Changing differential fluid question (1 Viewer)

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Nov 7, 2003
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I'm changing the differential fluid on '97 TLC and it's a PITA to fill the front case because of the angle . I was thinking of using my Motive power brake bleeder to pump the fluid in. Is it safe to do this or will the differential fluid impact the seals and performance of brake bleeder kit and at worst damage it. TIA.

PS. CDan, thanks for the help and assistance for those parts that I ordered.

Rolly
 
Is the brake bleeder you are asking about a suction/pressure unit depending on which way you turn the exhaust valve? If so, it shouldn't phase it. If not, describe what you are using a little more, i'm not familiar with the brand name.
 
Good evening Rolly,

I don't know if it is a good idea to mix brake fluid and gear oil.

Agreed, it is a job to fill the diffs from bottles. I was over at Tobascofish's house the other day assisting with some diff installs and he had a novel approach:

He ran a clear plastic hose from the diff filler hole up thru the engine bay and stuck an inverted 1 quart gear oil bottle in the upper end. He then pierced the bottom of the bottle (which was on top) with a piece of wire and suspended the bottle from, I believe, the hood latch striker.
He then allowed the bottle to gravity feed into the difff until empty and the swapped out bottles with a new ones until it was full.
He did basicly the same thing for the rear axle except he ran the hose out thru the passenger side wheel well and suspended the bottle from the ARB roof rack.

All in all an elegantly simple soultion.

D-
 
Good thread guys.

Simon can attest that my setup needs improving. ::)

I bought a cheap gear oil pump for $20 and attached some long tubes to it. The thing doesn't really pump and makes a complete mess. It's a real bear to pump too.

I was thinking of doing a gravity feed system as well. I didn't get how the hose is attached to the bottle :doh:

I was going to buy an expensive gear oil pump for $80. You guys saved me a bunch of $$.

Thanks
 
I also looked and looked for a simple way to fill the differentials. I got that $4.99 valvoline pump that is supposed to do the job and that thing took a crap at about the third bottle of gear oil. Frustrating! Then I tried the long hose hanging from the bottle which is hanging from somewhere higher and that worked well but it worked slowly plus the problem with that was once the diff is full and the gear oil starts to come through the fill hole, you still have three feet of hose full of stinky thick oil!!! Messy! Then I went to a marine supply shop and got a $20 pump which will pump the entire thing full in fifteen strokes. These pumps will empty an entire bottle of gear oil in about three to five strokes! They are brass I think with silicone hoses and silicone fittings and seals and stuff. They are super fast and super easy to use and make much less mess than anything else I experimented with. Some of the best twenty bucks I've ever spent. The other thing with these is you can use them to transfer gasoline, power steering fluid, anything. HTH
 
dvader, if you are going to use your breke bleeder for diff fluid, clean it out with brake cleaner first, (should have put that in my other respose).
 
The best solution is to buy your gear oil by the 5 gallon pail and use a bucket pump. It makes this an easy chore and saves money after the first 5 gallons. The pump is about $20, and gear oil can be as cheap as $1 per quart for Coastal gear oil, $2 for a name brand. You could split a pail between about 3 cruisers, do full swaps and have a bit left over. When it is easy to change, you do it more often-usually after every serious dunking which has to be good for the cruiser. With 3 cruisers and multiple diff swaps in the last year, I have used 10 gallons and just had to buy a new pail. The bucket pump is a highly reccomended item. Trying to fill the tranny on my 60 was especially frustrating but the pump makes short work of it.
 
When i used to do drain/fill my honda civic, i would get a clear hose and let gravity assist me....of course the first time i had so much left in the hose when the tranny was full and started to overflow in the fill plug. Lesson learned, but friend bought a suction pump . I'll see how that works.. Will make sure and have the clear hose for backup.
 
You are SO right, the 5-6 gallon bucket and lid pump makes it SO much easier to change your gear oil. You can buy both for what the asshats at Jiffy Lube charge to change the front and rear

[quote author=Cruiserdrew link=board=2;threadid=11288;start=msg102423#msg102423 date=1076391984]
The best solution is to buy your gear oil by the 5 gallon pail and use a bucket pump. It makes this an easy chore and saves money after the first 5 gallons. The pump is about $20, and gear oil can be as cheap as $1 per quart for Coastal gear oil, $2 for a name brand. You could split a pail between about 3 cruisers, do full swaps and have a bit left over. When it is easy to change, you do it more often-usually after every serious dunking which has to be good for the cruiser. With 3 cruisers and multiple diff swaps in the last year, I have used 10 gallons and just had to buy a new pail. The bucket pump is a highly reccomended item. Trying to fill the tranny on my 60 was especially frustrating but the pump makes short work of it.
[/quote]
 
Most definitely go with the 5 gap pail and pump method.

