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Axle oil change help.

14K views 56 replies 19 participants last post by  MikeG 
#1 ·
Hey JGers

My 05 WK 4WD needs front and rear axle oil change. I know it takes SAE 75W-140 Synthetic. The question is how much does it takes for each axle and what else besides the the oil do I need. Thanks for your help. :)
 
#2 ·
How often do you have to change that Fabs?
 
#4 ·
Hell yeah FT!!!
 
#10 ·
Walmart sells the siphon pump for under 10 bucks needed to suck the old oil out. It doesnt take alot of oil, I think one of those bottles per each was all I used, though I bought two each just in case and have them for next time. Make sure the car is level when you are filling them up, I drive the front up ron amps and have it on jack stands in the rear to make it level. Should do the transfer case while your at it too.
 
#13 ·
The C200F and C200F are referring to specific axles. You can find some of the answers you are seeking here - http://www.wkjeeps.com/wk_specs.htm#FRONTAXLE

IMHO if you are going to do the rear axle, you owe it to yourself to pull the cover and drain all the axle lube. At least on my WK there is a drain plug on the front diff so no need to pull the cover unless you just want to take a look at the condition of the gears.
 
#15 · (Edited)
If you have QDII, you need one bottle of the friction modifier PER AXLE. They are about $8 each at the dealer. I believe the Vari-Lok axle is found in Jeep equipped with QTII. The C200FE/C213RE axles are the QDII axles with the electronic limited slip, and those need a full bottle in each axle. Idk if you need any friction modifier if you have QTI.

Since you have the 3.7 I'm going to assume you have QTI or QTII - if QTII buy one bottle of the additive. I think you don't need any with the QTI.

Buy 4 bottles of 75W-140 (I use mobile 1). You fill each diff until it starts to drip out from the fill hole. Should take just under 2 quarts in the rear and like 1.7-1.8 quarts in the front.

Also need a tube of RTV to reseal the rear diff. Make sure your thoroughly clean and old RTV off the rear diff and rear diff cover before you put new RTV on it.

I'd recommend getting a fluid pump too - it will make your life much easier when refilling the front axle, and also when you change the TC fluid it helps a lot there as well.

In addition:

There is a drain and fill hole on the front axle. Make sure you remove the fill plug BEFORE you remove the drain plug. You don't want to get in a situation where you have drained the fluid but can't get the fill plug out and you're stuck with an empty diff.

The rear diff fluid is changed my removing the rear diff cover completely. I start by loosening all the bolts a bit, then loosen the bottom bolts more and crack it open with a putty knife or something similar. Let the majority of the fluid drain and then remove the cover completely. Then be sure to get off as much of the old RTV as possible and clean it with denatured alcohol or something similar before you apply a new bead of RTV before reinstalling. Leaving old RTV on there can make a faulty seal which would mean a leak.
 
#16 · (Edited)
If your doing it yourself I would recommend getting the pump and not remove the diff cover. There is no need to. You can remove almost all the old oil and contaminents with it, without having to buy a new gasket and taking off the cover. I always used a pump on my previous 2 GC's and my WK recently without ever removing the covers. Just my 2 cents, and has always worked fine for me.

I have always been fearful of stripping a bolt or something not seating back correctly, and even in my WK manual it says you do not need to remove the covers unless checking the gears or doing an overhaul.
 
#19 · (Edited)
The rear cover is so easy to do I think it is worth it to get all the fluid out and check the gears to make sure everything looks ok. There is no gasket to buy for the rear diff, it is sealed with RTV. I can do the rear diff in like 30 minutes tops... def worth it to make sure everything is OK in there. I can't see how someone could mess it up. Also the bolts aren't torqued down that tightly (30 foot pounds for the rear).. so they should never be that hard to get off. Then when retightening, snug them by hand and then tighten them down in a star pattern (like when tightening wheel lugs)

what do these so called fluid pumps look like?


The one I have is not this fancy... but that is the general idea.
 
#26 ·
If you have QDII you still have to add the additive from the dealer... I've read guys that put just say Mobile 1 fluid in there that already has the limited slip additive in it already and got lots of binding.

I think the ELSD system is pretty sensitive in that regard.
 
#31 ·
Just saying "Mopar" isnt the only oil or oil additive out there that will work. If you take it in to a local non-Jeep shop im sure they do not use Mopar oils, but have other brands/manufacturers that work.

Its like buying 5W-30 oil, can get the cheapest Walmart brand or an expensive named brand, but if on the label it states its been tested and meets the same standards then there really is no reason to not use one or the other, they should perform the same. Some people just feel better buying named brand things that are priced higher because it gives them a sense of security.
 
#37 ·
Just saying "Mopar" isnt the only oil or oil additive out there that will work. If you take it in to a local non-Jeep shop im sure they do not use Mopar oils, but have other brands/manufacturers that work.

Its like buying 5W-30 oil, can get the cheapest Walmart brand or an expensive
named brand, but if on the label it states its been tested and meets the same standards then there really is no reason to not use one or the other, they should perform the same. Some people just feel better buying named brand things that are priced higher because it gives them a sense of security.
I am yet to find another friction modifier out there that specifically states that it has been tested and approved for use in Chrysler axles equipped with the electronic limited slip diffs. If M1 came out with something, you can bet I'd buy it. Same thing with the TC fluid - no one makes anything that has been tested and approved for use in the NV247 that QDII uses, so I buy the mopar fluid. Mopar also recommends using their 75W-140 diff fluid but I don't because it is overpriced and I feel confident that M1 make a great product - and more importantly it has been tested and meets chryslers requirement for
use. Also mopar recommends using their brand of ATF+4 in the trans but I used valvoline synthetic because it's cheaper but still has been tested and is approved for use.

I'd rather spend 15 bucks on two bottles of friction modifier from the dealer and know that I'm putting the right fluids in a vital part of the drivetrain instead of cheapng out and ruining the diff.
 
#35 · (Edited)
I would recommend going with the Mopar NV245 Transfer Case Fluid p/n 05016796AB. Its like 12 bucks. :thumbsup: Now rememeber this is for the Quadratrac 2 systems as well as Quadradrive 2. You can also use a compatible fluid but i didnt look into any. I just know of the original stuff.

If you have a quadratrac 1 system then use regular ATF+4, type 9602.
 
#33 ·
Great info. This should be stickied.
 
#41 ·
I have a wk but I was wondering why does it need to be serviced if it's sealed ?

I can understand the wear and tear and the heat generated in a closed system like that with minimal heat loss and pressure changes can affect the chemical composition of the oil but changing the gear oil is usually unheard of ... iJeep mentioned every 30k ...

I am merely curious as this is the first time I have heard of doing it but I am going to give it a try this weekend ...
 
#44 ·
I've never had a car in which the differential fluid was never supposed to be changed. Most of my other vehicles have had a 60-100K service interval. I'm assuming that since the diffs are such a vital part of the 4WD systems that Jeep would rather have people change their diff fluid more often than not to keep them running right. The diff fluid is supposed to be changed every 15K if you are on service schedule B.

Also, don't forget that most people don't do their own maintenance, so shorter change intervals means more trips to the dealer for maintenance.
 
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