Differential and transfer case service needed?

[ganooch]

Lol front and rear Tcase huh? What do you have portals?

Front and rear diff and then transfer case.

 

[ganooch]

Three years and 45K. I'd do it by the 50K mark. Just my personal opinion - I'm something of a fluid maintenance fanatic.

Yeah, I will likely have them do it. Don't want a differential or transfer case issue down the road where they claim it is an issue because I didn't change out the fluids.

 

[GordoJay]

What are the service intervals for gen 3?

 

[shigman]

I am curious how the TC fluid looks on these 4A TCs vs a standard 4H TC. Ive pulled TC fluid from a part time systems at 30K miles and they were bright red and looked brand new. The viscous clutch or whatever component to the 4A system would wear out fluid faster I would think.

 

[ganooch]

What are the service intervals for gen 3?

Great question and part of the reason for this post. I am just trusting Ford at their word that this needs to be done now.

 

[shigman]

Great question and part of the reason for this post. I am just trusting Ford at their word that this needs to be done now.

A lot of people subscribe to 30K miles fluid changes which might be overdoing it for most use cases. At 45-50K miles you got plenty of good out of the oil and the dealer isn't trying to upsell you for the sake of it in this case. If I were you, Id have it done especially if the truck has any towing/offroad/high speed/heat duties. That being said, Ive known people who don't get around to changing their rear diff oil till 120K miles and everything is fine.

 

[ganooch]

A lot of people subscribe to 30K miles fluid changes which might be overdoing it for most use cases. At 45-50K miles you got plenty of good out of the oil and the dealer isn't trying to upsell you for the sake of it in this case. If I were you, Id have it done especially if the truck has any towing/offroad/high speed/heat duties.

Fair point. I am doing it, just because it is getting close to 50K miles. Would rather change the fluids now, rather than later when there is a problem.

 

[thatJeepguy]

Im doing my tcase at 60k this weekend i could show you.

 

[ganooch]

Im doing my tcase at 60k this weekend i could show you.

Appreciate it. I can definitely do it myself, but I am super busy with work, so will just have Ford handle it. That way it will be in my service records as well. They also want to charge me for swapping the engine air and cabin air filters. I will take care of those myself, lol.

 

[SurfRaptor]

I’d do them by 50k and plan on it with 37k on my MY22. Just like stated above, the transfer case has a fill and drain plug. Very easy to do but you will need a fluid transfer pump to put new fluid in.

The best way to do the diffs is by pulling the cover but even the Ford shop manual has the techs using a fluid extraction tool.

I like the MityVac. It hooks up to my air compressor and I can also use it to bleed my brakes if you are investing in a tool. It’s about $150. The rear cover can come off and at that point you might want to consider the aftermarket Spicer cover that has a fill and drain plug. The front cover has limited clearance and should just be sucked out and replaced without the cover being removed.