Diff calls for 1.1L of oil, can i fill it with 1L?

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FCD

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For some great reason Ford decided my diff has to have 1.1 Liters of oil in it, i only have 1 liter of Castrol EPX SAE 90 gear oil and it is rather expensive, can i just fill it with 1 liter? will 100ml make that huge of a difference?
 
Just add motor oil, 1/10 of a liter won't hurt and will bring the level up.
It does have to be up to make its way over to the axle bearings, so might be sure you have enough.
 
It probably won't make much difference to under fill by 100ml and it would be a shame to break into a fresh bottle to only use 100ml of it, but at the same time a car as old and as good condition as your deserves to have things done right.

Imagine how annoyed you'd be if the diff died because it was under filled...
 
Maybe its my informal OCD kicking in, but if it was me, I would break down and add the additional 3 or so ounces......If I didn't, I would be waiting for the worst to happen.

Just Saying............
 
Well i don't know really, the diff is pretty well hidden, if you look underneath the car from behind you only see the lower part of it, i have to take the rear wheels off to take a good look at it.
 
Ok,i'm surprised the diff is still going strong with no groaning or any noises, it's got over 300.000 miles on it and over 41 years and it has never been touched other than oil changes "every now and then", which would be about half a decade between changes.
The gearbox is also original to the car and i will be changing the oil in it at the same time, it's also held up well although it sometimes has a slight groan downshifting from 3rd to 2nd, i think the last mechanic who changed the oil in it might have put GL5 in it, i'm hoping a GL-4 oil will make the noise go away and make the synchros engage properly.
 
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Just add motor oil, 1/10 of a liter won't hurt and will bring the level up.
It does have to be up to make its way over to the axle bearings, so might be sure you have enough.


+1
 
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
I have some GL4 75W90 oil too, can i use 100ml of that?

This is fine for topping up.It's a transmission gear oil though not axle gear oil.
As mentioned above, a thick engine oil would work as well in your case.
 
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Drain or suck out fluid into clean jug.

Put your liter in.

Suck .1 liter of used oil back up in to bottle, and squirt to fill.

I think lots of diffs are ok if it's within 1 cm of top and not overflowing.

Some car manuals talk about 1cm down being the right level.

Syn gear oil can last many miles and time.
 
Yeah, but you cannot measure it. It seems like it will be a fun exercise with skill and hypothesis. You will have to find the right time to put the drain plug back in.

And I think the level is acceptable if there are no drips from the fill when on level ground for the upper end: and you put a clean finger in and can touch the fluid level is ok for the lower end.


Clean the plugs, they may be magnetic and have iron particles/shavings or sludge.
 
Originally Posted By: Bgallagher
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Just add motor oil, 1/10 of a liter won't hurt and will bring the level up.
It does have to be up to make its way over to the axle bearings, so might be sure you have enough.


+1


Additive packs are worse than incompatible between differential oil and engine oil.

One is essentially acidic in nature, the other basic.

Bad advice.
 
Put the 1L in, and as long as you can put your trigger finger in the hole, bend it down at first knuckle from the finger nail, and touch oil, you are well and truly safe.

Watch this video, not because you need arctic protection, but you get a visual understanding of how differentials are lubricated.
 
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I wouldn't mix engine oil and gear lube either. First time I've ever read that advice on the web actually.

If you are really worried, go out and buy more. Surely there are cheaper alternatives? I'd rather mix gear oils than leave the old in personally.

Assuming it just doesn't have a drain and fill hole, I'd take the cover off and spay the gears down with brake cleaner. Do the job right and get all the old out of there.
 
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