Change out differential and transfer case fluids

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RBA

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The front diff is the biggest pain the ass compared to the others because you need to take the front skid plate off.

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The drain hole is front and center once the plate is removed.

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I found the same gunk on the front drain plug.
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To get the best access to the fill hole I removed the drivers front wheel. It made it much easier to fill the diff.

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It took just under 1 litter.
 

epiclr4

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This is a great write up. One of the best I have seen on this forum. I will look forward to this process in 20k miles.
 

Finlayforprez

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Thanks, RBA!

I will definitely come back to this when I get to that mileage!

The tires still look great! ;-)

Regards, David
 

umbertob

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One important note regarding front and rear differentials drain and fill procedure (as I didn't see it mentioned in the above tutorial) is that the fill plug is NOT to be used as "level indicator". If you fill either diffs up to the fill plug, you are overfilling them and could do more damage than good. In general, unless you suspect a leak, after draining the old fluid you should carefully measure it and only refill the diff with that same quantity of fresh fluid, no more, no less.

The fill plug of the transfer case on the other hand, does double duty as the fill level, so it's easier to refill as you keep filling until fluid starts overflowing from the fill plug hole.
 
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RBA

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Umberto perhaps you know the answer to this question. Do the LR4 differencials have breather valves?
 

umbertob

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Yes, they do (on top of each carrier. Breather tubes are connected to the valves and routed high under the body, to prevent water from entering the differentials when wading.)
 

Quijote

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Good work! I have a 2-post lift at home and will gladly do write ups as I work on things. Unfortunately, my LR4 only has 7500 miles after 13 months, and at that pace it will take a while (hopefully!) before I have to do anything worth writing up.
 

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