Changing Tranny, X-fer and Diff Fluids

[EvolvedDSM]

First, you'll want to raise the vehicle off the ground and secure it on jackstands. I find it easiest to drive the front onto ramps (if you can fit them underneath), jack the rear in the air (using the diff housing as the jack point) and place a jack stand on either side (i.e. the scissor jack points). This will give you room to work underneath while still maintaining a somewhat level angle.

The green circles indicate the fill plug/hole and the red indicate the drain plug/hole. Break loose both bolts and take out the fill bolt first. Keep track of the crush washers (they sometimes stick to the casings and/or fall into your drain pan). You may notice some fluid already coming out at a slow pace--this is normal. Place your finger over the fill hole and remove drain plug (this will keep things a little cleaner). Once you are out of the way, remove your finger and release the fluids (a fair amount will already be coming out). Allow to drain until you see drops rather than a stream. Clean, replace the drain bolt (flip the crush washer around if you don't have a new one) and torque to spec. Fill with proper fluid (I find using a suction gun works best). Once fluid starts to seep out of the fill hole, you are done. Clean, replace fill bolt (flip crush washer around if you don't have a new one) and torque to spec. Spray with brake cleaner to remove any excess fluids.

Transmission
17mm fill bolt (23 ft-lbs)
24mm drain bolt (23 ft-lbs)

http://www.columbusdsm.com/forum/files/tranny_186.jpg

My first change at 3500mi showed a good bit of shavings on the plug:
http://www.columbusdsm.com/forum/files/3.5ktranny_209.jpg

My next change (7300mi) showed a more normal amount of shavings:
http://www.columbusdsm.com/forum/files/7.3ktranny.jpg

Transfer Case
17mm fill bolt (23 ft-lbs)
24mm drain bolt (23 ft-lbs)

http://www.columbusdsm.com/forum/files/xfer.jpg

Drain plug with a typical amount of particles:
http://www.columbusdsm.com/forum/files/7.3kxfer.jpg

Rear Differential
24mm fill bolt (37 ft-lbs)
24mm drain bolt (47 ft-lbs)

http://www.columbusdsm.com/forum/files/rear.jpg

Drain plug with typical amount of particles:
http://www.columbusdsm.com/forum/files/7.3krear.jpg

[howiEVO8]

damn that's gross! lolz makes me wanna change my lubs asap!

[robi]

yeah, I found that using a 15/16 combination wrench saved me alot of hassle with clearance issues and the 24mm socket.

[EvolvedDSM]

The only clearance issue I ran into was trying to get my torque wrench on the rear diff fill bolt (rear subframe/sway bar interference). I think I'm going to add to my tool collection ;) This time, I just got it on nice and snug.

[vtluu]

Thanks Jamie for the great write-up!

I take it the OEM drain plugs are magnetic like that? (Oil drain plug notwithstanding.)

My torque wrench is pretty long and even up on ramps I have just enough room to crawl under the car. I wonder if I could even access all the bolts with it?

[EvolvedDSM]

Yes, those are magnetic OEM drain plugs. The torque wrench I was using is around 18" and wasn't giving me trouble with length. It was the height (I guess) with the socket attached where I ran into the problem in the rear. My breaker bar is even longer and had no clearance problems anywhere.

[brwnrice]

finally changed my driveline fluids yesterday after 5000 miles and OMFG there was a good amount of metal shavings on those drain bolts! the rear diff drain bolt was worst! i'm glad i had time to finally change it.