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change oil in front and rear Axel


Guest pathfinder92
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Guest pathfinder92

Hi All,

 

I am new to this forum. This forum helps me to learn a lot about my 1992 Pathfinder automatic-transmission. Thank you all.

I am sort of mechanical illiterate, but starting to learn some basic maintenances for my Pathfinder. So far I can do oil change, throttle body cleaning and few other small things.

 

I want to change the oil in front and rear axels, but don't know how to do that. Could someone tell me how it's done and what kind of oil do I need to buy? Do I need to pump the old oil out of the axel? or does it has a drain like changing engine oil?

It may seem silly to the experts here but I am learning (can't afford much on taking it to a garage) and need help on this one?

Thanks all

Pathfinder92

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The front and rear diffs aren't too difficult to change the oil in. You just pull the drain plug, let the old stuff drain out, replace it, then fill it via the fill plug just until it starts coming out of the hole. If you search for "fluids" or something like that you can probably find out what to put in there, I think there have been some discussions on it before. Welcome to the forum!

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Welcome,

 

In addition to statikuz's post, if you have a Haynes or Chiltons manual, it will show you the steps. Like statikuz said, very straight forward.

 

One thing to remember is to loosen the fill plug first before draining. That way if the fill plug is seized, it may take a few techniques to get it loose. This way you can still drive if loosening the fill plug takes longer than anticipated and you need your wheels.

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My front differential fill plug is stuck. I tried getting it loose but my breaker bar turned without the plug turning. I am going to try some PB blaster a few times. But what do I do if it is still seized and gets rounded out? :o

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You could try an 'easy-out' it looks like a drill bit with a left-hand thread which bites into the metal and digs in. Don't use the size where the end of the bit makes contact with the bottom of the rounded hole. You need some space there while you turn the bit, giving it a chance to work itself in there. Make sure you really soak the nut in PB or nutbuster oil before attempting this. Breaking of the bit, or the 'easy-out' really sucks arse to get out. Then get yourself a new fill plug.

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If you have a small torch like this one. You can just heat it up to get it to break loose. As long as the torch can get up to 1500/2000deg F. it should work fine. If you have already rounded the nut off just try some vise grips or a small monkey wrench (pipe wrench). I weld on farm equipment for a living and we have a hell of a time getting rusty/seized nuts off old stuff we have to repair.

 

Good luck,

David

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  • 5 weeks later...

It's a good idea to drain the oil after driving for a while, when it is warm, as the contaminants should be in suspension while draining. Draining overnight never hurts either, but it isn't a must. When refilling, top off the oil to the bottom of the hole, then wait a half hour or so to see if the oil settles out into the nooks and crannies, then add a little more to bring the level back up. It wouldn't hurt to refill with synthetic oil either, if you don't mind springing a few extra bucks, but it isn't a must. Conventional gear oil will work fine too.

 

 

If I'm not mistaken, the drain and fill plugs are tapered - pipe thread. The taper helps keep everything tight and from leaking, but you don't want to over tighten when replacing the plugs, because the threads mash together causing the same problems again at removal time.

 

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Now here is something I don't admit to very often - when I add lubricant from a bottle to a vehicle, I always shake the bottle first to be sure any additive package is not laying on the bottom of the container, then I pour the stuff in.

 

I probably need to see a good therapist for that one.

 

shhh - don't tell anyone! sly

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