DIY: Change the Rear Differential Fluid in 07 Tundra w/pics

[TUNDRA786]

Thanks a million!!! i dont know jack about working on my truck and this post makes it easy!
Now i need to find a thread on how i can change my own oil.

Also anyone know when Toyota recommends the Rear Diff. fluid be changed in the 07 Tundra? im sure its in the manual.

[HOGWILD]

fill plugs i thought had crush washers and drain plugs had flat metal washers or has this changed and is their a torque value on the bolts?

[daless2]

Nice write-up. Thanks for taking the time to do it and post the pictures.

If you would like to add a few things to your write-up I have some additional info you might consider.


Toyota calls for the following spec on the Differential Fluid = LT 75W-85 - GL-5 rated


Torque Settings

The Fill Plug has a torque setting of 36 Ft/#’s

The Drain Plug torque setting is 29 Ft/#’s


Toyota does recommend installing a new gasket on each of these plugs, but in all my years of wrenching I never have. I have always used the old one without any failures.


How much Differential fluid you will actually use depends on what model truck you have, RC, DC, CC, and if it is 2 or 4 wheel drive.

In all cases it will be between 3.6 and 4.0 quarts.

So if you change your gear oil and can’t get all four quarts in this is why. (table is a bit big for me to type in.)

This info comes from the Factory Service Manual.

Once again thanks for the great post.


Frank

[AlaskaCub]

Originally Posted by Dana_15

Maybe I'm just confused.

The Tundras do not have a LSD (Limited Slip Differential), which is a mechanical device found inside the rear end that distributes power to whichever wheel is spinning when traction is lost. We have ALSD which is something very different. Our truck applies the brakes to the wheel thats spinning and there is no mechanical device inside the rear end. Hence if you have a truck with a true LSD you have to buy fluid that specifically has an additive that is needed for it to work correctly, our trucks do not require that additive.

[jkd]

Originally Posted by Dana_15

It has LSD.

No it's not a conventional LSD. There's no clutch packs, a brake application is electronically applied to the spinning rear wheel so power goes to the wheel with traction.

Sorry Alaska, didn't see your post, there's got to be a delete function here somewhere but I can never find it.

[Dana_15]

Originally Posted by AlaskaCub

The Tundras do not have a LSD (Limited Slip Differential), which is a mechanical device found inside the rear end that distributes power to whichever wheel is spinning when traction is lost. We have ALSD which is something very different. Our truck applies the brakes to the wheel thats spinning and there is no mechanical device inside the rear end. Hence if you have a truck with a true LSD you have to buy fluid that specifically has an additive that is needed for it to work correctly, our trucks do not require that additive.

Thanks for clearing that up!

[EVOL ARDNUT]

What other rear gear oil synthetics are out there that are good, and what weights of gear oil can be found?

How often to change it, how often to change synthetic?

Does toyta use SYNTHETIC from factory.


If anyone has answers, thanks!

[Alan760]

Thanks for the write up. It looks easier than changing the engine oil, and like something I could actually do myself.

[randomwalk101]

What about the transmission oil? Are you going to change that too? Is it necessary to switch it to synthetic and get all the metal shavings out of the tranny too?

BTW, Great job on the diff. oil change DYI. I think I'll do mine soon.

[kd5byb]

Originally Posted by EVOL ARDNUT

What other rear gear oil synthetics are out there that are good, and what weights of gear oil can be found?

How often to change it, how often to change synthetic?

Does toyota use SYNTHETIC from factory.

If anyone has answers, thanks!

Oils? Toyota calls for 75W-85 GL-5, use the closest you can find to this. I couldn't find any of it, anywhere, so I went with 75W-90. Might see a little fuel economy loss per Amsoil's tech support, but the loss may be offset by some fuel economy gain by the oil being synthetic. (I'm talking tenths of MPG here, BTW.)

Personally, I used Amsoil Severe Gear 75W-90 when I changed mine out with about about 5k on the clock. Amsoil recently put out a white paper detailing some gear oil testing results:

http://www.amsoil.com/lit/g2457.pdf

(Note: I tried using the link tool three times and it deletes the link, so you'll have to cut-n-paste the above.)

