Change Driveline Fluids Early!

[CarbonSteel]

I think the service center was just more curious as to why I would be straying off of the recommended for any warranty concerns down the road. I had brought friction modifiers initially when it seemed like maybe they were talking about bulk gear oils of the right weight, they said they can add friction modifiers, I had the conversation with them about what I had read that any name brand synthetic gear oils will already have any of that it would need, if essentially needed at all. Seems like they were open to help me find the cheapest budget route or try to understand why I am wanting to stray off the recommended. Honestly the more I think about the intervals I might be doing these myself at the house and order the little funnel off Amazon.

Just know that friction modifiers are not required at all in electronic locking differentials which is what is in a Wildtrak.

Not relevant to your use case but having to add friction modifiers suggests they are not using a synthetic oil and if it is bulk oil it may be conventional (such as an 80W-90).

I would do it myself and here is a great funnel to use for this - https://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-10106B-FloTool-Filler-Refill/dp/B000EH4UXM

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[CarbonSteel]

I don’t have an ELD in the rear and I’m only a 3.73 axle ratio. You think i could get away with 110 in the rear and 90 up front seeing as I probably won’t be using 4wd much and it will majority be in 2h. Thanks for any input. I have some left over new stock 75w-90 and would like to use it up. lol

Yes; I think it would be fine, but honestly, 75W-110 is not commonly stocked. I would do 75W-90 in the front and 75W-140 in the rear and call it a day.

 

[ozark_stang]

Just know that friction modifiers are not required at all in electronic locking differentials which is what is in a Wildtrak.

Not relevant to your use case but having to add friction modifiers suggests they are not using a synthetic oil and if it is bulk oil it may be conventional (such as an 80W-90).

I would do it myself and here is a great funnel to use for this - https://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-10106B-FloTool-Filler-Refill/dp/B000EH4UXM

I speculate you are correct about the bulk oil option they were offering for what I am trying to accomplish.

 

[Aonarch]

I'll be doing mine right at 5k. I changed the oil at 1k. Yeah, yeah, yeah 4k miles on a high quality synthetic is nothing, but now this way my OCI is 5k, 10k, 15k, 20k, 25k, etc, etc, etc.

I only drive about 5k miles a year, so I hit the 1 year mark on the oil anyways.

 

[ozark_stang]

I speculate you are correct about the bulk oil option they were offering for what I am trying to accomplish.

Is their an ideal temperature range to drop and change the fluids? Should you drive it a little, let cool and then do it or Sunday morning job after its set over night?

I think your statement " 75W-90 in the front and 75W-140 in the rear and call it a day." is going to be the best route, I did add tow capability to the order, me and the wife have been thinking about getting some jet skis or a camper which for the platform I would think would be considered heavy duty towing even with a smaller camper. Looking in the Jeep communities forums posts from the past few years I am seeing a common trend there, some even jumping to a 80W-120 or 85W-140 but 75w140 in the rear and 75W-90 most popular for heavier towing.

I found it interesting some had switched from a synthetic to a conventional saying it disperses heat better for the heavier towing but non had been able to verify that that I had seen,

Also, what are your thoughts on this stuff? Its almost to much of a coincidence I stumbled onto it in research an the available viscosities.

 

[ozark_stang]

Is their an ideal temperature range to drop and change the fluids? Should you drive it a little, let cool and then do it or Sunday morning job after its set over night?

I think your statement " 75W-90 in the front and 75W-140 in the rear and call it a day." is going to be the best route, I did add tow capability to the order, me and the wife have been thinking about getting some jet skis or a camper which for the platform I would think would be considered heavy duty towing even with a smaller camper. Looking in the Jeep communities forums posts from the past few years I am seeing a common trend there, some even jumping to a 80W-120 or 85W-140 but 75w140 in the rear and 75W-90 most popular for heavier towing.

I found it interesting some had switched from a synthetic to a conventional saying it disperses heat better for the heavier towing but non had been able to verify that that I had seen,

Also, what are your thoughts on this stuff? Its almost to much of a coincidence I stumbled onto it in research an the available viscosities.

 

[CarbonSteel]

See my thoughts in red...

Is their an ideal temperature range to drop and change the fluids? Should you drive it a little, let cool and then do it or Sunday morning job after its set over night? I change it after it has sat overnight. This allows the majority of the fluid to drop to the bottom of the housing. After draining, take some lint free (I use Scott's blue paper towels) and wipe about the basin as there will be quite a bit of metal collected there. DO NOT spray any type of brake cleaner or the like inside the housing. Use lint free paper towels only.

Looking in the Jeep communities forums posts from the past few years I am seeing a common trend there, some even jumping to a 80W-120 (Never seen an 80W-120 in the wild) or 85W-140 (I use 85W-140 while breaking new gears after a re-gear because it is cheap and I dump the fluid a few times at 500 mile intervals--this does not apply to you. I would not run a conventional oil, I would run synthetic) but 75w140 in the rear and 75W-90 most popular for heavier towing.

