How easy is changing the rear diff fluid? MT fluid?

[Asinine]

On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is putting gas in your car, and 10 is changing a water pump, and 5 is changing your oil...

How difficult is it to change manual tranny oil? How long should this take?
How difficult to change rear diff oil? How long should this take?

As a point of reference, I have an '04 WRX and want to go full synthetic in the tranny and rear diff when it gets a tad warmer... and it took me close to two hours to change my oil. I had trouble with the under cover that covers all the goodies underneith.

 

[SteveD2]

Never changed the oil in a MT, but changing diff oil is about the same as changing the oil. Just takes a little longer...maybe a little more messy...

 

[Ryan00TJ]

Changing the oil in a MT is easy as long as you have a way to get under the car and a funnel with a long hose but that depends on the position of the fill hole. There is not much room around a MT to get your bottle and have enough room to pour the fluid in. Overall I would say it's 5.

 

[kansaisubaru]

Hey.
Why did it take you 2 hours for the oil change? Do you have the optional skid plate accessory? I have a Subaru too, but it's an old '95 Impreza. I think changing the rear and front differential oil is easier than an oil change. My transmission is automatic. I changed the ATF recently. A full transmission service; I'll leave that to the pros. As for the rear diff: I was going to do it myself, but one obstacle: Where do you find those wrenches for those "square" bolts? They are female bolts. I don't have the right wrenches for the task.

 

[DavoNF]

'04 WRX. How many miles has it done? They wouldn't use inferior oils in the gearbox and diff, so there is no real need to change it out until at least 60,000 miles.

Dave

 

[darkdan]

Get a haynes manual. Look at the instructions and take a guess.

You'll have to see what else you're going to need. Long funnel, 3' 3/8" drive extension, maybe a hose to get the gear lube into the rear end.

As far as not needing to switch to 60,000 miles...we'll you don't "need" to, but if you want to it's just a little time and a little money. I know if I bought a new car I'd drop everything and go to AMSOIL the day I got it home.

 

[dkcase]

quote:

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Originally posted by kansaisubaru:
those wrenches for those "square" bolts? They are female bolts.

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I can't say for sure on yours, but usually a 3/8 socket drive fits these if they are square.

If it is a hex, then you will have to determine what it is and get the proper driver.. You only have to get it once; and who doesn't like to accumulate more tools ?

 

[Asinine]

The '04 WRX has a large plastic cover under the engine. You need to take it off to get to the oil pan and filter. It was kinda a chore.

The rear diff looks like it's pretty easy to get to. Same with the MT filler tube. The not-so-easy bit is going to be draining the sucker.

I'm going to make the change not because I need to, but because I really want my baby to live on a diet of synthetics from (almost) day one.

 

[kansaisubaru]

Hey Asinine,
Check out the Subaru High Mileage Club. I know your WRX is brand spanking new, but check out what high mileage Subbies (like my 150,000 miler) are up to. There is a forum to discuss maximizing life as well as other Subaru and high mileage concerns. Synthetics are discussed often at the forum. Here: web page

 

[oilrecovery2003]

"Where do you find those wrenches for those "square" bolts? They are female bolts. I don't have the right wrenches for the task. "

I use the socet side of a 2 inch socket wrench. Somtimes you need a little force like a pipe and use your foot to push on it to get a little more force. Last time I did mine. I didn't use 3,000 lbs of pressure on them like the dealership does... or I guess it could be all those miles if the other owner didn't change it. And I doubt he did. Easy job though. THis Nissan has been the best one to work on. Filter easy to get to, plugs on oil pan and on Transmission pan. ANd front and real diff's. two nuts to take off to drain and fill..... peace of cake. Just buy one of those long clear tubes you connect to the gear bottle. Makes it a lot easier to fill front and rear. As for Diff fluid. I use Pennzoil G-5 gear oil. works real well for me. I also add 1 bottle of Lucas 80w90 gear oil. Just my opinion.