Differential fluid change?

F

Frank

I think the garage I go to is worse than the dealer. Manual for my '03
Forester calls for oil change and tire rotation. I knew dealer was
pushing brake fluid change in his literature and I was going to argue
with him but local garage had emailed me coupon for free tire rotation
so I went there. He hits me with need to change differential fluid at
15,000 miles and said I should do next time I come in. Paper he gave
me said "severe service" but even then Forester manual says nothing. As
a retiree, I don't drive a lot, don't take all short trips, don't pull
a trailer and off roading is moderate Reason I'm posting is that it
looks like you have to question and be dubious about everybody you take
your car to.
Frank
 
My 2000 Forester says Differentials fluid change at 15,000 miles for
severe service like mountain driving, towing and very hot(desert
temps) with mostly stop and go driving like downtown Chicago. It's
printed in my warranty and service booklet. eddie
 
Frank said:
so I went there. He hits me with need to change differential fluid at
15,000 miles and said I should do next time I come in. Paper he gave

Hi,

What fluid does the diff in the Forester use?

I'd base my decision on that... my old Loyale uses hypoid oil (80W-90 or
close) and calls for 30k mile changes. But it's not AWD--the xfer case
is just loafing most of the time, so there's probably less contamination
of the fluid w/o the clutches of AWD. The oil looks pretty clean when it
comes out at 30k, though there is that nice hint of a metallic sheen
from wear particles (at 360k miles, I'm not gonna lose sleep over it,
though!)

OTOH, I have a Camry, FWD w/ an auto, that has a separate diff from the
trans, yet it uses ATF just like the trans. Toyoya calls for 30k mile
changes of both trans and diff--previous owner always had both changed
at 15k, which I think is ok cuz only 2 1/2 qts drains from the trans,
and I'm not all that sure ATF is the best thing for diff gears, plus
there's only about 3/4 qt in there anyway. It's gone almost 230k miles
on that schedule.

So, I'd kind of want to look at what kinda juice is in there before
deciding whether it needs to go at 15k.

Rick
 
Edward Hayes said:
My 2000 Forester says Differentials fluid change at 15,000 miles for
severe service like mountain driving, towing and very hot(desert
temps) with mostly stop and go driving like downtown Chicago. It's
printed in my warranty and service booklet. eddie

That's good to know. I could not find in my manual. I had a '98 Forester
totaled 2 years ago and cannot remember doing this. Unfortunately the '98
was killed at 25,000 mi. Big mistake I had made was not rotating tires and
had to buy new set at 20. Hopefully when this one hits 30, I'll let the
dealer have his way with it.
Frank
 
I use Mobil 1 75-90 GL5 gear oil in both front and rear differentials
with my automatic. If I had a manual transmission I would use
Valvoline in the transmission/differential and Mobil 1 in the rear
differential. Of course there are many other good gear lubes but, they
MUST meet the GL5 specification. ed
 
I should change the diff oil front and rear in my 98 OBW automatic. The
rear is obvious, but where do I find the drain and fill plugs for the front
diff?
 
The front differentental drain plug is on the drivers side in front of
the transmission. It is somewhat difficult to see as it is close to
stuff. You refill through the differential dipstick hole on the
passengers side.. DO NOT mistake the AT fill with the differential
dipstick hole as some Jiffy lube places have done. ed
 

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