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Old 02-22-2004, 06:11 PM   #1
voam
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Default rear diff oil change / impressions

Lately decided to get started on the 30K mile service a little early ( at 20K) and when I saw the syrupy grayish fluid coming out of the rear diff I am glad that I didn't wait another 10k miles! Also changed the trans fluid with valvoline dino 75w90 gl5 at the same time. That fluid still had a nice golden color coming out. I know color is not necessarily indicative of an oils effectiveness but is that common for the rear diff fluid to be grayish?

Initial impressions after the change of just those fluids is that the whole drivetrain seems a lot smoother.
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Old 04-09-2004, 08:31 PM   #2
03WRXMA
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bump^ any info on this?
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Old 04-09-2004, 11:24 PM   #3
esteve
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I changed my rear diff fluid at 10K miles and it was nasty and gray too. I read about other people having the same thing so it's probably normal.

Does anybody know the reason why? Perhaps an additive from the factory or the rear diff just wears more as it breaks in?
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Old 04-10-2004, 01:20 AM   #4
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Mine was gray and nasty at 30K miles. It could just be the fluid they use in the rear diff.
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Old 04-10-2004, 01:36 AM   #5
Uncle Scotty
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It could be a graphite additive....tha would account for the color....
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Old 04-10-2004, 03:02 AM   #6
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i just did mines today it was a bitch but well worth it
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Old 04-10-2004, 03:16 AM   #7
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Pretty easy to do, the only thing is the smell ... like fried onions or something ... Changed rear diff to Mobil 1 75W90 ... and some Motul Gear 300 oil for the 6sp...

Smoother overall as well... no way I was going to wait 30k miles to change them...
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Old 04-10-2004, 12:59 PM   #8
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I hope it wasn't mousse (water sheared with heavy oil).

I never noticed anything like that from 5mt and rear dif change I did. I put valvoline in the front and Redline in the rear.
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Old 04-10-2004, 04:50 PM   #9
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mine was nasty @ 9k miles. refiled with redline, car feels the same, which was never bad.
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Old 04-11-2004, 04:23 AM   #10
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its .8 quart right what ahppen if you put a little short on the diff?
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Old 04-11-2004, 05:12 AM   #11
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.8 quart for the WRX and 1.1 qt for the STi
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Old 04-11-2004, 07:42 PM   #12
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just got it done today... replaced with Mobil1 sylthetic @ 54k miles.
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Old 04-12-2004, 10:00 AM   #13
Ging
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Filling the diff a little short shouldn't be a problem. It's basically a big pool of gear oil in the bottom of the diff that the gears spin into. so if it isn't really really under you should be okay I think
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Old 04-12-2004, 11:07 AM   #14
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^thanx i onli put .6 quart because i got lazy after doing oil n tranny. The tranny one smells like ish too
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Old 04-12-2004, 11:57 AM   #15
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The gray metallic color is normal. Just tiny metal shavings from normal breaking in. Once the gears are all broken in and "accustomed" to each other, you shouldn't get any more.

As for filling up the rear diff case, just plug the drain hole, and fill the case until gear oil starts to drip from the fill hole (when you can't get anymore in).

Last edited by Psydotek; 04-12-2004 at 02:01 PM.
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Old 04-12-2004, 01:59 PM   #16
Stanley
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grey, or is it gray?

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Quote:
Originally posted by esteve
I changed my rear diff fluid at 10K miles and it was nasty and gray too. I read about other people having the same thing so it's probably normal.
ditto. When I changed the rear differential fluid the second time, the fluid came out looking new. I think it is definitely related to the initial break in and the factory fill.
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Old 04-12-2004, 05:17 PM   #17
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does anybody know what i should use for the 2002 2.5RS? and how do u change the rear diff? im like a total noob in the tranny fluids changing thing, so i anybody can tell me how im suppose to do all the tranny stuff, that'll be great. my car has 21,000 miles on it and i havnt touched the tranny fluids and the diff.
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Old 04-12-2004, 05:33 PM   #18
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nm, im an idiot. i'll just search.
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Old 04-12-2004, 05:38 PM   #19
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I'm getting ready to change the oil in the rear differential, but I'm wondering how to get the plugs out...

I know that they're square holes, and that a half inch drive rachet will do it, but mine's a pretty loose fit... I don't want to risk rounding them out, because I've heard of how tight they're torqued in from the factory.

I thought I heard that there's a special tool that fits them... is this right?

TIA,

Ben
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Old 04-12-2004, 07:40 PM   #20
Rev1
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I used a 1/2" breaker bar for teh bottom drain plug, and it worked great.

The Sti has the rear diff sensor on the top fill plug, so I just used a crescent wrench to remove it.
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Old 04-12-2004, 09:20 PM   #21
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The ratchet will work. Just put it into the holes and then put the car spare tire jack under it and jack it up slowly. Don't worry, it'll open up. Just make sure to undo the top bolt first then the bottom.

[if the top one has seized up and you undo the bottom you'll have a hell of a time refilling the differential case...]
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