As you might expect, they wouldn't publish it unless it was good news for their products. You can read the paper and make up your own mind about the testing, any bias, etc... I'd love to see the lab named - to me, that would add a lot of credibility. Especially if they were a NRTL certified lab... (I'm a test engineer by trade and used to work at a NRTL lab - NRTL labs are required to have very good ethics and high standards for truthfulness.)

Part of the reason I use Amsoil is convenience - it's delivered to my door and I don't have to shop around a dozen auto parts places trying to find what I need.

But, I'll dare say that any quality, name-brand synthetic such as RedLine, Mobil 1, Valvoline Synpower, etc., will likely serve you well. I've got Redline in my Mustang GT and used it in my Ranger - very pleased with it in both.

I'll even say that anything synthetic will likely do fine if you're not exposing the truck to severe conditions like towing all the time, tracking it, etc...

Synthetic from Factory? Hard to say, but I doubt it. Search around for a 75W-85 GL-5 oil and the only hits I got on Google were clearly non-synthetic. (And most were only available outside the USA - unsure about Canada for our friends to the North.)

As unscientific as this is, I'll note that my drain oil didn't smell like synthetic, it smelled like dino. (very sulpur-like smell that I've not smelled in RedLine, Amsoil, or Mobil 1 syn gear oils)

How Often to Change Synthetic? Again, depends on how you drive your truck. Mine tows rarely, spends a lot of time on the highway with just me in it and I'll probably go 50,000 miles between syn changes, unless I get bored and change it earlier. I might change it at 30k, but that's really too soon.

Remember, a lot of people go hundreds of thousands of miles on dino rear end oil and never change it. Yet, also realize that a rear end has no filter and no dipstick. Oil is cheap, your rear end isn't.
Bottom line - do what will let you sleep well at night.

later,
b

[kd5byb]

Originally Posted by randomwalk101

What about the transmission oil? Are you going to change that too? Is it necessary to switch it to synthetic and get all the metal shavings out of the tranny too?

BTW, Great job on the diff. oil change DYI. I think I'll do mine soon.

Boy, I want to do so, but I've not seen a good way to do it.

If you drain the pan, that's only about 3 or 4 quarts of fluid out of the 12 or 14 in there. If you've got the towing package, there are methods out there that include detaching the tranny lines at the cooler and running the engine, letting the tranny pump fluid out as you force an equal amount back into the tranny through the return line. Seems very tricky to me.

Plus, replacement fluid is a problem. You can buy Toyota WS at the dealer, but I think someone wrote it's like $30 a gallon - don't hold me to that! As for non-OEM fluid, only Redline makes ATF that states it meets the WS specification:

From Red Line's webpage:

Recommended where the latest Dexron-VI is required, as well as where Ford Mercon SP, Toyota WS and Mercedes Benz NAG-2 fluids are specified, Red Line D6 ATF satisfies the requirements for many of the latest automatic transmissions that require consistent, low-viscosity fluids that are shear-stable.

Okay, RedLine makes good stuff and I trust them. But, Toyota has made a big deal over WS being something quite special.

I'm not sure I'm ready to believe that a product that covers all these non-Toyota specs also covers Toyota specs.

That is, unless GM/Ford/MB are buying Aisin-Warner trannys - I believe Aisin-Warner, who is owned by or is a subsidiary of Toyota, builds our Toyota trannies. Well, at least the AB60E and AB60F six-speed tranny in the 5.7L's. That might make sense! I know Volvo has used Aisin-Warner trannys, so why not Ford/GM/MB???

I'm toying with the idea of putting a 10 micron filter (as would be used on a hydraulic return line) on my AB60E. Cleaner trannies last longer. Just gotta wait until I'm out of the warranty period...

later,
b

[EVOL ARDNUT]

Thanks For Imfo!

