F150 Front Differential

[hatt]

What a mess. Looks impossible to remove the cover within fooling with major components. A drain plug would have been nice. Fluid was white. I managed to suction out a lot of it. I topped off with some old Supertech 80w-90 I had laying around. Maybe next year I'll try a smaller suction tube to get out most of the oil and put in the syn I bought for it. I'm guessing the Lubelocker gasket I have will never make it on to this diff. On the plus side I did get the transfer case fluid changed again.

 

[Snagglefoot]

When did Ford get rid of the plug on the front diff? Funny what the colours are on used lube coming out of front diffs. My Chev had grey fluid coming out.

 

[hatt]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
When did Ford get rid of the plug on the front diff?

No idea. It doesn't make any sense. It's one thing to not have a drain when the cover is fairly easy to remove but this is just nonsense. Differentials are something that need to be serviced, especially if you're in water.

Yeah, I wasn't trilled with the color but I did know most people report whitish fluid on F150 fronts. I would have been freaking out if there weren't many many reports of this.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
When did Ford get rid of the plug on the front diff?


Ford probably now considers the front diff to be lifetime like the rear diff, so why do you need a drain plug

.

Whimsey

 

[Astro14]

I take it that this is on your F-150.

One thing I appreciate about Toyota trucks - there is a drain plug on the differentials, front and rear. Not only a drain plug, but a magnetic one.

In a situation like yours*, I cobbled together a Mercedes nylon vacuum line, which was very thin, about 1/8", onto the regular rubber line on my Mityvac, so that I could scavenge all the way to the bottom of the case and get all the old fluid. I would wait for warm weather, or hit the case with a torch for a bit, to warm the fluid and allow it to be withdrawn through that thin line.


*The transfer case gear on my wife's Volvo XC, known as the angle gear by Volvo, had the same issue. What a PITA to service it, and of course, it was a common failure point in that car. Junkyards have all been picked clean of angle gears, because they were "sealed for life" and hard to service, so, if you want one now, you'll have to pony up $1,800 for a new one from Volvo...

I emptied and refilled that angle gear several times, but when it started leaking from one of the seals, I pulled it out, re-sealed it, and added a magnetic drain plug... I wish I had done that a decade ago...sure beats scavenging it out slowly with a Mityvac.

Details here, if you're interested: http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?29700-Angle-Gear-sealing-and-modification

 

[hatt]

The Ford tech on YouTube uses a stiff 1/8" hose. I should have watched that video first lol.

 

[tcp71]

It's condensation (water) in the fluid that turns it white. Unless you are bringing the fluid up to a temperature that boils off the water on a regular basis, it creates the white (emulsified?) oil. While it's common to have white-ish oil in the front differential, it is not ideal. I can't imagine why ford doesn't put a drain plug on that differential as it doesn't turn unless you are in some form of 4wd. I use 4wd a bit on icy roads in the winter, but almost never throughout the summer and I will change the differential fluid (vacuum out) every 24 months to try to keep the water to a minimum.

 

[andyd]

Yah ,they musta knocked 50 cents of the price of covers. The D 35 is light weight piece of junk compared to the solid D 44 on my Jeeps. The Rat's leaks . I keep a jug of 80/90 handy for top off. The leak is gonna hafta get way worse to get better

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Becha you can buy a cover with fill and drain bungs - or have you local welder add them for you. If it aint getting submerged, its only 2 or 3 changes in a lifetime so … no REAL biggie, Right?

Wonder how hatt got water in there - Hurricane Maria?

 

[buck91]

I had good results suctioning my front dif oil as well. Got more than the specified fill volume out, so I'm happy with the service. Would be nice to have a drain plug on it but not worth the cost or hassle of cover replacement.

That said, the lube locker gasket MIGHT find its way on to the rear during the next service.

 

[dustyroads]

I want to vacuum out my F150's front diff in the near future, too. I've been thinking about what to refill it with. I've got M1 75W-140 on the shelf and may just go with that, rather than buying anything else. It may be overkill, but I guess no harm in using it, either.

Is there any reason to stick with a conventional 80W-90 like Ford put in?

 

[Jimzz]

Yep pulled a motor out of a 4x4 F150 and even then it was not a easy task. I was able to get the cover off and it also had milky fluid. I believe its the vent line does not work well on them. I cleaned it out and put in some 75w90 syn fluid.

I have heard from others about the front diff in those F150s getting milky. So its not just you or your truck.

