Diff oil change advice please 2000 Explorer

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Ok, I'm sure hoping this is easier than changing out the trans fluid. My 2000 explorer has 114K and I just want something to do tomorrow. Any words of wisdom before I try another automotive "quick fix" that ends up taking 5 hours and 3 trips to NAPA? I'm guessing I just pull the bolts holding the cover, clean off the gasket, let fluid drain, reinstall gasket and cover, replace fluid. Sounds easy........
 
If there are two bolts/ports/plugs, then undo the UPPER one first, then the lower one to drain the diff. Drain, close the plug, fill to the upper port, done.

If there is only one plug, and its around the middle area of the diff, vertically, and there are lots of bolts around the perimeter of the "pumpkin", then open the plug first, then remove all of the bolts and remove the back cover. Youll need a new gasket - I like fel pro from Napa. When you open the cover, a lot of fluid will slosh out, be ready. After you get the fluid out, wipe off the accesible surfaces with a clean, lint-free rog, and be sure not to get dust or dirt in.

Then clean up the urfaces where the new gasket will go, set the gasket, bolt up, fill, close fill plug. Done.

Good luck! M1 diff oil is good stuff...

JMH
 
defiantly loosen the fill plug before you take the cover off. there is no gasket from the factory, just black silicone, ford part number TA-30. you can use silicone, or NAPA sells a diff cover gasket for the Ford 8.8 axle.

the axle tag will tell you if you have limited slip. if theres an "L" in the middle of the axle ratio, usually 3.73 on explorers it will read 3l73 on the tag. this will require a limited slip additive such as ford XL-3 or equivalent.
 
There could be 2 metal tags on pumpkin cover. One will state your ratio (as stated above) and the other which will read "Use only Syn 75W140". Also you can can your door sticker under "axle" for the L. I use black RTV, clean the mating surfaces with brake cleaner on a rag, follow RTV direction, and I paint the diff cover (touch up). I use Amsoil diff oil and 4 oz of additive.
 
Actually a 2000 may still have tags that say 80W-90 (or 75W-90) synthetic but it has been updated via TSB to 75W-140 for increased life. Ford dropped the 80W-90 stuff.
 
Your Explorer has the Ford 8.8" axle. It does not have a drain plug, so you'll have to remove the cover to drain the oil. The fill plug is located on the front side of the differential, kind of close to the pinion. It's on the driver's side of the pumpkin.
 
Get a can of brakekleen to clean off the cover. I clean the bolt threads and use blue loctite when re-installing and torque to spec.
 
Ok, you are right exranger it has no drain plug. I pulled off the cover and I couldn't believe how clean the original diff fluid was. So I let it drain cleaned up the backside of the cover and bolted it back on. ....now I'm thinking this is the easiest thing I've ever done, just a quick trip to Autozone to pick up some 80w-90 squirt it in there and i'm done....so I get back, crawl under the truck (yes i pulled the fill plug beforehand) and start to refill the diff. Luckily I already bought some clear tubing that fit well on the dispenser and into the fill hole. I had no idea how much effort it would take to squeeze the bottles to get it thru the tubing. Well after almost 2 hours I had 3 quarts (Valvoline conventional 80w90) into the diff. The problem is that it still hasn't spilled over thru the fill hole???? From the oil that I caught there was just over 2 quarts in the diff before and now I've put 3 1/4 quarts in there without any overflow. Do I need to add more? Also I didn't put any RTV sealant on there and I have a slow leak, should I just run the truck for a week or so and then drain and refil again? Or is there a way to seal that leak?
 
According to what I could find it holds 5.7 pints or 2.85 quarts. It says to fill to 1/4" below fill hole.

If you did not put any sealant on the diff cover, you will need to start all over again. Clean off both surfaces with brake cleaner, put the sealant on the cover, about a quarter inch bead and be sure to go around the bolt holes also. Let it set up for about 10 minutes, then put the cover back on and torque down the bolts. Go in the house, have a cup of coffee, watch the news, anything to kill about 30 minutes to an hour while the sealant sets up. Then go back out and put the gear oil in.
 
Some gear oils already have the limited slip additive mixed in (Valvoline and Royal Purple) do, so always read the back of the bottle and be sure.

Once the cover was off, I throughly blasted the insides with parts cleaner to remove the metallic junk that sticks to the insides of the housing. Then I'd let it dry.

On mom's car, I always sealed the rear end in the evening, put stops on the car to keep her from driving it, and then, the next morning, I'd pour in the gear oil.
 
Ok, I let the wife drive the Explorer today and it was dripping a drop every 30 seconds when I got home from work. So I did it right tonight and everything should be ok now. BTW I got the pump that you put into a gallon bottle and put the gear lube into an old windshield washer container and pumped it from there. Saved me at least an hour and some very sore shoulders. Best $5 I spent today!
 
Ok, I let the wife drive the Explorer today and it was dripping a drop every 30 seconds when I got home from work. So I did it right tonight and everything should be ok now. BTW I got the pump that you put into a gallon bottle and put the gear lube into an old windshield washer container and pumped it from there. Saved me at least an hour and some very sore shoulders. Best $5 I spent today!
 
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