Auto Final Drive

[DMC_PRIME]

What type of gear oil is recommended by DMC? How often should this be changed? This is something i always seem to overlook and think about when I have my car infront of me. Can you get to it without raising the car? Thanks!

[Farrar]

80W gear oil.

Also see this thread (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?964-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-types-and-amounts&).

I used a multi-viscosity gear oil available at AutoZone and haven't had any problems since. Raising the car was unnecessary.

Tip: make sure you can remove the fill plug before you remove the drain plug!

To fill, I stuck one end of a length of clear tubing in the fill hole, and stuck the other end of it on the gear oil bottle's nipple, put the bottle upside down in the engine compartment and poked a hole in the bottom of the bottle (technically, the top of the bottle since I had it inverted). Had to wait a while -- that stuff is pretty thick.

After bottle one is done, you can use the top of it (still connected to the tube) as a funnel for pouring in the rest of the oil -- you won't need the entire second bottle. When I saw drips of gear oil in the pan under the car I knew I was done.

I hope that helps.

Farrar

[DMC_PRIME]

That does more than help. That answers all my questions and leaves me ZERO followup questions to annoy you with. :cheers1:

Thanks!

[Farrar]

You're welcome! :)

Farrar

[DMC_PRIME]

I finally got to doing this, and DAMN, the fill plug must have been put on by the incredible Hulk.... Nothing like having to use a breaker bar when you have so little space.... Also I could tell that the fluid hasn't been changed in a VERY, VERY long time....

Also, I did this when the fluid was warm as directed in the workshop manual. Does this gear oil expand when hot or something? I had some gear oil pour out of the fill plug when I took it off.... Maybe it was filled when the car wasn't level at all?? And it definitely was gear oil only.. And yes, it got all over, and yes, I still smell like gear oil a day after....

All good though.... Drain plug was perfect. Nothing on the magnet at all.

[Farrar]

The workshop manual says to put the gear oil in until it sits at the bottom of the fill hole. Since it's on the side of the unit, it's possible that the car was sitting slightly to one side the last time the final drive was filled, allowing slightly more oil in there. I don't think a few drops extra would harm anything, though.

I think you're supposed to drain the oil while warm because it will flow better. That gear oil is thick stuff. When I replaced the seals, it took over half an hour to put the new gear oil in, because it was about 40 degrees outside. Draining the warm oil, on the other hand, took just a few minutes.

Glad everything went well! I am about to do this job again. Ah, fond memories... heh