How To Check Your Car’s Differential Gear Oil
Though most of the cars manufactured these days are front wheel drives, there are still a few models available in the market which have rear wheel drive. All rear wheel drive vehicles have a differential installed in them, which works in cohesion with the rear axle to allow the wheels to move with the same speed while taking a turn.
The differential is like a pair of gears which are included in chamber filled with gear oil. So owners with rear wheel rides need to check the differential gear oil regularly. Because if the oil chamber somehow gets punctured, or the oil level falls below the required mark because of any other reason, the differential gears will develop friction which will lead to their rapid wear and tear.
Instructions
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1
Determine whether your car is front wheel or rear wheel drive. Read the car user manual if you are confused.
Park the vehicle in a plain ground and turn off the engine. If you just came from a drive, take a 15 minutes break for the differential to cool down before starting work. Turn the transmission into parking mode and apply parking brakes. Gather the required tools and put them in the garage. -
2
Use a jack to lift the rear side of the vehicle till the tires become about 3 inches clear of the ground. Put two safety fail safe stands on both sides of the car before moving forward. After placing the stands, take off the jack.
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3
Spread a piece of cloth under the car and use a torch to locate the differential under the car. It will be located under the rear middle part of your car, and will be near the centre of the axle between the two rear wheels. There will be rods coming out of the differential which will terminate into the tires at both ends.
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4
The front and back side of the car should be at the same level for checking the differential oil so take off the jack and put it on front to lift the front side to the same height. Place two load bearing stands on either side so that the car balances out evenly on these four stands.
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5
There will be a big bolt present on the side of the differential; it will be facing towards the rear of your vehicle. Use a wrench to loosen it and take it out slowly. If its rusty use WD-40 to remove the rust, and then dip it into a lubricant.
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6
The gear oil must be level with the bolt hole; it will ooze out if it’s over flowing and if it’s below the required level, fill in the gear oil through the bolt hole and put the bolt back in its place.
