I just changed my front and rear diff oil to Mobil1 today.

If any of you are considering going to the dealer and paying $150, $200, $500 or whatever those theives are trying to gouge you for give me a call and I'll do it for half.

This has to be the easiest maintenance job I've ever done on a vehicle. Way easier than a regular oil change.

Also got an email from my dealer regarding brake pad changing. They wanted $119.00 per axle for economy pads and turning the rotors if needed was extra. I did my rears today in 25 minutes for a cost of under $40.00. The write up on project JK was a big help.

What I'm saying is don't be afraid to do the basic maintenance yourself. It's never as hard as it looks. And you get to know your Jeep better.

 

I always try to do my own maintanence. I did my wife's heater core on her 99 volks beetle. Took me 2 days! almost gave up, but my friend stopped over and we finished it.

 

The diffs on the JK are waaaay too easy to change out the fluid on, paying somebody to MAYBE change out the oil on the diffs is just stupid. After my experiences with the dealer on my WK I have decided I will never go back to a dealer unless it is absolutely neccessary, warranty service or something. Took my WK in for a complete check up on one of their "deals" and they changed the oil and all that supposedly, put in the wrong weight of oil, according to their sticker. Brought it to my regular shop for an oil change about 3 weeks later (drive a lot for work) and the air filter was so full of mud and dirt that it weighed a good 5 pounds at least - so certainly they didn't even check it, and it was just two clips to do so. Makes me question if they even changed to oil at all, even one of the times when I brought it in. Given the fact that the transmission started having major problems at only 83,000 - it is pretty doubtful they did either of the transmission fluid changes I paid for either. Just parked it for a few hours, then charged me. Just a rip off price wise, questionable if they do it correctly, and even questionable if they do it at all. Absurd. [end rant]

As far as brakes go, with online retailers like rockauto available that even undercut autozone or such - it just doesn't pay to have somebody do the simple stuff anymore. You can put on new rotors and pads for 1/2 the money someplace would charge to change the pads - and if you have tools and space, 1/2 the time as well.

on changing the fluid.

 

My jeep is the first vehicle I have owned that I have actually done any kind of work on, mods or maintenance. [Thanks to the great help and advise of others here on this forum, and the great write ups] Not only is it rewarding, but it does create a bond between you and your jeep!

 

I always tell people this as well, I would much rather do this than the engine oil. I'm still mystified why the dealer charges what they charge on this. Thank god for the diff drain plugs (which the TJ didn't have)!

 

Yes, it's embarrassingly easy. What's sad about all this is that the $tealerships charge this because there are people who will pay. If everyone had a jk-forum for their vehicle, those places wouldn't be able to "get away with it."