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Location: IN>Germany>ND>OH>TX>CA>Currently NoVa and a Vacation Lake House in PA
3,259 posts, read 4,331,793 times
Reputation: 13476
Quote:
Originally Posted by headingtoDenver
One of the best things you can do is search online for a forum dedicated to your vehicle. There tend to be complete walkthroughs of all routine maintenance as well as walkthroughs of the not-so-routine on those forums.
If the OP is still around this is awesome advice for learning to work on your vehicle. I've always joined a forum for cars (especially older ones) that I've owned.
Well, I would do the transmission myself, but I got under there, and there was no drain plug, But I figured I was still capable of dropping the whole pan, but then the exhaust needs to be loosened for it to clear the pan, that was when I said I would bring that in to have done.
The rear diff, I read up on for my specific vehichle, it sounds like I MIGHT be able to do it. But as to the front diff, and transfer case, I have no interest in trying that , not enough room around them for me to comfortable work and see what I'm doing.
But again, I don't here about the "front diff" going to often on Silverados. The transmission, sure, the rear end, not as much but sure. The transfer case, isn't it usually a bad ground, or a relay or something ?
I guess I'm still waiting to here from a guy that bought his truck new, never changed his fluids, and has 400,000 miles without a problem ...
Or , I'm waiting to here from a guy, who's front end went at 108,000 miles just out of the warranty, and he never changed his fluid and wishes he did.
There's no question I can SAVE money buy doing this service myself, and I may do some of it, but I was just wondering about the ignoring maintenance for a financial benefit part of the equasions.
I changed the read diff fluid on my 2005 Ranger XLT a few months ago. It looked like chocolate milk. I had to remove the cover, clean it, apply RTV sealant, refill with fluid. All in all it took about 45 minutes tops.
The front diff was a little more difficult since I couldn't remove the cover, but I bought a fluid suction device and a thick piece of tubing and about 30 minutes later it was changed. Of course, now that they were both at the proper fill level, I found a couple of seals leaking. That will be the most common problem from not changing the fluids regularly.
If the fluid has never been changed you should have it done. If you get in water deep enough to wet the diffs , you should change it. These need to be changed on a regular basis. Do not listen to the other posters trying to scare you off. It's fairly easy to do ( I have not done it on your truck's model) and it gives you a reason to buy tools if you don't already have them.
Someone mentioned joining online forums specific to your vehicle. That's great advice. Many times techs will be on those sites and can give you expert advice without charging shop fees, lol.
I changed the read diff fluid on my 2005 Ranger XLT a few months ago. It looked like chocolate milk. I had to remove the cover, clean it, apply RTV sealant, refill with fluid. All in all it took about 45 minutes tops.
The front diff was a little more difficult since I couldn't remove the cover, but I bought a fluid suction device and a thick piece of tubing and about 30 minutes later it was changed. Of course, now that they were both at the proper fill level, I found a couple of seals leaking. That will be the most common problem from not changing the fluids regularly.
If the fluid has never been changed you should have it done. If you get in water deep enough to wet the diffs , you should change it. These need to be changed on a regular basis. Do not listen to the other posters trying to scare you off. It's fairly easy to do ( I have not done it on your truck's model) and it gives you a reason to buy tools if you don't already have them.
Someone mentioned joining online forums specific to your vehicle. That's great advice. Many times techs will be on those sites and can give you expert advice without charging shop fees, lol.
That's how I've always done it on diffs that don't have drain plugs... If the seal is still good, no need to go through the hassle of removing the cover.
Well, I would do the transmission myself, but I got under there, and there was no drain plug, But I figured I was still capable of dropping the whole pan, but then the exhaust needs to be loosened for it to clear the pan, that was when I said I would bring that in to have done.
The rear diff, I read up on for my specific vehichle, it sounds like I MIGHT be able to do it. But as to the front diff, and transfer case, I have no interest in trying that , not enough room around them for me to comfortable work and see what I'm doing.
But again, I don't here about the "front diff" going to often on Silverados. The transmission, sure, the rear end, not as much but sure. The transfer case, isn't it usually a bad ground, or a relay or something ?
I guess I'm still waiting to here from a guy that bought his truck new, never changed his fluids, and has 400,000 miles without a problem ...
Or , I'm waiting to here from a guy, who's front end went at 108,000 miles just out of the warranty, and he never changed his fluid and wishes he did.
There's no question I can SAVE money buy doing this service myself, and I may do some of it, but I was just wondering about the ignoring maintenance for a financial benefit part of the equasions.
A possible way around the transmission issue would be to use a "topside" oil changer. If the transmission does not have a filter, that would be all you need to do - drain and refill. Any fluid with a dipstick, if it's not too viscous, you can do with a topside oil "extractor".
Even if there is a filter, a topside oil changer would make getting the pan off less messy.
If you don't DIY, find a good indy shop, they are in general as good or better than dealer service, and cheaper.
I would say avoid "stupid lube" outfits like the plague, for reasons that have been hashed to death on here.
I know an old thread - but had to chime in here since Im about to do all this now. You can save a ton doing stuff yourself, and you can generally use better products (like synthetics). Sure you may get a little dirty, but its a great excuse to bust out some cold ones. Everything is detailed on the internet, and nothing is hard if you have changed your oil before.
You definitely want to change your differential fluid no later than 50K miles (more often if you tow a boat since rear diff is stressed, heated, and rapidly cooled in the water which degrades the oil faster). I have also heard several accounts of these fluids being 'low filled' from the factory, so you should change the front as well for piece of mind. It is about $60 for the the fluid and gasket material to do both vs. $280 from dealer.
Let the dealer do the transmission fluid, as it is a lot of fluid, and almost always a big mess. With 50K miles, let them do a flush. This is really a fluid exchange using your truck's own transmission pump power. DO NOT do a flush at a quick lube as they may use pressure which can damage your tranny. $160 at dealer vs. $80 DIY (depending on how much fluid you are planning to exchange).
Transfer case is drain and fill just like motor oil and only the GM (AC Delco) autotrack II can be used, but you can get it delivered from amz @ $22 vs. $70 at dealer.
Over $300 saving doing it yourself, plus the satisfaction of doing some "manly" work on your truck (even if you are a woman). I also plan on doing brake and power steering fluid. Some say power steering fluid is the most overlooked fluid.
Glad to know the extent of your automotive knowledge consists of watching Youtube videos and browsing the internet .
That literally is the extent of my DIY home mechanic knowledge. My 3 cars are running fine and I have literally saved thousands of dollars on maintenance on my vehicles.
I have done all of those on my truck since I bought it new in 2005.
Because both differentials, the manual tranny, and the transfer case all have a drain plug and a fill plug, the job is easy. Tedious, yes, but simple. I did mine about every two years at first but am now doing it every three years, as I haven't been driving many miles lately.
Two of these require removing skid plates, and the rear differential plug holes are supposed to get the old RTV gray sealant scraped off and refreshed, but that is the only extra wrinkle. I do the latter only every other time, but I keep detailed notes from each session so I know exactly what I did.
I am very, very glad I started off so meticulously. The first drainings all had some fine metal filings/powder in the bottom (magnetic drain plugs), which is normal. Second round of draining showed little such material, and after that the fluids were pretty much clear.
I used to have to pump some fluids out of another vehicle. Ugh, what a long process that was, not to mention not what I would consider as effective an emptying method.
The cost would have been about $400 to $500 if I paid a shop to do these things. Doing it myself, it is less than half that even with the synthetic gear oil spec'ed for the rear diff.
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