Rear differential fluid? What other fluids need replacing?

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ocdjg
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Rear differential fluid? What other fluids need replacing?

Postby ocdjg » Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:20 am

What up fellas. I'm still learning my Pathy and just the other day I had her serviced for a routine oil change. They tech suggested I replace the rear differential fluid as he showed me a cup of some grayish looking goop that was supposed to be the fluid. So here are my questions...

1) What color is it supposed to be?
2) How often am I supposed to drain and refill that?
3) Is this something I can do myself, and if so can someone tell me how?
4) What other fluids should I replace?

My Pathy is an 06 SE with approx. 60K mile on her.


ocdjg
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Postby ocdjg » Mon Apr 19, 2010 11:58 am

Damn no one has anything to offer?

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BMXPath
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Postby BMXPath » Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:04 pm

Hold your horses oc!! :wink: I am sure many of us here have "day jobs" and have limited time to cruise/ reply to message boards. Your question will require a bit of time to give a decent response.

I have changed the rear diff fluid a couple of times in my Pathy. It is quite easy for the semi-knowledgable do-it-yourself-er. I will try to give you an informative reply before the day is out, IF no one else does by then.

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pawjr74
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Postby pawjr74 » Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:26 pm

I replaced mine with Mobile 1 synthetic 75W-90.

There are two 10 millimeter torx bolts. One on the bottom and one on the passenger side of the rear diff. It's best to remove the top first and then the bottom and let the old fluid drain into a pan.

Put the bottom plug/bolt back in and fill until the fluid runs out the top hole.

Put the top plug/bolt back in.

Nissan sells new washers but I re-used the ones on mine and do not have any leaks.

I think I bought 3 quarts of oil and only used 2.

ocdjg
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Postby ocdjg » Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:40 pm

BMXPath, I saw 30 views and no replies.


pawjr74, thanks for that info. I'll most likely be replacing my own fluid come this weekend.

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:05 pm

ocdjg wrote:BMXPath, I saw 30 views and no replies.

many times when a post is read, the reader may not have the time to respond at that moment, especially in a non-urgent situation.
other than the appearance of your grayish looking goop, all of your questions' answers (and a whole lot of other reference materials) can be found in the service manual in the third "sticky" at the top of this forum. :wink:
8)

ocdjg
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Postby ocdjg » Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:15 pm

dryart wrote:
ocdjg wrote:BMXPath, I saw 30 views and no replies.

many times when a post is read, the reader may not have the time to respond at that moment, especially in a non-urgent situation.
other than the appearance of your grayish looking goop, all of your questions' answers (and a whole lot of other reference materials) can be found in the service manual in the third "sticky" at the top of this forum. :wink:
8)
Duly noted, 8)

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BMXPath
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Postby BMXPath » Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:21 pm

First time I replaced the washers, 2nd time I didnt. They are made of a pretty thick aluminum, so reusing them is not out of the question. Part number, if you want to get them is 11026-4N200... they are around $3 each.
I used Mobil 1 75W90, same as pawjr. The stuff from Nissan is supposedly synthetic too. Main thing is it need to be GL-5 spec fluid. Most Brands are anyways.

The Pathy does have a limited slip diff but no need to buy any additives if you use the Mobil 1... It already has the additive in it.

Get you a $8 hand pump with a hose from you local auto parts store. It makes it much easier to fill with a hand pump. The fill plug is on the side and you wont be able to get the diff fluid bottle up to it, by itself.

ocdjg
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Postby ocdjg » Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:37 pm

Excellent info guys, thank you. It is much appreciated.

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Tech
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Postby Tech » Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:45 pm

they're 10mm ALLEN, and the fluid depends on your diff.
M226 (75w-140) or C2XX (80w-90) - (off the top of my head).
You can absolutely do it yourself. Clean the crap off your drain plug and refill until it spills out the fill plug. If you're on your back doing it, you may want to drop the spare to give yourself some room.

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pawjr74
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Postby pawjr74 » Tue Apr 27, 2010 8:07 pm

You're right tech...don't know why I said torx.

Npath
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Postby Npath » Mon May 10, 2010 11:36 pm

Tech wrote:they're 10mm ALLEN, and the fluid depends on your diff.
M226 (75w-140) or C2XX (80w-90) - (off the top of my head).
You can absolutely do it yourself. Clean the crap off your drain plug and refill until it spills out the fill plug. If you're on your back doing it, you may want to drop the spare to give yourself some room.
Where are the markings that would tell me which model dif I have? Would it be on the back side of the housing?

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Tech
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Postby Tech » Tue May 11, 2010 8:05 am

generally speaking the off road ones have a finned aluminum diff cover and are the m226 that take the 75-12X syn. If you call your parts dept with the VIN, they can tell you for certain.

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richardekirby
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Postby richardekirby » Tue May 11, 2010 8:27 am

Not sure if you have a 4x4 or not. If you do, you will want to change out the transfer case fluid as well. It is much like changing out the diffs...two plugs...drain...refill. See your manual for fluid type.

KEVSTER
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Postby KEVSTER » Wed May 12, 2010 4:37 pm

Tech wrote:generally speaking the off road ones have a finned aluminum diff cover and are the m226 that take the 75-12X syn. If you call your parts dept with the VIN, they can tell you for certain.
My LE Pathy has the finned cover, it is not a Off Road. I was thinking of changing my rear axle fluid too, get rid of the break in stuff, I was thinking of ROYAL PURPLE .. :wink:


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