Routine Maintenance: Changing Transfer Case and Axle Oils

[VX4EJR]

Hey all.....
Did a search but could not find this. As part of the routine maintenance on the VX, it is recommended that you change the transfer case and front & rear axle oils at 15K. Questions though for anyone to answer?

1) How difficult is it to do this by yourself and not go to a shop?
2) Is it as easy as changing engine oil where you drain and just refill?
3) What is the best oil to use for replacement?

Sorry for my igornance on this but any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!!


Elliott

[AnalogVX]

I am in process of gathering materials to do the same thing. From what I read, it's a straight forward drain and fill. After double checking the owner's manual for oil type (I am glad I did) I found that the transfer case/TOD uses Dexron III and not gear lube as I assumed;eeky; Would have been an expensive mistake! Anyway, I am really not sure where the drain and fill plugs are on the TOD until I get under and look for them. The axle diffs are pretty straight forward, rear has visible drain plug and the front uses the bottom most cover bolt for a drain.

[Tone]

Transfer case thread...Royal Purple makes Dexron fluid too
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1159&highlight=transfer+case+and+fluid

[Joe_Black]

Just did mine with all Mobil-1 and it's super easy. Instructions are actually in the owner's manual which shows all the drain and fill points for each component. The hardest part is getting fluid back into the diffs/tranny/xfer since you can't just pour from the top. I ended up using a piece of Tygon hose on a container I could pressurize with air to force the fluid right where it needed to go. Fills take just a couple minutes! I did see a pump at Wal-Mart (about $8) that would do the job too. Looks kinda like a big pump on soft-soap but fits right on top of the gear-oil container and pumps it through a section of hose that's included. When you're done with the diffs just use one of the gear-oil containers for the tranny fluid and pump away. Help this helps!

[Cptnmorgan]

I did this service myself also and found the drill driven pump from Home Depot (about $5) was worth it's weight in gold!! Takes two people to operate, but I am sure with a little imagination it could be done by one person. With this pump you can fill the transfer case, and transmission in about 2-3 minutes each. Takes a little longer for the gear lube for the pumpkins to go through as it is a little thicker. 100% recommend this pump for this service. Good Luck!!!!