Change Driveline Fluids Early!

[2023bronco]

Clean the basin inside the housing with lint free towels only. Do not introduce brake cleaner into the housing, there is zero need--no advantage--and it will attack the seals.

The OEM gasket can be re-used at least 10 times and given there is no replacement on the market for the one that comes with the FP cover, why would you use it? It is a fiber gasket that would need sealant applied which is messy whereas the OEM gasket comes off with no cleaning required.

I would torque the bolts to 22 nm to start and go up to 25 nm if needed. I would not go 30 lb-ft, you are risking twisting off the bolt.

Ford's torque spec is 20nm + 25 degrees. 30 lb-ft would be about 40nm.

How is brake clean, which quickly evaporates, going to get into the pinion seal and axle seals unless it is sprayed onto them or dumped into the housing?

The instructions with that cover specify 30 ft lb. They are 10.9 (grade 8 equivalent) bolts.

Why would the gasket that came with the cover need sealant? Both the housing and cover are perfectly machined.

Sponsored

 

[CarbonSteel]

How is brake clean, which quickly evaporates, going to get into the pinion seal and axle seals unless it is sprayed onto them or dumped into the housing?

The instructions with that cover specify 30 ft lb. They are 10.9 (grade 8 equivalent) bolts.

Why would the gasket that came with the cover need sealant? Both the housing and cover are perfectly machined.

Do what suits you.

 

[2023bronco]

Do what suits you.

I do what the manufacturer recommends.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I do what the manufacturer recommends.

If that works for you. I prefer to use the OEM rubber gasket because you will not find a replacement fiber gasket if you pull the FP cover so why bother? The OEM gasket is reusable and does not require that much torque.

 

[0ne]

Do what suits you.

I’m gonna wait until 150k

 

[Aonarch]

What in the ever loving....? There are no "set screws" on a differential and no differential has ever had them in my decades of working with them. There have been covers that have studs which are torqued against the bearing caps on certain differentials as a strengthening measure whereas these studs create a "connection" between the cover and the bearing caps to stiffen the main cap area. This can (**may**) help prevent gear damage by limiting the amount of ring gear deflection. These are also known as differential cover "girdles".

Dana axles do not have them and no axle aside from race applications in very specialized use cases have them installed as an OEM. You can totally disregard what he is saying, and I would find another dealer as he is 1000% CLUELESS.

Replacing the OEM cover with a FP cover is a very straightforward process and it requires a minimum of tools, though you do need a torque wrench that can apply 22-30ft-lbs of torque (most any 3/8" torque wrench can do this).

I would be happy to walk you through it, but in any case--find another dealer!

+1 dealer is clueless.

Changing the rear diff fluid and cover is as easy as an oil change.

Super, super easy.

 

[CarmeloS]

Could I get link’s for all the fluids and filters I need?

Gonna have Pepboys do everything, just need manual trans fluid and stuff

 

[CarbonSteel]

Could I get link’s for all the fluids and filters I need?

Gonna have Pepboys do everything, just need manual trans fluid and stuff

Are you looking to stick with Ford branded or aftermarket?

 

[CarmeloS]

Are you looking to stick with Ford branded or aftermarket?

aftermarket, want superior, not satisfactory

 

[CarbonSteel]

aftermarket, want superior, not satisfactory

This spreadsheet that I created may help you make some decisions.

Front Axle = 75W-110 or 75W-140. For 75W-110, I use Amsoil Severe Gear as there are few choices for this viscosity on the market. If you want to use 75W-140, Amsoil for 75W-140 is my choice, but Valvoline, Mobil 1, or Castrol will also serve you well.

Rear Axle = 75W-140 in any of the aforementioned flavors.

Transfer Case = Mercon LV. I use Motorcraft brand because there is little to be gained by using a high-end aftermarket brand. There are no combustion by-products to combat and it is better to change it more frequently with a "normal" fluid versus extending and using a higher end one.

Manual Transmission = Motorcraft Dual Clutch Transmission Fluid. On this one (and the automatic), there are very few choices and as such little reason to deviate from the OEM.

Hope this helps!

 

[B22-2023]

This spreadsheet that I created may help you make some decisions.

Front Axle = 75W-110 or 75W-140. For 75W-110, I use Amsoil Severe Gear as there are few choices for this viscosity on the market. If you want to use 75W-140, Amsoil for 75W-140 is my choice, but Valvoline, Mobil 1, or Castrol will also serve you well.

Rear Axle = 75W-140 in any of the aforementioned flavors.

Transfer Case = Mercon LV. I use Motorcraft brand because there is little to be gained by using a high-end aftermarket brand. There are no combustion by-products to combat and it is better to change it more frequently with a "normal" fluid versus extending and using a higher end one.

Manual Transmission = Motorcraft Dual Clutch Transmission Fluid. On this one (and the automatic), there are very few choices and as such little reason to deviate from the OEM.

Hope this helps!

Has anyone pulled the transmission fill and dip stick to check condition? I tried but it’s too tight on there for the angle it’s at, and I’m wondering if there is a special tool.

 

[CarmeloS]

This spreadsheet that I created may help you make some decisions.

Front Axle = 75W-110 or 75W-140. For 75W-110, I use Amsoil Severe Gear as there are few choices for this viscosity on the market. If you want to use 75W-140, Amsoil for 75W-140 is my choice, but Valvoline, Mobil 1, or Castrol will also serve you well.

Rear Axle = 75W-140 in any of the aforementioned flavors.

Transfer Case = Mercon LV. I use Motorcraft brand because there is little to be gained by using a high-end aftermarket brand. There are no combustion by-products to combat and it is better to change it more frequently with a "normal" fluid versus extending and using a higher end one.

Manual Transmission = Motorcraft Dual Clutch Transmission Fluid. On this one (and the automatic), there are very few choices and as such little reason to deviate from the OEM.

Hope this helps!

Thanks Choom!

 

[Bearcat1]

Rear diff with new Ford Performance cover, Front diff, transfer case complete at 23k miles. No pics, but rear diff was nasty, front diff not bad but pasty plug, transfer case pretty clean with red tint. All straightforward thanks to CarbonSteel, thx!! Only difficult thing was modifying the DV8 rear diff skid to fit the performance cover, lot of cutting and grinding. Will be much easier at 50k when I change them again with simple drain plugs now. Decided to leave the auto transmission fluid until 50k.

 

[Longshot]

I'm not sure if this has been asked already and I apologize if so. Have any of you sent in your fluids to a testing company like Blackstone to see what the results are by chance...? I'm noticing a lot of worrisome owners and I am now wondering myself when to do this procedure. Just wondering if any test results would show this to be unfounded or a legitimate concern...? Thanks!

 

[CarbonSteel]

I'm not sure if this has been asked already and I apologize if so. Have any of you sent in your fluids to a testing company like Blackstone to see what the results are by chance...? I'm noticing a lot of worrisome owners and I am now wondering myself when to do this procedure. Just wondering if any test results would show this to be unfounded or a legitimate concern...? Thanks!

Yep; you can follow my UOAs here.

I use Polaris because Blackstone does not use gas chromatography to measure fuel dilution and they are not ISO 17025 certified. They also may not always use the current ASTM testing methodologies. Last, but not least, they are much more expensive than Polaris.

What you have to keep in mind with any UOA is that it cannot see particles over or under a certain size and it should be used more for health of the oil versus wear/metal detection.

In the end, the majority of people (me included) change the oil to get the break-in particles out of the axle. An axle has neither a pressurized or filtered oil system and the wear particles will accelerate the wear over time.

Sponsored