Rear Diff Fluid Change

[96743explorer]

I have 132,000 on my 06 sploder, I mean Explorer. Lol! Has anyone replaced their rear differential fluid? I need details please. I watched some random YouTube videos on random rigs. Is it pretty much the same?

 

[Town]

I changed the rear axle oil on my son's 2007 Explorer V8. It is easier than most since there is a drain plug at the bottom and a fill level plug on the rear cover. I think there is enough room without jacking the truck, but we jacked it to change all the fluids.

So you just position a pan under the drain plug and then remove the drain plug and the fill plug. Drain the oil and install the drain plug to 25 lbs-ft. Fill the differential through the fill hole with 3.5 pints (1.65 liters) of Motorcraft synthetic rear axle lubricant 75W-140. That brings the oil level to the bottom of the fill hole. Replace the fill plug to 25 lbs-ft.

The front differential does not have a drain plug and requires a different grade oil.

Good luck.

 

[96743explorer]

Town- thanks for the info. Also the front doesn't need replacing due to it engaging only when in 4x4, oil should be clean right?

 

[Town]

It may depend upon the system you have (I think the owner's manual describes the options). My son has the All Wheel Drive version with dual range transfer case so the front axle is driven all the time, but only about 10% torque to allow full operation on dry roads without any transmission judder. As the need for front axle drive increases then the front axle clutch in the transfer case receives increased electrical energy to increase torque output to the front axle. It works seamlessly on my son's Explorer.

We drained the front differential oil through the fill plug using a suction pump. Refill with 2.7 pints (1.3 liters) of Ford recommended Motorcraft 80W-90 differential oil, but we used Castrol 75W-90 Synthetic differential oil. We had planned on removing the cover, but we did not have the time.

Good luck.