How did you determine how much oil to put in?

 

You put it in the fill hole until it starts to pour back out. I used the 70-140 wt in synthetic. That is fine to use. And each time I've done the front diff, the fluid always looks like new. That's not true of the rear diff.

Sorry resharp, I read your message too quickly and thought you were asking how to know how much to fill, but of course you already know that answer.

 

np Rob . I do that from time to time as well. But, that is the reason I asked cuz obviously that logic with an ARB cover would be detrimental -



But, I could still see someone run across that logic which may work often....and just keep pouring it in. Was curious if OP had looked up the Rubi44 specs or not.

 

I actually did look up the capacity before I filled it, which for the front is roughly 1.4 qts. After draining I did a good rinse with brake cleaner, then let it sit for about 20 minutes. Using the squeeze bottle lube, 75-140, I’m pretty sure I added around 1.7 qts inadvertently.

After driving it today it looks to have stopped leaking as there’s still fluid in the diff but nothing dripping.

 

Y, that is why I asked, and when capacity is 1.35qt, another 20+% is probably enough to do it. It's kinda of a rabbit hole, but also interesting to go down the YouTube rabbit hole of Banks videos about diff covers and gear oil flow. That ARB cover is really well designed and also probably a bit less forgiving, by nature of design, to being overfilled.

I know you mentioned it is probably a shop job for you. For some it is lack of tools, for others lack of space to work nicely, but if it is simply lack of knowledge I'd assure you that myself and many others here can walk you through the job step by step. Replacing seals is maybe a 3-4 hour job for a novice and the price of two seals.

I see Valvoline started putting gear oil in bags from my recent change. It seems like a good idea to get it in there.....harder to gauge what is left. Not sure if that is the same as your "squeeze tube", but I can see that dilemma if so.

 

I said shop job mainly because I've never tackled anything like that and just afraid of messing things up. That's awesome to be a part of this community and know there are people helping each other out like that. And you're also right about the Valvoline bags, that's exactly what I was using. I ordered from AutoZone for pickup and didn't intentionally order the bags, but that's what they gave me. Not doing that again.

 

When I bought gear oil recently I thought the bags seemed like a great idea. They make it so much easier to get the oil in the diff given weird angles usually working in and seemed like less waste. That said, I'm working with some Dynatrac covers that make it easy to know when enough is enough. With my old PSC covers I'd be in that same boat as you cuz I would judge what I put in based on what was left in the container. When I bought those I thought maybe the downside I wasn't seeing was more along the lines of storage and durability as trail fluids, but I see another downside to the packaging now.

As far as the task to replace seals, if you have 1) decent place to work (garage), 2) a floor jack, and 3) couple jack stands, 4) a 1/2" drive torque wrench, and 5) just half decent set of hand tools you can do this job and learn a lot along the way. You'd also need a 12-pt 13mm socket that is $5 from auto parts store. It helps to have a seal press, and if you want to do this job yourself, I'd be willing to mail mine to you if you cover shipping to and back. The auto stores may even have something that would work as part of their tool rental programs. I'd be willing to write up detailed instructions as well, which would probably make a good stickie for the future, though there are also a ton of youtube videos I'd imagine. You're likely looking at 3-4 hours having never done it before. I know others on here are willing to help with instructions along the way as well. It's simply a pay-it-forward thing.....we help people along so they can also help the ones that come after. The whole "give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish" thing. That said, there are folks that just don't have the equipment, space or physical ability, and that is all fine too. Down in my area, I think axle seals are a $250 job for a shop to do....maybe a little more as the years have rolled on.

 

Looks like inner axle seals leaking. Not a real hard or expensive job but you’ll need to take your time. I had leak after changing a wheel bearing/hub assembly on my 08. I assumed that I damaged the seal when reinstalling the shaft so I ordered new seals and started the tear down. When I pulled the carrier out of the diff I noticed the plastic guide that rides on the shaft had wedged itself between the axle and the seal causing the leakage. The seals were both perfectly fine. But at that point I changed anyway. Wasn’t worth getting my 10 bucks back. Ha.

 

You could remove what you don't need from the bag or bottle. Then there is no guessing.