I found it interesting some had switched from a synthetic to a conventional saying it disperses heat better for the heavier towing but non had been able to verify that that I had seen, (There is NO conventional that can handle cold or heat as well as a synthetic. Conventional oils will break down from high heat long before a synthetic will. Other than cost there is ZERO benefit to running a conventional over a synthetic oil).

Also, what are your thoughts on this stuff? Its almost to much of a coincidence I stumbled onto it in research an the available viscosities. (Never heard of it, but there are many branded oils that are made by companies like Warren Oil--not saying this one is. I would grab Valvoline or Mobil 1 from your local Walmart. Doubt you will find it cheaper anywhere else and Mobil or Valvoline will work perfectly in the axles. Valvoline has flex packs that make the installation of the oil a breeze).

 

[Ziemann]

Is their an ideal temperature range to drop and change the fluids? Should you drive it a little, let cool and then do it or Sunday morning job after its set over night?

I think your statement " 75W-90 in the front and 75W-140 in the rear and call it a day." is going to be the best route, I did add tow capability to the order, me and the wife have been thinking about getting some jet skis or a camper which for the platform I would think would be considered heavy duty towing even with a smaller camper. Looking in the Jeep communities forums posts from the past few years I am seeing a common trend there, some even jumping to a 80W-120 or 85W-140 but 75w140 in the rear and 75W-90 most popular for heavier towing.

I found it interesting some had switched from a synthetic to a conventional saying it disperses heat better for the heavier towing but non had been able to verify that that I had seen,

Oooof.....so much bad information in your paragraph. Wow. @CarbonSteel did a very nice job of redirecting.... The Moral of the story? It's pretty simple- change your fluids, and use a decent synthetic. Follow @CarbonSteel 's advice, and you'll be in great shape.

BTW- Heavy Towing? Bronco's aren't capable of heavy towing. We're only talking 3260 lbs.-4500 lbs. max towing capacity.

I'm generally towing 3500 lbs. anywhere from 3000-5000 miles/year. But that doesn't mean that there isn't increased stress on the driveline. Lubes need to be taken in to consideration for all of the reasons outlined in this thread.

 

[ozark_stang]

Oooof.....so much bad information in your paragraph. Wow. @CarbonSteel did a very nice job of redirecting.... The Moral of the story? It's pretty simple- change your fluids, and use a decent synthetic. Follow @CarbonSteel 's advice, and you'll be in great shape.

BTW- Heavy Towing? Bronco's aren't capable of heavy towing. We're only talking 3260 lbs.-4500 lbs. max towing capacity.

I'm generally towing 3500 lbs. anywhere from 3000-5000 miles/year. But that doesn't mean that there isn't increased stress on the driveline. Lubes need to be taken in to consideration for all of the reasons outlined in this thread.

Realistically anything bigger than a lawn mower trailer or over 1000 pounds is classified as heavy towing with a Ford SUV thats not an Expedition with tow and an ELSD axle and 9k tow

 

[Ziemann]

Ummmm....no........

 

[RedSoloCup]

Well just ordered the Ford Performance Diff Cover. Wondering if you can reused the reusable gasket from the stock one or you should buy a new one before you install this? Thanks

 

[CarbonSteel]

Well just ordered the Ford Performance Diff Cover. Wondering if you can reused the reusable gasket from the stock one or you should buy a new one before you install this? Thanks

I reused my stock one. TBT - the Wrangler has the same axle and I reused that one more than 10x before I changed it.

Just don't over torque and you'll be good to go.

 

[The Bronc]

The 22 ft. Lbs. you recommended was perfect! I have had zero weeping.

 

[CarbonSteel]

The 22 ft. Lbs. you recommended was perfect! I have had zero weeping.

Awesome sauce! The OEM gaskets are quite forgiving of subtle differences in the gasket face between the axle and the cover. The Wrangler has the same rear axle under it and uses the same gasket. I reused mine 10 times before replacing it and it was not leaking when I did.

Glad you were able to do the work. Lots of dollars saved!

 

[Deano Bronc]

It looks like I will have the same issue with the DV8 rear diff skid. I just ordered the FP Rear cover and I haven't gotten the DV8 skid out yet but by their picture, there is going to be a lot of grinding involved to get it to work.

This last weekend I changed the front diff, rear diff and transfer case fluids. I tried several different ways to put new fluid in and I've come to the conclusion its a mess no matter what.

One thing I wish I would have realized prior to removing the rear diff cover is that the top of the stock diff plate plus the thickness of the gasket holds a lot of dirt and dust. When I removed the cover and all kinds of crud fell down on the gears. I was not a happy camper. Tried to wipe it out the best I could but I know I didn't get it all. Just clean the top as good as you can prior to opening the cover!

I installed the FP Diff cover plus the DV8 diff skid which I had to modify to fit over the new cover. I think it came out pretty good and I have the benefit of the new cover plus protection.

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