diff fluid change
 

folks... someone mentioned something earlier about changing the diff. fluid. Could someone please point me to where I can get a "how to" for this task? If it's not too tough, typing it out would be fine too...

thanks in advance for the help.

Um.....

remove drain plug

Drain fluid into something. Putting it on the floor would be bad

Put drain plug back in

remove fill plug

put a hose in the fill thing

put 75-90 weight gear oil in the hose untill it starts coming out of the fill plug

replace fill plug

yup

nice!

oh, btw, is the lucas gear oil good or the redline stuff???

I think its all about the same. I have used redline and castrol.

Guess what? I broke both diffs within the span of 2 weeks so go figure

any gear oil thats not a really lame cheap brand should be fine. fyi the w doest stand for weight

Re: diff fluid change
 

As the above replies suggest, this is pretty simple stuff, if you have any do-it-yourself experience. Judging from your profile as an engineer, you should have that.
I suggest you get a factory service manual (FSM) for the FD, they're available in CD form on ebay or here:
http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/
If you havn't already, you can do a forum search for info on various diff fluids...you also might consider changing the tranny fluid too.

Good luck.

you need a 24mm and a 23mm socket. i used royal purple for fluid. worked great! follow r freemans steps. its a easy job.

good luck

Flush it also

Its an easy 15min job. Just need big enough wrenches for it :p:

You guys should check out an earlier topic about the same thing. it has an asterisk icon next to it.

rx-4 speed,
what kind of oil do you plan to use for your differential?

Just so you know the capacity of each (since we all don't have the luxury of a lift or 4 jackstands =P)...

Tranny - 2.6 quarts/2.46 liters
Differential - 1.4 quarts/1.32 liters

Yea... about the capacity - I found it out the hard way, lol. Had to run back to store with my mechanics car :p:

IMO, I'm not sure how much benefit there would be to "flushing it". Just clean the magnetic drain plug well.
RX 4 Speed... A simple syphon/pump is helpful, actually a must for the diff, since you can't get above it to use gravity. I bought one at NAPA for about $12.

thanks for the responses guys. Yes, I am an engineer as Sqtblue pointed out, but haven't really done much "do it yourself" work on cars... which is precisely why I got my 93 FD :) Learning a lot, and getting hands dirty, just like I like it. So, stuff like diff. fluid replacement, never really done it before. I will now though.

Not sure what kind of oil I will use yet. What do y'all recommend? So what I gather from all of this... things I will need are a 23mm and a 24mm socket, diff. fluid., then a hose/pump to syphon the fluid in (since it can't be poured directly in).

I might have to replace the tranny fluid then too. Is that an easy job as well?

thanks!

how many miles are you guys changing your Diff oil at?

they say every 30k... someone correct me if I'm wrong.

you dont NEED a pump. I just used a long ass hose with a funnel on the end, and wiretied the funnel to the garage door :)

Took a while but it worked

Make sure if ur using a heavy gear oil like Redline shock proof that u give it time to let any overfill drain out from the fill plug.

I made the mistake of not doing that and the next day both diff seals started to leak.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...threadid=94583

http://www.rx7.org/Robinette/how_to_...ential%20Fluid

Here's a couple more links that might help you get started. Again, using the search is great. Alot of info to mine here. For me though, the FSM was/is the bible.
Regarding your choice of fluids...I think most go with NEO, Royal Purple or Redline. All are synthetics. Personally I'm using Redline MT90 in my transmission and 75w90 in the differential.
Again, good luck. ;)

dont flush it. theres no point to doing it the new oil will put back additives in the small amount that will be left over. also our drain plugs are magnets so the collect all little metal shavings
sean

A nice tool to look for is a pump for the diff fluid, and tranny fluid for that matter. Just ask for it at the parts store. It mounts in the bottle and allows you to pump the fluid up nice and clean (no little bulb to squeeze and leak).

The tranny fluid should be replaced as well if you are going to do the diff fluid, mostly just because they are such similar operations, and it's good to do these types of things in pairs. To replace the tranny fluid, you jack up the front and pull the metal pan that is under the tranny (4 x 10 mm head bolts) there are TWO drain plugs for the tranny, and one fill plug. There is a very nice write up with pics to show exactly which plugs are the correct ones. Mahjik will likely know the link, maybe put it here? Pretty please??

I've been using NEO gear oil in the tranny and rear diff. Very nice, though no real difference that I could tell from the Redline fluids (I ran the Redline for a couple months, then went to the NEO, no real difference in feel..).

Have fun with this. It's easy, and gets you familiar with the areas you need to tackle next, like the fuel filter... ;)

i just went to replace the diff fluid in my kaaz for the first time (1st time with kaaz or ever) and I had picked up 23 and 24mm sockets for the job but there's no way i can fit my socket and ratchet to get the filler plug. a wrench will do fine but i don't know how y'all can get a ratchet in there.

thanks for the help all. Yes, if Mahjik or anyone else knows the link to the tranny fluid change write up, along with pics, that would be great.

Does the tranny also take 23 and 24 mm sockets?

Just curious, what's the downside of having not changed the tranny or diff fluid in a loooooong time? I don't believe the previous owners changed it...

oh, and yes, I already changed the fuel filter. That was a PITA, but that's a whole other thread :)

RX, Check my earlier post w/the links. Not sure, but I THINK that is the thread they're referring too. It has pics showing the location of both drain plugs on the transmission as well as the fill hole.