Changing The Fluids
 

hey i am needing to change my tranny fluid and my rear end fluid and the front end fluid on my 02 f250 4x4. is there anything special i need to know about doing all of this i have never done it myself but figure it will give me something to do. also what is the best fluid to put back in by the way my truck has 115,00- miles on it and didnt know if that matters.:ty:

if your truck has a limited slip in it, you will need limited slip additive, go with what the manufacturer recommends, like 80-90, 75-140, or whatever, for the front and rear axles, when you do take the pans off check for missing teeth on the ring and pinion and the spider gears, another good tip is to spray everything down with brake clean after you drain them, then wipe them out, put your cover back on with a gasket and sealer then pull the plug out and refill......do not, for any reason peel paint off or scratch that rear diff cover, they are thin and notorious for leaking if rusty, might be a good time to upgrade to the new 2008 finned aluminum diff cover for the rear, they are like 45$ from ford, the transmission involves dropping the pan and replacing the filter, i would only use factory ford motorcraft fluid or a good synthetic.....

DO NOT spray down your rear end with brake clean -- if any of that stuff gets into your axle tubes, it will start to brake down the greese inside them and you don't want that...

here is a good writeup -- I am about to change the fluid in my rear end (have a 2wd) and I am replacing the fluid with 75w140 as that is what Ford recommends at this time. I am also going Amsoil.

The rear end will hold just under 4 Qts and the Amsoil and others have friction modifier in them already -- so you "should not" need to add any, but you may if its not enough and you can hear your tires chattering/not slipping when you do some tight figure 8's in a parking lot after refilling.

The transmission will hold dang near 4 gallons (16 quarts) of fluid (about the same as oil in the engine) and the front diff will hold about 3 qts of fluid.

There should be nothing special to doing this other than dropping the covers/pan, draining the fluid, cleaning up the surfaces, reapplying sealant, replacing the covers/pan, and refilling :U:

Front Diff (Dana)
http://guzzle.rbmicro.com/fdiff.html

Rear Diff (Sterling)
http://guzzle.rbmicro.com/rdiff.html




Hey, also check out the meet in the Oklahoma section that will be happening on Jan 19th in Tulsa at Stroker~x's house :)

ive sprayed probably 10-15 rearends with brake clean and never once had one fail, some trucks multiple times......you dont spray it down the axle tubes unless you plan on pulling the axles and repacking them, just spray the ring gear, pinion and the differential......

I was just saying that to errr on the side of caution :)

and, in a case of someone asking how to do it, I assume they aren't too sure of what they are doing and would rather steer them clear of mistakes.. not saying it can't be done though! :U:

we had a lengthy conversation in PM about how to change it.....

good deal :U:

thanks guys ill give and hell and see if i can get it done without haveing to call a tow truck 10 miles down the road after its done hahahaha happy newyear have a great 2008

Same to ya bud!! and if ya want -- we coudl do it at that meet on the 19th if you can wait that long! :)

I'm gonna be doing my 08 diff cover possibly (if I can wait that long!!)

I was at a conference not too long ago where they talked about people using "cleaners" on gear before putting new fluid back in. I wish I had taken better notes, but I believe the point given was DON"T. These cleaners can actually work against some additives in the gear lube. If wanting to do some cleaning, use the fluid you are going to put in. If I come up with more detail, I'll be sure to post.
Oh ya, one more vote for AMSOIL:). Had you seen the gear lube study yet??