Member Since: 30 Jan 2012
Location: St Ives
Posts: 877
I am planning to change my Diff oils however I don’t seem to be able to find any Castrol Syntrax Longlife 75W-90 near me in Spain, however I can find Castrol SAF-XJ 75W140 Limited Slip (see above post).
I am OK using the 75W140 Limited Slip instead given my car has the standard Diff?Club Narpy Torch
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2nd Oct 2014 11:14 am
SWR
Member Since: 07 Nov 2013
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 840
Not sure the diff oil is meant to look like melted chocolate. Doesn't taste as good either.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
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Last edited by SWR on 22nd Nov 2014 8:55 pm. Edited 1 time in total
21st Nov 2014 11:49 am
Woolmeister
Member Since: 26 Mar 2007
Location: Chandler's Ford
Posts: 3464
That doesn't look too healthy to me.
Might be worth changing the oil again in 500 miles or so to see if you can flush out some of the crap before it does more damage to the innards?
I think it is supposed to look clearer than that, even after 100k or so.
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21st Nov 2014 12:35 pm
derryfrombury
Member Since: 01 Sep 2014
Location: Bury St Edmunds
Posts: 212
well done, excellent thread ad useful photos. Will certainly follow this when I get around to doing mine.
Thanks DerryJoined Aug 2014. Disco 3 SE 54plate, Buckingham Blue, Cream leather.
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21st Nov 2014 11:12 pm
tayaste
Member Since: 15 May 2013
Location: Chester
Posts: 7633
Just done front and rear diff, very helpful guide. Thank you.
29th Nov 2014 12:57 pm
vrmillsy
Member Since: 26 Dec 2014
Location: Essex
Posts: 68
Excellent, thanks.
12th Jan 2015 2:17 pm
SWR
Member Since: 07 Nov 2013
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 840
Fuel filter troubles. I have all the clips off other then the whit one. It seems stuck fast. Rotates on the filter ok. But clips won't squeeze as much as the others. Any ideas muchly appreciated.D3 HSE TDV6 Auto. Bonatti Grey.
Mods:
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12th Jun 2015 12:57 pm
MikeO
Member Since: 15 Jan 2014
Location: The Cotswolds
Posts: 1391
Thanks for very informative guide - I did both diffs and the transfer box. It's a messy job though - and in retrospect I think I'd have opted for the long tube + funnel approach rather than the syringe approach I used. It may have been down to the syringe but there was inevitably some loss past the plunger. So I then had to measure the loss and make up the difference. A long tube would have been a lot simpler .
I thought it might be worth summarising the key things for reference (I jotted them down on a post it note and stuck them to my toolbox). This is for the standard / open rear diff (not the locking rear diff).
Item Capacity
Front diff 0.61l
Standard Rear Diff 1.1l
Transfer Box Fill to spill (approx. 1.5l)
Item Fill Plug Torque Setting Drain Plug Torque Setting
Early Front Diff 8mm Hex 34Nm 14mm Hex 54Nm
Later Front Diff 8mm Hex 34Nm 3/8" Square 28Nm
Early Rear Diff 8mm Hex 34Nm 14mm Hex 54Nm
Later Rear Diff 8mm Hex 34Nm 3/8" Square 28Nm
Transfer Box 8mm Hex 22Nm 8mm Hex 22Nm
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12th Jun 2015 1:24 pm
Nodge68
Member Since: 05 Sep 2014
Location: Newquay
Posts: 1014
I took the whole 0.611L front and 1.1L rear diff capacity with a pinch of salt. I filled to spill at both ends, twice since I've had the car. I currently have 85w140 in both diffs for added load carrying capacity. The front was showing early signs of bearing failure. The rear did have water mixed with the oil, which I suspect has pitted the bearings. The diffs are noticeably quieter with the thicker oil, so hopefully they will give me a few thousand more miles before rebuilds are essential.Freelander SE 2005 Auto.
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12th Jun 2015 7:12 pm
yogi972
Member Since: 05 Jun 2011
Location: Kineton
Posts: 3373
SWR wrote:
Fuel filter troubles. I have all the clips off other then the whit one. It seems stuck fast. Rotates on the filter ok. But clips won't squeeze as much as the others. Any ideas muchly appreciated.