 

[buck91]

Originally Posted by dustyroads
I want to vacuum out my F150's front diff in the near future, too. I've been thinking about what to refill it with. I've got M1 75W-140 on the shelf and may just go with that, rather than buying anything else. It may be overkill, but I guess no harm in using it, either.

Is there any reason to stick with a conventional 80W-90 like Ford put in?



Its basically just a Ford 8.8 which has been spec'd with 80w90 to 75w140 over the years. I opted for a synthetic 75w80 since 95% of my 4WD use is in winter conditions. Can't see how 75w140 would be a problem, though.

 

[zeng]

Originally Posted by dustyroads
I want to vacuum out my F150's front diff in the near future, too. I've been thinking about what to refill it with. I've got M1 75W-140 on the shelf and may just go with that, rather than buying anything else. It may be overkill, but I guess no harm in using it, either.

Is there any reason to stick with a conventional 80W-90 like Ford put in?

IMHO, you should stick with the intended 75W140 for its higher KV40C, not because it's synthetic though.
In differential lubrication, there isn't such a thing as too thick ... with available grades in NA.

 

[PFP]

Originally Posted by tcp71
It's condensation (water) in the fluid that turns it white. Unless you are bringing the fluid up to a temperature that boils off the water on a regular basis, it creates the white (emulsified?) oil. While it's common to have white-ish oil in the front differential, it is not ideal. I can't imagine why ford doesn't put a drain plug on that differential as it doesn't turn unless you are in some form of 4wd. I use 4wd a bit on icy roads in the winter, but almost never throughout the summer and I will change the differential fluid (vacuum out) every 24 months to try to keep the water to a minimum.


Not necessarily condensation, at all. At the factory, Ford coats gears with a white marking compound, to check the pinion and ring gear runout. It turns the differential oil a milky or grey color or even greenish-grey. This is normal and Ford has issued a TSB advising this.

See the thread below and post #13, specifically:

https://www.f150forum.com/f38/bad-diff-oil-2011-a-116066/index2/

 

[dustyroads]

Originally Posted by buck91
Originally Posted by dustyroads
I want to vacuum out my F150's front diff in the near future, too. I've been thinking about what to refill it with. I've got M1 75W-140 on the shelf and may just go with that, rather than buying anything else. It may be overkill, but I guess no harm in using it, either.

Is there any reason to stick with a conventional 80W-90 like Ford put in?



Its basically just a Ford 8.8 which has been spec'd with 80w90 to 75w140 over the years. I opted for a synthetic 75w80 since 95% of my 4WD use is in winter conditions. Can't see how 75w140 would be a problem, though.

Originally Posted by zeng
Originally Posted by dustyroads
I want to vacuum out my F150's front diff in the near future, too. I've been thinking about what to refill it with. I've got M1 75W-140 on the shelf and may just go with that, rather than buying anything else. It may be overkill, but I guess no harm in using it, either.

Is there any reason to stick with a conventional 80W-90 like Ford put in?

IMHO, you should stick with the intended 75W140 for its higher KV40C, not because it's synthetic though.
In differential lubrication, there isn't such a thing as too thick ... with available grades in NA.



Thanks buck91 and zeng. I will go with the 75W-140 then.

I had purchased 75W-90 for the front diff but never got around to getting it serviced, and when my dad's Silverado needed new seals, I gave it to him.

 

[dustyroads]

Originally Posted by PFP
Originally Posted by tcp71
It's condensation (water) in the fluid that turns it white. Unless you are bringing the fluid up to a temperature that boils off the water on a regular basis, it creates the white (emulsified?) oil. While it's common to have white-ish oil in the front differential, it is not ideal. I can't imagine why ford doesn't put a drain plug on that differential as it doesn't turn unless you are in some form of 4wd. I use 4wd a bit on icy roads in the winter, but almost never throughout the summer and I will change the differential fluid (vacuum out) every 24 months to try to keep the water to a minimum.


Not necessarily condensation, at all. At the factory, Ford coats gears with a white marking compound, to check the pinion and ring gear runout. It turns the differential oil a milky or grey color or even greenish-grey. This is normal and Ford has issued a TSB advising this.

See the thread below and post #13, specifically:

https://www.f150forum.com/f38/bad-diff-oil-2011-a-116066/index2/



Yeah, I've read reports from a few guys that swapped out the factory fill from the front diff at 1k-5k miles that said the fluid was white or yellow (ish). So not necessarily a moisture problem.