I just finished doing my 50,000 km (30,000 mile) service and figured I'd post up some thoughts.
1. I bought a cheap fluid pump for about $10, which saved me a lot of time and hassle. I honestly can't even imagine how you'd do any of this without one.
2. I ordered most fluids from amsoil, mostly because local shops don't carry any sort of selection for synthetics. The transfer case ATF came from walmart.
3. I figured I saved about $450. However, I still need to book in a coolant flush. I don't really have the resources at home to do this.
4. This was a messy job. No matter how careful I thought I was being, lots of stuff spilled onto the floor (Glad I put cardboard down and bought a box of rubber gloves.)
5. Next time, I'm buying a big 5 gallon bucket to pour my used oil into. It's a pain in the *** trying to pour from my drain pan into the narrow bottle necks. I made a big mess doing this. This is the number 1 reason I don't do more of this stuff myself. Anyways,
Transfer case - This was pretty easy access, I just laid down and slid under the truck. Actually, I didn't need to lift the truck up for any of these jobs. The fluid in the transfer case looked absolutely horrible. It was dark grey, with a lot of fine, shiny, metallic particles. Alot of metal on the drain plug. I think 30,000 miles was too long for this fluid. I'll do the next change after 20,000. I used a semi synthetic, think I'll stick with it.
Rear differential - Again, pretty easy. A bit surprising, but the fluid looked almost brand new. It was a nice golden brown, and I couldn't tell the difference between the old and new. Nearly nothing on the drain plug. I'll bump up the changes to 40,000 and stick with synthetics..
Front differential - Tougher access for this one, it's kind of hard to get to as it's behind the tire, but I did it without lifting the truck. After the rear diff, I wasn't sure what to expect. But the fluid looked the same as what came out of the transfer case. NASTY!! Dark with lots of metallic bits. Lots of metal on the drain plug. I'll probably do this again at 20,000 miles. I won't use synthetic next time, as I think the fluid needs to be changed more often and don't like wasting my money.
6spd transmission - Access was okay for this one, although I did the job not long after driving and the 'still hot' cats were mere inches from my pretty face. The fluid was more in line with the rear diff, a nice golden brown that was difficult to tell from brand new. I'll probably bump up changes to 40,000 and stick with synthetic.
Just thought I'd share.
1. I bought a cheap fluid pump for about $10, which saved me a lot of time and hassle. I honestly can't even imagine how you'd do any of this without one.
2. I ordered most fluids from amsoil, mostly because local shops don't carry any sort of selection for synthetics. The transfer case ATF came from walmart.
3. I figured I saved about $450. However, I still need to book in a coolant flush. I don't really have the resources at home to do this.
4. This was a messy job. No matter how careful I thought I was being, lots of stuff spilled onto the floor (Glad I put cardboard down and bought a box of rubber gloves.)
5. Next time, I'm buying a big 5 gallon bucket to pour my used oil into. It's a pain in the *** trying to pour from my drain pan into the narrow bottle necks. I made a big mess doing this. This is the number 1 reason I don't do more of this stuff myself. Anyways,
Transfer case - This was pretty easy access, I just laid down and slid under the truck. Actually, I didn't need to lift the truck up for any of these jobs. The fluid in the transfer case looked absolutely horrible. It was dark grey, with a lot of fine, shiny, metallic particles. Alot of metal on the drain plug. I think 30,000 miles was too long for this fluid. I'll do the next change after 20,000. I used a semi synthetic, think I'll stick with it.
Rear differential - Again, pretty easy. A bit surprising, but the fluid looked almost brand new. It was a nice golden brown, and I couldn't tell the difference between the old and new. Nearly nothing on the drain plug. I'll bump up the changes to 40,000 and stick with synthetics..
Front differential - Tougher access for this one, it's kind of hard to get to as it's behind the tire, but I did it without lifting the truck. After the rear diff, I wasn't sure what to expect. But the fluid looked the same as what came out of the transfer case. NASTY!! Dark with lots of metallic bits. Lots of metal on the drain plug. I'll probably do this again at 20,000 miles. I won't use synthetic next time, as I think the fluid needs to be changed more often and don't like wasting my money.
6spd transmission - Access was okay for this one, although I did the job not long after driving and the 'still hot' cats were mere inches from my pretty face. The fluid was more in line with the rear diff, a nice golden brown that was difficult to tell from brand new. I'll probably bump up changes to 40,000 and stick with synthetic.
Just thought I'd share.