Yeah let yogi972 get under the car n get soaked in derv
It was a tight blugger but we got there,
At least your diff oil looked a bit healthier this time round
12th Jun 2015 7:52 pm
Ollram
Member Since: 04 Dec 2006
Location: Gortynia
Posts: 608
Member Since: 22 Dec 2009
Location: Maidstone
Posts: 7274
I doubt the thicker oil will hurt the std diffs at all, but bear in mind all vehicles are going for thinner high tech oil for fuel economy, so you have to assume the diffs are designed to run with the cats stuff.
The trucks are the same used to be new 85/140 in the diff every year, now its 3 years or 300k whichever comes first with the syn 75/90
85/140 will defo make a difference to the trans drag, I stuck it in my 90 tfer box and noticed it straight away on my regular route to work that the car was working harder for the same speed.
When I eventually fixed the leak! and went back to syn 75/90 again I could feel the car was more lively.
15th Jul 2015 5:40 am
derryfrombury
Member Since: 01 Sep 2014
Location: Bury St Edmunds
Posts: 212
Just done all my Oils and Filters last weekend.
Castrol Magnatec 5W-30 for Engine 5.6ltrs
Castro Syntrax Universal Plus75W-9 for both diffs, transfer and gearbox (manual) marginally under 5ltrs for the whole 4.
Malle Oil Filter
Bearmach Fuel and Pollen filters.
All from the ever helpful guys at AF.
My tips: -
Get yourself 2 proper hexagonal sockets (8mm & 14MM) so you're able to tighten everything to the correct torques rather than using guesswork.
Spray the small (8mm head) bolt which holds the fuel filter in place with plenty of WD 40 right at the start of the job or preferably a few days earlier. Mine did come undone okay but it took a good 15mins gently turning a few threads one way than the other before it eventually came undone.
One of the 4 pipes on the fuel filter is a bit deceiving, it is slightly different at the end to the other 3, which you simply press the 2 blue and 1 yellow square button to release each pipe, the 4th pipe has a white button which you do exactly the same and that pipe will also pull off. You'll see what I mean when you get underneath, my first thoughts were "someone's had problems with this in the past and bodged it" thankfully they hadn't, it was just that I mistook the white button (which is smaller) for a label, and because its the most difficult pipe to see clearly, it lead me to my original thought.
One of the 6mm bolts which holds the rear plastic under tray in place was rusted in so I had to grind it off and replace the spire nut and bolt (for what they cost might be worth having a couple of each to hand). I would also recommend a Draper or similar make pump with thin pipe and small nozzle, particularly for filling both diffs. I took the FNS wheel off which did make it easier to get the filler plug undone and refill with new oil.
Removing the oil filter can seem a bit strange if like me you've never done one before. it feels strange when you start to undo it, it feels like its on a quarter turn and just pulls off, until you get past the O Ring seat, when in undoes quite freely all the way.
I would defiantly fill the new fuel filter before fitting it. I didn't and followed the bleeding procedure including wrapping some absorbent cloth around the bleed nipple, only to end up with what seemed like gallons of derv running down the back on the engine onto the pit floor. in reality it was probably no more than an egg cup full, but as we all know a little seems to go a long way and leave a nasty smell about the place for a few days.
My final tip plenty of copper slip on all the bolts which hold both under trays in place, ready for next time.
DerryJoined Aug 2014. Disco 3 SE 54plate, Buckingham Blue, Cream leather.
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This may seem like a daft question but my drive way is on a slope and I cannot do it anywhere else. I am going to use ramps to change engine oil, front diff oil and fuel filter. Would you have front of car facing downhill so it would in theory level the car out a little or would I be ok (and feel a little safer) if I faced uphill on the ramps so if any thing went wrong the car would roll backwards off the ramps. Would 1 way have an advantage over the other for example draining the oil ? I know its daft but worth asking as I cannot do it on the avenue at the bottom of my driveway as I would block the turning circle and that would be a shooting offence by the parish council where I live, or at very least a public flogging
15th Aug 2015 6:01 pm
tayaste
Member Since: 15 May 2013
Location: Chester
Posts: 7633
My drives on a slope also. I used my ramps to make the car level whilst changing the diff oil and transfer box oil
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Doesn't taste as good either. 
.
stuff.
