My friend got a D1 after I took him for a coupe rides, and promised I'd help him with all maintenance he wanted one real bad, I'm recomending them to all my friends as I love seeing them all go somewhere together, plus in my town we have parties in the woods to keep the cops away and these are the **** at getting there (the cops ford explorer with all sorts of equipment can't do it) but I digress....


I did his transfer case, and rear diff fluid changes, when I got to the front I checked it's level and couldn't even feel oil with my finger going into the diff like 3 or 4 inches

I emptied it and it had about half of what it was supposed to, and what was left was REALLY sludgy (many almost solid parts of oil, no metal however)

I'm gonna put in ATF, spin the front wheels as much as possible (to move it around), then empty and fill

Does this sound good? Should I skip the ATF?

Please let me know ASAP, as his ride is in my garage right now

Thanks

 

I've been wondering what would be good to flush out a diff or gearbox other than cheap (though not very) gear oil. I'd think ATF would work and clean real good, but I'm really not sure. I can't see how it would hurt if you're not going to drive it, it is expensive though. What about like kerosene if you're not going to drive it? That might be pushing it maybe.

 

I skipped the ATF alltogether for now... will empty this oil after a day or two then put in good stuff

 

mineral spirits?

 

Refill with gear lube, cheap stuff, drive it for a week and then change it again.

 

In a similar case on a different vehicle with a live front axle, I have used a quart of diesel fuel to lift some of the sludge and metal shavings. Diesel will not damage the seals and it drains well. If it is not real bad, I would just refill it and skip the flush process.