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Post by wilcav on May 25, 2009 19:40:11 GMT -5
Well, I have been a lazy, little monkey.
The LJ (now 3 years and 3 months old) has only amassed 23,500 miles on it. However, in that time, I have been lax in changing my differential fluid at the 12,000 mile mark. I haven't really wheeled that hard at all and it is more of a DD so I think I am OK.
However, is the work it would take to change the fluid on my own worth the money I would save to have someone else do it? I'll probably wind up doing it myself, but love to hear any insights.
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Post by moneypit on May 26, 2009 19:29:40 GMT -5
Way cheaper to do yourself. Gear lube is only a few dollars a quart and RTV is cheap also. Just takes a little time and it's messy. Plus when you do it yourself you get to check everything in the Diff out. Call a local shop and get a quote and I'll bet it motivates you.
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Post by Belfast on May 27, 2009 20:24:48 GMT -5
It isn't hard at all - just read up on it, as it can be a little intimidating the first time. It is real simple - take the cover off, scrape off old RTV fluid, spray some brake cleaner around to clear out gears, put cover back on, fill with lube of your choice. Make sure you don't over-torque the bolts when putting the cover back on - I snapped the head off of one a few years ago and luckily I was able to drill it out without any damage to the hole. RTV works OK, but I can say that it is worth grabbing some LubeLocker gaskets ( www.lubelocker.com/) - they make it a lot easier if you have to re-seat the cover a couple of times. It also makes it less messy to change the next time. I took the opportunity to upgrade my diff covers too - I chose RockCrushers ( www.rockcrusherdiffs.com/). I also put in synthetic gear oil - Royal Purple ( www.royalpurple.com/gear-oil.html) |
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Post by wilcav on May 27, 2009 20:37:03 GMT -5
Thanks! I bought all the stuff for it, now I just have to get to it this weekend. I had heard of Royal Purple before but all they had was Mobil 1 at the Autzone. I think the RTV is the most un-nerving part of it. Found a cool write up at www.jeep.us41.org that I am going to follow. P.S. Had a front end issue where it was shaking when I braked and shimmied when I drove. I was positive it was a bad track bar, tie rod end, bearings, or something else real expensive. Instead it was only unbalanced tires. $20 and it drives great now. Happy. |
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Post by wilcav on May 31, 2009 16:06:32 GMT -5
Alright, well that was easy. Made it through with only one bloody knuckle (I thought the bolts would be a lot more torqued than they were.)
Only idiotic thing I did was to not get a hand pump to put back in the fluid. Wound up using a turkey injector b/c the wife was out of town and I was stranded. Tranny is up next! Can't believe mechanics charge so much to do that work.
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