Differential Service

tmolloy · 04-19-2009, 01:55 PM

Soes anyone have a write up on how to do a front and rear differential service on an '06 Cherokee? Is there an actual seal in them or is it just some squirt-on-sealant?

Natemare13 · 04-19-2009, 03:44 PM

My 2 cents: go to a jiffy lube (or quick lube) place. It's a process you/they cant really mess up and the place by me only charges $10.00 for labor - the rest is the fluid and the fluid is expensive as it is (even at whole sale). I spend $100.00 on a diff change including labor and fluid and its done in 10minutes while I wait.

I was going to do it all by myself and did the research.

Front axel has a drain AND fill hole. drain the fluid - plug it - refil.

The rear is a pain because there is no drain hole - just a fill hole. So you have to dissassemble the case. When you do that you have to buy a new gasket or reseal with some liquid gasket maker. My 2 cents here is that NOTHING is like the factory seal so why bother? I bought a fluid pump (9 - 10 dollars at your local auto store) and was just going to pump out the old fluid through the fill hole and pump new fluid in. This is what most dealers do as well - Mercedes dealers use this method for oil changes too..suck the oil out of the fill cap.

WSPJeep · 04-19-2009, 04:24 PM

Ya I went to Jiffy Lube and it was $115 and I was out the door in 20 minutes. A hell of alot easier, but if you are still willing, use the search and you should find some write ups for a DIY.

colinzj · 04-19-2009, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Natemare13

My 2 cents here is that NOTHING is like the factory seal so why bother?

Because the factory seal is just off-the-shelf RTV applied by a UAW worker, and you can't inspect the gears with the cover on?

Service manual procedure is to remove the cover so you can inspect the gears and fluid well and clean everything up real pretty, and up until a couple years ago most shops did just that. Now, like you said, everyone's trying to make a quick buck and just sucks the old fluid out and pumps in fresh... which is how I ended up with a trashed diff a couple hundred miles after a fluid change.

johnniebravo · 04-19-2009, 06:14 PM

there are writeups for changing the diff fluids. It really is a VERY EASY thing to do and while it does take longer than the dealership or jiffy lube to do, it is worth doing at least once.

The seal on the rear pumpkin is standard RTV, nothing special at all.

The front diff requires a rather large allen key (metric); remember to remove the fill plug first. VERY easy change to do.

If you cannot find it in this forum, check in one of the wrangler forums.

Lastly, IMO, I wouldn't trust Jiffy Lube to clean my windows.

tmolloy · 04-20-2009, 10:50 AM

Yeah, I couldn't find the allen wrench at Advanced Auto, Home Depot or Tractor Tool & Supply. Does anyone know what size is needed (it appeard to be a 9/16") and where I can get one?

nostaw22 · 04-20-2009, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmolloy

Yeah, I couldn't find the allen wrench at Advanced Auto, Home Depot or Tractor Tool & Supply. Does anyone know what size is needed (it appeard to be a 9/16") and where I can get one?

I think I got my set of metric allen sockets from Sears. It was a off-brand (e.g. not a name brand or Craftsman) set with 3 metric allen keys for a 3/8" socket that had larger sizes (can't remember which ones). Chances are it is a metric Allen, not standard. You may have to buy a set instead of just 1.

If you know what size you're looking for you can probably find it on sears.com and then check inventory at a local store.

JW

Natemare13 · 04-20-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colinzj

Because the factory seal is just off-the-shelf RTV applied by a UAW worker, and you can't inspect the gears with the cover on?

Service manual procedure is to remove the cover so you can inspect the gears and fluid well and clean everything up real pretty, and up until a couple years ago most shops did just that. Now, like you said, everyone's trying to make a quick buck and just sucks the old fluid out and pumps in fresh... which is how I ended up with a trashed diff a couple hundred miles after a fluid change.

Good input and insight. I appreicate that as I didnt know the guys at the dealers actually clean up the gears and stuff when they do a change. And if they don't do that anymore - it's worth recommending that maybe ever other diff change should be done by yourself so you can check the gears out and clean where needed.

johnniebravo · 04-20-2009, 04:41 PM

i actually used the 9/16th bit as it was all i could find at the time...it nearly fit. I took dremel and filed off the paint on all sides and it fit like a glove.

Besides, I already had the 9/16th and never used it on anything, works for me!

nostaw22 · 04-20-2009, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Natemare13

Good input and insight. I appreicate that as I didnt know the guys at the dealers actually clean up the gears and stuff when they do a change. And if they don't do that anymore - it's worth recommending that maybe ever other diff change should be done by yourself so you can check the gears out and clean where needed.

Ummm... They don't... There is nothing to clean. The only inspection they might do (if you're lucky) would be to look and see if there is any rust (due to water contamination, which is really obvious in the oil) or metal particles in the oil. That takes about 2 seconds...

JW