So I checked another thing off the list of pointless tasks to do but something i wanted to do.
I changed the Diff oil. After 16 years but only 38k miles, i thought why not.
3 things i learned though. I will never do it again because of the smell, don't trust an aussie for parts and my spare tyre cannot be removed.
I am fortunate to have a pit at home making the job a lot easier to complete, but it also means that any Diff oil stinks out the house in a similar fashion to a gas leak smell. Not pleasant and i'm burning through candles and frebreeze to dispose of it.
I bought new gaskets from a buyer on eBay based in Australia, these were rubber gaskets and to my surprise did not hold up to the torque setting when refitting, so the original metal gaskets got a clean and were refitted. No leaks so far.
The spare tyre was restricing my ability to use the torque wrench, i thought it would be an easy task to remove, but the 16mm bolt in the wheel well is firmly rusted in place, so i had to tighten up without removing the tyre. Oh what an hour this simply oil change was meant to be.
Things to note, i nearly used 2L of oil, not sure if that's is because mine needed more against the handbook guideline because it has a LSD?
There are 2 types of gasket, rubbers and metal. Be sure to know which you have before starting the job, or like me you try to replace a gasket, after filling the diff with oil, probably the cause for the smell. Change your diff oil at a garage our outside to avoid contamintation in your house.
Note the slight rub from trying to take off the nut, the spare wheel is a new task to remove
Rubber washer did not stand up to 70nm torque
Love having a pit to use!
The oil on the way out wasn't too bad a colour i thought. Probably could have stayed without a worry.