Before I used that method, I simply cut out part of a funnel and used it that way.
 
Never had a problem? Just stick the pour spout of the bottle in the hole and then squeeze/crush the bottle until all of the fluid is in the differential. You guys need to pump some iron or get the wife to do the squeezing for you :flipoff2:
 
Pitbull, uh, don't think they are using the small 1 qt bottles dude. They likely are using the jugs. But that's cool if your wife likes to squeeze jugs. :flipoff2: :D
 
Folks, thanks for all the good ideas.

Like they say, necessity is the mother of all invention. I was waiting for a quick reply last night but seeing that everyone was busy at the time (junk probably squeezing some jugs or was that Pitbull? :p) and it was getting cold in CT(though compared to previous week, it's a heat wave), I ended up doing what most suggested. That is, I used a transparent hose (from coolant refill kit), one end on axle and the other snaked through bars and up the recessed front underside (passenger side). Hooked this up to a funnel and filled it slooooooooowwwwwly. Later, I attached the last quart bottle directly to the hose (why didn't I think of it earlier - I have no idea) and hang it on the underside.

Using the brake bleeder kit would have made the job easy. It's a two-quart container, with pressure gauge. Couple of pumps would have emptied that inside BUT, like CDan echoed, I'm not sure if it will destroy the kit, and I'm about to use it this weekend.

Later folks.

Rolly

PS. the PO didn't maintain the diff fluids, it was a quart short, dark and very watery - no lubricity at all anymore. :eek:
 
[quote author=cruiserdan link=board=2;threadid=11288;start=msg102344#msg102344 date=1076386830]

Agreed, it is a job to fill the diffs from bottles. I was over at Tobascofish's house the other day assisting with some diff installs and he had a novel approach:


All in all an elegantly simple soultion.

D-
[/quote]

And I ended up spilling only about 1/2 a quart on the floor insead of the full quart I usually loose! :-\

juane
 
Valvoline comes with two different hand pumps ($5 bucks each) - the 1 gallon (fits gallon jugs & AMSOIL quarts) vs 1 quart size (fits Mobil1 1 quart jug). Takes lots of pumping but:
. no need for an extra quart of gear oil (75-90 AMS Series2000 is $12/qt)
. wife stopped complaining about the sticky mess in the garage.
. cheapest, cleanest method I have done ever (oil loss is counted on drops) - plus I need to exercise anyway :)

Regards,
Frank.
 
[quote author=Junk link=board=2;threadid=11288;start=msg102568#msg102568 date=1076433166]
Pitbull, uh, don't think they are using the small 1 qt bottles dude. They likely are using the jugs. But that's cool if your wife likes to squeeze jugs. :flipoff2: :D
[/quote]

Damm I asked for that one didn't I :slap:
 
Like Frank, I used the cheap hand pump that fits M1 quarts. Mine has a nice white plastic fitting that inserts into the 80's fill hole and "grips" the threads well enough that it's possible to fill above the hole if you're not vigilant. Simply watch until a drop squeezes past it and then stop and slap the fill plug back in. For a $7 pump, I've gotten my money's worth with about a dozen F/R/C fills on 3 different rigs. It's faster than the gravity method and has no mess, yet cheaper than the other methods.

DougM
 
Long time ago I made a pig and we still use it. Buy one of those 5 gallon air tanks. Weld a nipple to the one end on top. Then drill a hole in the center. Use a petcock like on the bottom of a compressor on the nipple. This is the breather hose. Then the other end where the fill up valve is, was adapted with a T fitting, valve and hoses. Also added a pickup tube to the fitting. Clear as mud. Remove the filler assembly, open petcock. Fill with 5 gallons of oil. Then close petcock, install filler assebly and pressurise with air. Open valve for hose and fill diffs. Will take pictures later today.
 
oooh! POWERED!

powered is good...... :D
 

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