06 escalade ext (170K miles)
Front and rear diff
Out: supertech 80w90 (rinsed for about 1100 miles)
In: Delo 75w90 full syn
Cleaned oem rear diff cover & magnet, sand and paint the outside w left over engine paint (red).
2005 Lexus LS430
rear diff
in - Red Line 75W-90
out - OEM fill from the factory, surprisingly clean for its ago
It's low by a few ounces - I can feel the oil below the fill hole, the parents don't drive the car much so I will top it off this weekend - a small amount of M1 or SuperTech 75W-90 shouldn't hurt it.
2002 Chevy Silverado C1500 10 bolt rear:
Out: Royal Purple 75W90, rusty diff cover and felpro blue paper gasket.
In: Exactly 2 quarts and 4 oz Delo 75W90 (somewhat the latest and greatest in OTC syn gear oil), felpro blue gasket and dorman steel diff cover.
Front:
Out: Unkown medium brown fluid, magnet covered in goo, nothing alarming.
In: Carquest full synthetic 75w90 (no limited slip additives).
Rear:
Out: Unkown light brown fluid, magnet held 1/8" of goo. Gears looked great.
In: New Dorman steel cover, Lucas Oil full synthetic 75w90, 4oz AC Delco Limited Slip Additive.
My guess is this was the 1st diff service in 12 years and 160K miles.
I've switched to 80W140 synthetic, good to -35C, the channel point may be lower yet.
GM under-fills their diffs & transfer cases for some un-known reason.
It seems like a bad place to save money of factory fill costs.
The newer diffs do not require additional LS additive like the old 12 bolt posi.
2002 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, 203k miles
Out:Valvoline Synpower 75W140 + 75W90 in for about 15k miles
In: Schaeffer Extreme Performance #170 75W140
Early change because last time I was in this axle I put two axle bearings(+seals) and a new axleshaft as I had bad wear on one side.
I changed the front differential again after 250 miles, but this time with Lucas 75W90 full sythetic and the magnet looked the same as the first change. Greasy goo on the magnet. No large metallic particles. Advice?
Real bad...at 250 miles ..........
Even if it is a 20-30K mile oil, I would consider it as bad.
You need a thicker oil in 80W90 to better protect the differentials, and meanwhile cleaning up the contaminants with several short OCI's of say, 5-10k miles.
Originally Posted By: userfriendly
My guess is this was the 1st diff service in 12 years and 160K miles. I've switched to 80W140 synthetic, good to -35C, the channel point may be lower yet. GM under-fills their diffs & transfer cases for some un-known reason.
It seems like a bad place to save money of factory fill costs.
The newer diffs do not require additional LS additive like the old 12 bolt posi.
That's because GM engineers are dogmatic and follow guidelines by (Ball/roller) bearing manufacturers religiously.
It is perfectly ok to raise the filled level by 5-10 mm, IME.
Yep, a xW140 is thick, but there is no such thing as too thick a gear oil for differentials.
Note:Userfriendly, you probably lost the opportunity of getting to feel what is 'gear whining' like.