[jkd]

I would just about bet all the mfgrs. have gone to synthetic oils in their transmissions and differentials from the factory, I know Ford did years ago. Unlike synthetic engine oil, there's some real positive advantages to using them in gear trains--more shear strength, they hold up better under extreme heat, overall longer life compared to conventional oils.

As far as the trans, I could be wrong, but it seems like someone posted a shop manual article PDF file regarding it's operation, etc, and it stated due to the material used in the clutch packs, etc, it was REAL important to use genuine Toyota auto trans fluid because only it contained the required additive package the Tundra six speed requires.

Also anyone know when Toyota recommends the Rear Diff. fluid be changed in the 07 Tundra?

Not for a long time, especially since they have a magnetic drain plug. I think like most, it's 60 or 80,000 miles.

[TheFrozenTundra]

Thanks for the feedback and I added some info as well.

[kd5byb]

Originally Posted by jkd

I would just about bet all the mfgrs. have gone to synthetic oils in their transmissions and differentials from the factory, I know Ford did years ago. Unlike synthetic engine oil, there's some real positive advantages to using them in gear trains--more shear strength, they hold up better under extreme heat, overall longer life compared to conventional oils.

I'd agree with a few caveats:

ATF - if you're talking newer ATF's like the latest fluids like Dexron-VI, Ford Mercon SP, Toyota WS, and Mercedes Benz NAG-2 fluids, I totally agree. They are likely to be all synthetics, as they are low viscosity (thin), very highly shear-stable, and have well controlled viscosity changes over temperature. All things that syn's do very well.

Yet, the older Type F, DEXRON III, and MERCON fluids are more likely to by dino juice. Not sure I've ever seen syn Type F, but Ford hasn't used it since what, the 80's? (That is outside of PS units)

For sure, unless Ford specs MERCON SP in their 5 speed manuals, they come from the factory with MERCON dino.

Older import ATF's (like Mitsu Diamond II and III) are going to be dino as well.

Bottom line - If the vehicle you're buying has a newer tranny and uses the newer fluid, bet on it having a syn oil. Older tranny with older fluid, it's going to be dino.

Gear Oil - I'd bet most gear oils are not syn from the factory. My reason is this:

1) Ford only went to syn 75-140 in the 8.8 rears when larger engines with more torque started showing the limitations of the 8.8. Thicker syn oil is a band-aid that kicks a rear-end redesign down the road. Don't get me wrong, the Ford 8.8 is a great rear end (have one in my GT Mustang, had one in my 4.0L Ranger) but it's an older design that's been asked to do more are more without a design upgrade.

I've not seen any other manufacturer require syn oil a la Ford.

I have no data on the 7.5" Ford rear, but I'd speculate any change to syn had similar reasoning to the 8.8" rear.

2) Plus, look at the costs: If you are building rear ends, dino in a 55 gallon can (or 8,000 gallon tanker) may be like 1$ per quart. Syn is going to be at least three times more. Dino is a LOT of cost savings.

(Yet, in the case of Ford, keep in mind that warrantee costs of grenaded rear ends is far more than syn 75W90 gear oil.)

3) Now, look at the benefits: yes, syn is far better. But, the average consumer doesn't give a hoot about syn versus dino in the rear end. Really, only those of us who are anal about our trucks and oil will really care. You're better off taking the cash saved and putting on plastic bed rail protectors or something that adds flash and marketability.

I don't see any auto maker spending three times as much on oil for no marketing benefit...

Syn Engine Oil - I disagree with your comment that seems to suggest no benefit to syn engine oil. It pumps far better when cold, maintains viscosity better when hot, and isn't as volitile (viscosity change over time as the more volitile, lighter molecular weight fractions of the oil boil/burn off) as dino oil. Synthetic oil can also run more miles between changes than dino can. (Surf over to BITOG - all of these claims are fact.)

YET, I daresay that you'll probably notice no difference in engine life between using syn and high-quality dino in a Tundra engine. (Tundra engines are not hard on oil.) Especially if you change the dino at 3k. (And maybe even out to 5k). You might notice a small difference at 250,000 miles plus, but besides cheapskates like me, not many keep a vehicle that long...

later,
ben