

Yes, it's very common for Nissan to use unicorn blood as an additive in their recommended fluids.

MR.nismo · 03-26-2013, 09:16 AM

[QUOTE=Jsolo;2233489]^^Interesting place for the spare tire

You do realize with the car on this angle, you're not getting the diff drained as much as it would be if the car was level - I bet quite a bit still remains. Same thing when refilling it, your level would be off. Fluid level will be low when the car is 'leveled'.

Also, this type of ramp arrangement is a good way to cook your clutch.

Are you talking to me? (funny accent).
Don't you worry about that!
I drained/filled once, took it for a spin just to get the differential up to temperature then back on the ramp, drained some more and added another bottle or until I could not get anymore fluid in. There were not metal shavings on my plug, so I was not worried about it.
I know what you are saying!

MR.nismo · 03-26-2013, 09:18 AM

Haaa haaa!! I said "no shavings on my plug".

Dwight Frye · 03-26-2013, 07:46 PM

I was able to change the differential fluid on my (unmodified) Z without jacking it up at all just by crawling far enough under it to reach the plugs. But I'm not a fatboy so it wasn't difficult. I did need jackstands to do the transmission fluid change. For that job I drove up on my Rhino ramps, jacked up the rear at the differential with a hockey puck on the cup modified floor jack, and then set jack stands at the proper points to level the car.

TVPostSound · 05-02-2013, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

^^Interesting place for the spare tire

You do realize with the car on this angle, you're not getting the diff drained as much as it would be if the car was level - I bet quite a bit still remains. Same thing when refilling it, your level would be off. Fluid level will be low when the car is 'leveled'.

Actually Mr Nismo with the two *** holes overfilled it!! The fill plug was higher due to the rear jacked up!!

12-30-2012, 01:02 PM	#107 (permalink)
mannyz Enthusiast Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 354 Drives: a car Rep Power: 279	Well im in Florida so yes Temp are always above 32. I see so you guys are just using the 75W as long as is GL-5. Ok Thanks for the clarification __________________

01-01-2013, 12:49 PM	#109 (permalink)
Mwagner07 Base Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: NY Posts: 34 Drives: 2017 370z Red Nismo Rep Power: 16	SOLD (6MT) Manual Tranny Fluid change and Rear Differential Oil. - I have for sale: (3) qts. of Red line MT-85 Tranny Fluid, (4) Nissan OEM Gasket Plugs Part# (38351B) (1) hand held siphon pump, ALSO - for Rear Differential Gear oil change I have (2) qts. ENEOS GL-5 75w-90 Gear Oil I believe 2 of the above listed 4 OEM gasket plugs get used on the tranny plugs - Please double check. PM me and I will setup a ebay sale. TOTAL with shipping $70.00 (Continental USA Only) Please refer to your manual for proper service. SOLD Last edited by Mwagner07; 01-05-2013 at 11:32 AM. Reason: SOLD

01-18-2013, 05:26 PM	#111 (permalink)
JARblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, TX Age: 43 Posts: 36,450 Drives: 11 Z34, 98 E36 M3 Rep Power: 2684440	Just did this today at 30K miles - such an easy DIY. My drain plug looked likes the first few pictures in this thread - it was pretty dirty with a good amount of metal shavings. Redline 75W90 ZForce likes this. __________________ 2011 370Z 6MT Sport Gun Metallic \| ARC \| CJM \| Ecutek \| FI \| Fujimura \| R2C \| SPL \| Stillen \| TWM \| Z1 \| ZSpeed \| Last edited by JARblue; 01-19-2013 at 12:25 AM.

01-19-2013, 12:13 AM	#112 (permalink)
mannyz Enthusiast Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 354 Drives: a car Rep Power: 279	I finally did mine and I have to say I had more challenge getting the Dealer to order the washers than me changing the fluids lol. Both plugs were clean, the differential was with a bit of shaving but that's it, the oil was still new, I guess I dont beat up my car that much. By the way trough the adventure I went with the dealer I found at least my closest dealer uses Pennzoil 80W-90 NON SYNTHETIC (they claim thats what Nissan send them) and just for curiosity I asked how much was the differential oil since the one they had wasnt synthetic. I hope all of you reading this are sitdown on a chair and please grab the arm rest so you don't get an stress attack. The guy flipped the monitor to me and says "this is the one that Nissan recommends Synthetic Blend Nissan Hypoid $140 per qt" I ran away and got me two bottles of Valvoline 80W-90 GL5 for $8.99 per qt. __________________

03-25-2013, 09:40 PM	#114 (permalink)
MR.nismo Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Hackensack, NJ Age: 50 Posts: 373 Drives: 2014 Nismo Gun Metal Rep Power: 14	I replaced the fluid today. It was crazy, I did not had a "pump" so it took me over an hour just to do the 1st bottle. I used Lucas 80w-90. Then I went to the auto part store and bought a pump. Let me tell you, I was happier than a fag with two *** holes. That pump made so easy, I'm still thinking why I have not purchased one before. The plug didn't have metal shavings but alot of sludge. 20130325_144947.jpg __________________ Sarcasm and Orgasm are about the same thing. One is good....the other is better.

