Change Driveline Fluids Early!

[Longshot]

Yep; you can follow my UOAs here.

I use Polaris because Blackstone does not use gas chromatography to measure fuel dilution and they are not ISO 17025 certified. They also may not always use the current ASTM testing methodologies. Last, but not least, they are much more expensive than Polaris.

What you have to keep in mind with any UOA is that it cannot see particles over or under a certain size and it should be used more for health of the oil versus wear/metal detection.

In the end, the majority of people (me included) change the oil to get the break-in particles out of the axle. An axle has neither a pressurized or filtered oil system and the wear particles will accelerate the wear over time.

Great answer and thanks for the info! I've always used Blackstone for engine oil analysis over the years, but not gear oil, etc. I'll have to look into Polaris. Didn't think I would need to consider break in oil on the drivetrain too... Appreciated!

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[Sparkherd]

So I got my ARB diff cover a few days ago, got me some Mobile Uno 75w-140 today.
Got more stuff coming next week to do the rest of the driveline.
Just under 12K miles.
What took the longest was drilling out the bolt holes in the 1/4" adel clamps for the brake line.
Knob Creek 100 proof is good!
Harbour Fright SUCKS!!!

View attachment 633024

Chunk Of Shit creeper!!!
Used TWICE!!!
And I don't weigh 300 lbs!!!

 

[dgorsett]

Great answer and thanks for the info! I've always used Blackstone for engine oil analysis over the years, but not gear oil, etc. I'll have to look into Polaris. Didn't think I would need to consider break in oil on the drivetrain too... Appreciated!

Probably doesn't matter, I sent a motor oil sample to Blackstone suspecting atf contamination, they said they couldn't tell the difference

 

[CarbonSteel]

Probably doesn't matter, I sent a motor oil sample to Blackstone suspecting atf contamination, they said they couldn't tell the difference

LOL...which is why it does matter. I equate Blackstone to a hobby level lab whereas Polaris is engineering level. Blackstone's anecdotal comments are always good for a laugh.

 

[Fmuguira]

Picked up a FP cover a few months back. At 5000 miles right now so will replace cover and fluid next few weeks.

Question for those of you with the FP cover; do you fill differential oil to low or high plug on the FP cover? Guessing it’s the lower one but want to be sure before tackling. Figured all of you with the FP cover have already crossed this bridge!!
Thx

 

[CarbonSteel]

Picked up a FP cover a few months back. At 5000 miles right now so will replace cover and fluid next few weeks.

Question for those of you with the FP cover; do you fill differential oil to low or high plug on the FP cover? Guessing it’s the lower one but want to be sure before tackling. Figured all of you with the FP cover have already crossed this bridge!!
Thx

The low one. The high one is used on a new never had oil in it before axle because some fluid is used to "wet" everything. Once filled the low one is used from that point forward.

 

[Fmuguira]

Perfect, Thx !!

 

[BoldNorth]

Hello all. I'm new here, and my Bronco just hit production. I've been learning a lot from the forums, especially this thread. Thanks for all the great info in one spot.

Are people still receiving Bronco's with underfilled Diffs? I was thinking to check and add fluid if so. Also, if I ultimately want to switch to the Dana-recommended 75-140, can I add that to the production fluid if low from the factory, or is it bad to mix weights?

 

[Lotus Dave]

Thanks @CarbonSteel for compiling this useful info! I just ordered the FP cover and will change front/rear diffs & trans case fluids when the new cover arrives. I'm currently around 11,500 miles and will report my findings.

 

[toymaster]

.........
In the end, the majority of people (me included) change the oil to get the break-in particles out of the axle. An axle has neither a pressurized or filtered oil system and the wear particles will accelerate the wear over time.

100% agree I generally keep changing my fluid every oil change till the magnets comes up clean, then just check the magnet every oil change. With E-locking axles the actuators will collect the particles and wear prematurely or stop working, causing more headaches. Noticed on my superduty ford says first change at 150K....yeah no thank you.

 

[Callelk]

With 1K on my HE I did an oil change, front diff and T-case oil change. I have driven it it 4A a couple of times since receiving it the first of Feb but no off-roading yet. The engine oil on the dipstick was clean but really dirty in the pan. The catch can had a little over a teaspoon of oil in it so I believe it was worth the investment. Front diff had a lot of metal on the magnet and the gear oil had some shine to it from break-in. Filled the front diff with 75-140 because I had it and will switch to 75-110 next go around. The T-Case did not have a magnet and was laced with black break in/wear materials. I took a spare magnetic plug I had and replace the T-Case drain plug, refilled with Motorcraft LV but will change to Castrol full synthetic at 3K when I do my next oil change.

Today I will change the rear diff cover to the FP cover with 3 magnets per CarbonSteel's recommendation and fill with 75-140.

For diff fluid I just used Valvoline and will use it until 6K. At that point I will be on my 3rd diff fluid change and will switch to Amsoil.

 

[Callelk]

Forgot to mention, I changed the oil drain plug.......

 

[Callelk]

I changed my rear diff fluid yesterday and installed the FP cover. At 1K miles it looked like hot garbage with a lot of metal on the magnet. I will change it at 3K and as I mentioned before 6K at which time I will fill it with Amsoil ILO Valvoline.

 

[FerkinBlonco]

Hey @CarbonSteel thanks for posting all this stuff. The thread + reference spreadsheets + vids have been incredibly useful.

I’ve got one question, sorry if it’s been asked a dozen times. Search function failed me, or I failed it.

I put more than 65oz in the rear diff (non locking). Probably closer to 75oz (level ground - still not up to fill hole - stock cover with just the one plug hole). I’ve seen conflicting statements on the inter webs on filling the diff up to the hole vs filling to the factory spec amount. What’s your take? If you were in my shoes, would you try and get closer to the spec amount?

I can easily pull some back out, although never gonna get to exactly the fill capacity at this point, aside from doing another drain and fill with a known starting quantity.

I’ve read some random online forum posts about pinion seals leaking when filling to the hole vs factory spec so I got a little paranoid. Haven’t driven since the fill. The rig yet since the fill, although it looks like th pinion seal may have been leaking a little already.

glamor shot of the drain process. Def a bit nasty:

 

[CarbonSteel]

Hey @CarbonSteel thanks for posting all this stuff. The thread + reference spreadsheets + vids have been incredibly useful.

I’ve got one question, sorry if it’s been asked a dozen times. Search function failed me, or I failed it.

I put more than 65oz in the rear diff (non locking). Probably closer to 75oz (level ground - still not up to fill hole - stock cover with just the one plug hole). I’ve seen conflicting statements on the inter webs on filling the diff up to the hole vs filling to the factory spec amount. What’s your take? If you were in my shoes, would you try and get closer to the spec amount?

I would fill to the bottom of the fill hole. There could be some variations in capacity, though 10 ounces is quite a bit more than stated by Ford.

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