I got the jeep stuck in the river- in there for about an hour b4 we got it out- I decided to change oil in diffs. Drained oil- no sign of water. Every thing I've read has said that it should take 4.75 pints. I figured that to be 2 quarts and 12oz. It would barely hold the 2qt- then running out fill hole- also when first removed the fill plug oil ran out. I jacked up the rear to let the oil run forwrd- put the plug in and ran in drive on the jack for a few seconds- still wouldn't hold any more- This is the Mopar performance D44 rubicon axle- What am I missing? why only 2qt to fill, I let it drain till small drip. Joe

 

I only got about 2qts in mine as well.

 

When I changed my diff. fluids here is what I found to be the case:

Here are the factory differential capacities for the JK:

FRONT AXLE ± .03 L (1 oz.)
186 FBI (Model 30) 1.0 L (2.1 Pints)
216 RBI (Model 44) 1.3 L (2.7 Pints)

REAR AXLE ± .03 L (1 oz.)
198 RBI (Model 35) 1.83 L (3.8 Pints)
226 RBI (Model 44) 2.25 L (4.75 Pints)

Actual amounts from factory on my vehicle:
Front Dana 44: 44oz (15oz above bottom of fill hole)
Rear Dana 44: 72oz (slightly above bottom of fill hole)

I refilled the two diffs as I found them.
The reason I "over filled" the front (as I found it) is because of its being a high pinion. I wanted to make sure there was enough oil to lube the pinion bearings and I have not had any leakage or dumping out the breather tube.

 

think maybe some old oil still inside there someplace, mine didn't take as much as spec

 

Good point. If the axle was not level when drained, lots of oil would have remained in the low axle tube.

 

I jack mine up on one side and throw a jackstand under it. Then jack up the other side and drain. I then jack up the side with the floor jack a few inches higher than the jack stand to get the oil out of the tube. Then after 5 min, lower it to below the jackstand height for another 5 min.

This is what I did on my old rigs, have yet to try that on the JK yet though.

 

I don't get it, I drained mine on level ground and was only able to get 1 qt in the front and just under 2 qt in the rear. Should I be trying to put more in?

 

I read on here somewhere that what you do it park it on level ground, drain the axles and fill it up until it starts to overflow out of the fill hole. That is of course if you have original covers on the axles, not ones that you replaced with 3rd party ones.

I followed those instructions when I changed mine and have had no problems with them.

 

I don't think mine drained fully. I did squeeze another 1/2 pint in the rear and another 150ml in the front.

I have enough in there now, and will be swapping the diff covers in the next year or so, so I'll do a more thorough job then.

 

2 quartz sounds about right, the extra little bit (1/4 qt). For all the vehicles I have worked on I usually filled it to the bottom of the top plug. Unless it is an aftermarket cover, then I would take of the breather, and pour the oil in there to manufacter's recommendations.