12-31-2012, 08:50 PM	#108 (permalink)
Dwight Frye Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Occupied California Posts: 423 Drives: '09 Tour/Sport/6MT Rep Power: 16	I changed mine out today. Mileage on the car was about 29,350 and it was the first change. There was some sludge on the drain plug but no metal particles were seen. The original oil was pretty dark. I used the Redline 75W-90. A couple of tips: I was able to wiggle underneath the car and do it without having to jack it up although I'm not a particularly big guy. I suggest putting one of those large sheet metal drip pans under the car. No problems getting the old oil out, but while pumping the new oil in with a Harbor Freight hand pump, at one point the filler hose popped out of the fill hole and a big spurt of oil splashed down on the drip pan. A piece of duct tape was used to hold the hose in place for the remainder of the job. As others have mentioned, you just pump at least 1 1/2 quarts and when full the excess will drip out. Which is another reason for a drip pan or the used oil container to catch the overflow. Lastly, when done filling the pump needs to be cleaned and pumped a few times to get the excess oil out of the hoses and body. More oil squirting everywhere. Work over the drip pan. But, about a third of a roll of paper towels and some Simple Green and everything cleaned up well. One more caveat: Some pumps are designed to screw right on the top of a quart or gallon oil jug. The Redline bottle necks are smaller than a standard quart bottle. And my Harbor Freight pump just has an input hose and an output hose, no screw cap on the input side. To lessen the chance of tipping and/or spilling, next time I will bore a hole in the cap of the oil bottle just big enough for a tight friction fit of the input hose. That should also hold the end of the hose down at the bottom of the bottle and ensure maximum drain when pumping.

03-26-2013, 02:32 AM	#115 (permalink)
Jsolo Track Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: chicago Posts: 783 Drives: '12 G37 6MT Rep Power: 14	^^Interesting place for the spare tire You do realize with the car on this angle, you're not getting the diff drained as much as it would be if the car was level - I bet quite a bit still remains. Same thing when refilling it, your level would be off. Fluid level will be low when the car is 'leveled'. Do it once, do it right. Get some jack stand for all 4 corners. If your car is lowered, then use your ramps to get enough clearance to jack it up. Also, this type of ramp arrangement is a good way to cook your clutch. When I do any type of maintenance that doesn't require the wheels to come off, I jack up the front under the K member, place 2 rhino ramps under the wheels, then repeat the same process for the back wheels. I place jack stands all around as a precaution, and leave the floor jack either under the front, or rear (depending which area i'm working under). Probably overkill, but better safe than sorry. End result is the car is as level as the garage floor, which is quite level for now. Limeybastard likes this. __________________ G37S Sedan 6MT, Eibach swaybars, Invidia Exhaust, Weaker Clutch Pedal Spring For sale links

03-26-2013, 09:16 AM	#117 (permalink)
MR.nismo Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Hackensack, NJ Age: 50 Posts: 373 Drives: 2014 Nismo Gun Metal Rep Power: 14	[QUOTE=Jsolo;2233489]^^Interesting place for the spare tire You do realize with the car on this angle, you're not getting the diff drained as much as it would be if the car was level - I bet quite a bit still remains. Same thing when refilling it, your level would be off. Fluid level will be low when the car is 'leveled'. Also, this type of ramp arrangement is a good way to cook your clutch. Are you talking to me? (funny accent). Don't you worry about that! I drained/filled once, took it for a spin just to get the differential up to temperature then back on the ramp, drained some more and added another bottle or until I could not get anymore fluid in. There were not metal shavings on my plug, so I was not worried about it. I know what you are saying! __________________ Sarcasm and Orgasm are about the same thing. One is good....the other is better.

03-26-2013, 09:18 AM	#118 (permalink)
MR.nismo Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Hackensack, NJ Age: 50 Posts: 373 Drives: 2014 Nismo Gun Metal Rep Power: 14	Haaa haaa!! I said "no shavings on my plug". __________________ Sarcasm and Orgasm are about the same thing. One is good....the other is better.

03-26-2013, 07:46 PM	#119 (permalink)
Dwight Frye Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Occupied California Posts: 423 Drives: '09 Tour/Sport/6MT Rep Power: 16	I was able to change the differential fluid on my (unmodified) Z without jacking it up at all just by crawling far enough under it to reach the plugs. But I'm not a fatboy so it wasn't difficult. I did need jackstands to do the transmission fluid change. For that job I drove up on my Rhino ramps, jacked up the rear at the differential with a hockey puck on the cup modified floor jack, and then set jack stands at the proper points to level the car.

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