Simple maintenance is very important on your Jeep. Sure you can pay somebody
to do it for you, but after a while all you have done is paid somebody to
do something that you could of learned how to do yourself and done many times
for the same price you paid to have done once. For example below I serviced
the front and rear of my wife's XJ for approximately 12 dollars and the local
Jiffy Lube wanted $29 per axle. 2x29=$58. At that cost I could change front
and rear again and again nearly 5 times. Most auto parts stores will accept
the old lube because they know you might buy something else while your there.
I normally buy a soda on the way out.
Tools:
Time:
1/2 socket
Putty Knife
3/8 ratchet
Chisel
Rubber Mallet
Oil pump
Approx. 3 quarts of 80/90w lube
RTV sealant. I prefer black
Couple of clean rags
Brake cleaner
Oil pan to catch lube
Approx. 90minutes
for front and rear
Each diff is different. Some require additives if your running a Limited
Slip or different lockers may require some type of additive. In this case
nothing was added because it was not needed. Written by kizer,
if you have any questions or comments about this install visit
Rear Dana35 just use a flat tip screw driver and gently pry on the plug. It will come out. I say gently because if you tear it you will have to replace it. I guess I should buy one just in case.
Use the end of a 3/8ths ratchet to remove the diff cover. Sometimes
an extension helps if your Tie-rod is in the way.
This is the end of the plug on the Dana30. Its has a magnetic plug and normally small bits of metal are stuck to it. Do an inspection of the plug looking for large pieces and clean.
My wife's XJ only has a 2-inch OME lift so there are some clearance
issues on taking off the Dana30 cover.
A few jack stands right behind the front lower control arms serves as a good spot to support the weight of the XJ.
Before the Jackstands
After the Jack stands. Use a 1/2 socket on a driver and a rubber mallet with a light tap to break the bolts loose.
Here's the tag that Identifies your gear ratio. You will have
to remove it, but keep it and replace when your complete.
Looking at the tag by my thumb you will see a 3 5 5 . That means I have a 3.55 gear ratio. Often you will or could see 3 7 3 or 4 1 0 and the dreaded 3 0 7.
All of the 1/2 bolts removed but the top. Leave the top one in place and loosen about half way to support the weight of the cover while the lube drains.
I like to place a chisel in this general location. I prefer a chisel because it has a wide blade opposed to a screw driver. Pry gently on the cover and you might even need the use of a rubber mallet to get the chisel in.
After a bit of prying with the chisel I like to hit the diff cover at an angle to unseat the rest of the cover.
We have fluid draining. The lube will seem to drain forever. Let it. The more it drains the more fresh you can replace it with.
Remove the upper bolt and let the fluid continue to drain.
Right at the bottom there is a little area I like to call a sump. Use your finger and pull out whatever you can that is pooling.
You might find some fluid that looks rather silver. That is normal. Its the fine dust from your gears meshing. However you do not want to find chunks.
Flip the cover on its face and use a putty knife to scrape off the old seal.
I like to use a screw driver and remove any sealant from the holes in the cover as well.
Clean the surface of the cover with a rag. I like to spray the
rag with brake fluid cleaner before wiping off the remaining
seal. After cleaning the outer edge give the inside a quick
wipe to remove any loose material.
Use the same putty knife to scrape the outer edge of the diff. You want to remove as much as possible. Just like the cover use the rag with some brake cleaner on it.
Apply some RTV on the surface of the cover approx. 1/8 of an
inch in size completely around the entire diff.
I like to take my finger and smear the RTV as smooth as possible or until my patience runs out around the entire surface of the cover. Reminds me of finger painting when I was a kid. =)
I didn't take photos, but the fun part is putting the cover back on with one hand and trying to screw in the bolts with the other hand. I often find its easiest to start one of the lower bolts and randomly insert others loosely.
After you've started all of the bolts use a 1/2 socket and tighten in a random fashion all of your bolts to 30 foot pounds.
I decided this time to try a different pump instead of a little hand lotion type of pump. I believe its cost was around $9 vs $4 for the cheaper pump. To me the cost was worth the work.
Pull the handle all the way back.
Fill it near the top with gear lube. I like to use 80/90w Valvolene
Insert the end of the tube in the hole in the back of the diff.
Push on the back of the pump.
Fluid will be forced though the fill tube. I had to fill and pump a few times. Honestly I didn't keep track of how many times since I was doing the front and rear at the same time.
When lube starts to drip out the full plug hole your full. Insert your drain plug and torque down to 25 foot pounds. If its a Dana35 with the rubber plug push it back in.
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