DIY: Rear Differential Oil Change

Bad Boy

The write ups says 2 quarts. Is 2 quarts enough to fill it up and have some extra fluid, or should I order a 3rd quart just in case?

I will also do the transmission which requires 3 quarts and am wondering the same thing.

I dont want to have to spend money on extra fluid if I dont have to, this stuff is expensive...

JARblue

The FSM says differential fluid volume is 3 US pt. That is only 1.5 US qt, so you will be fine with 2

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Bananaz

Yes order 2 for just the diff. I had a little left over. When it starts spilling out of the fill hole you're done.

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JARblue

To clarify, Z1 recommends an additional quart if you are removing the rear diff cover. They claim the actual volume is 2-1/4 quarts. But you can't drain all the fluid, so unless you remove the cover, you're fine with 2 quarts.

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Skyscraper

Yup, still have half a quart left from the 2 I started with. Felt great to clean all the nasty sludge and shavings off the drain plug. On another note, the drain/fill plug gasket didn't look to me like the copper crush type, they looked like steel or something else to me and mine looked perfect so I simply reused them and gonna keep an eye out for leaks, bone dry thus far.

TreeSemdyZee

And for this, my dealership wanted to charge me $130.

JARblue

Nissan Part #11026-4N200

For the transmission they are called a gasket. For the differential, they are called a washer. Same part number.

I reused them once when the dealer sold me the wrong parts. I had no issues. But they aren't expensive, so I just bought like 20 of them last time I bought parts.

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Skyscraper

Yeah, I just foolishly didn't have them when I changed mine, no leaking thus far, just going to keep an eye on it and throw fresh ones on at the next change if there's no issues.

nis350

Is the Mobile 1 differential fluid comparable to the OEM in term of quality?

JARblue

Any gear oil with the proper weight/viscosity should be fine. Most people here will recommend Redline. I use Mobil 1 engine oil, but I use Redline gear oils.

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nis350

Yes. I did notice that most like to use Redline diff fluid. I've using Mobile 1 motor oil for many years also. So don't mind using the diff fluid as long as it is oem quality. thanks.

SouthArk370Z

As per JARblue, for a DD, any major-brand/high-quality lube will work quite well. For non-DD applications, there are plenty of which-oil-is-best threads on this site (and others) already - Search is your friend.

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90 ST

I used a Siphon pump the first time I did a oil change on it, but this time I made a pump kit, works way better, IMO used it for both the tranny and diff. I got a new clean pump from Starbucks, the ones they use for syrup, cut the tube down to fit, and drilled out the top of a Redline oil 1Qt. bottle. Done.
The pump end is log enough to go into the Tranny/Diff and you just push the bottle up and down. worked great!

vtec to vvel

Just got done changing my rear diff. fluid. Pretty much straight forward and similar process, if not the same, as my old 350Z. The only minor issue I had was the 370Z seems have to have less space when getting to the Fill Hole, as getting a torque wrench was impossible and I had to just use a longer rachet.

regarding the pump, i used the one were you can screw on the top of the bottle, much like the above user mentioned with the starbucks ones. the problem with these pumps is that there's really no wiggle room underneath the car (and my car is stock height) and your arm will get really tired after a few pumps.

the other thing is with my 350Z, i jacked up all for sides of my car, which ended up taking me an hour. with the 370Z, i just jacked up the driver rear side, drained the fluid, and refilled. I then lowered the car without the Fill Plug to let any excess go into the oil container (I had a oil container low enough to where it fit under the car even when car wasn't on a jack). Once all the excess drained out, raised the car, and placed the Fill Plug.

BuddyLee

My educated guess is that the pint that is unable to drain unless you take the whole diff cover off, that remains after draining the majority of oil out of the drain plug, has finally been diluted down after a few changes and the fluid looks much cleaner now.

I plan on doing my first diff change next week, 15k miles on my 2012. I am picking up a livestock syringe from Tractor Supply that I will be able to attach vinyl tubing to, so I may remove as much of the old gear oil out of the diff through the filler hole as possible without removing the whole cover.

I'll let you guys know if I'm successful or not.