Easy way to fill diff's and trannies

[Chop Top]

I always hated those pumps that came with the differential lube from the auto parts store. I would sit under the truck and pump my arm off just trying to fill the differential. :mad:

So while in Home Depot one day I cam across the pumps that chuck onto a drill. (found in the garbage disposal section) I picked up some 3/4 inch hose adapters and some clear tubing and went home to try it out.

Wow! Talk about fast. I can fill my whole diff, tranny, and transfer cased in just minutes. I found it works nice for getting old gas outta snowmobiles and motorcycles too. Just don't let the pump run outta fluid. The friction inside is too much and it starts to smoke and die. :D :D

[rEdnECkwHeE1eR]

You must be really lazy:D Naw, this is pretty cool. I will have to try it some time:cool:

[WildYoats]

That is a great idea! My arms were always beat after filling both diffs! Thanks!

[fourwd1]

An easier way to fill diffs is through the breather. Just unscrew it and stick a little funnel in the hole, and pull off the normal fill plug so 1) it can let the displaced air out instead of bubbling up through the funnel (makes it go in faster) and 2) when it trickles out the fill hole you'll know it's full.
Removing shifters makes tranny and t-case easier to fill.

[jvmin]

call me lazy but I always use a pump driven by a drill it works great and if you know how much goes in to whatever your filling it's easier to pour it in a container and pump that much in then top it off to make sure it is all the way full. but then again I can sit under my truck and pour it right in with the lift I have :D :D

[Arnold]

I always heat my gear oil in a bucket of hot water while draining the tranny, t-case and diffs and it makes pumping easier.

[WildYoats]

Hmm, guess you could also drill a 1/2" hole in the top of the housings and plug it off. Would make things a lot easier with a funnel and the fluid bottles.

I dont know, maybe the hole would dimenish a little strength... ??

[Bullet]

Most Honda Accords have a little power steering pump in the speedometer gear housing, don’t know exactly what it dose but they are like $6.00 at pick and pull. They will fit in to a cordless drill motor, they are self priming, and will fill a rear dif in about 2 minutes (with warm oil). Love mine.

[toyparts]

get and old fire ex. clean it out real good ,add a male quik-connect end to the hose,unscrew top of fire ex, fill with oil leave about 2 in from top ,pump up to 50 psi with air ,stick hose in diff/tranny fill hole,, squeeze valve and watch oil flow into tranny/diff ,
the stock valve on a fire ex. works great no changes are needed
i carry one with me when i go wheelin ,, if you got oba you can fill anytime/anywhere
small fire ex,s work great as squirtguns too !

[mx924]

a week ago i was putting my diff back together and a an old neighbor showed up as i was lifting the third into the housing. anyways he told me that he would just fill up a zip-loc bag w/oil and set it in, he said eventually the baggy would jus break down and it wouldn't hurt anything. i was sceptical and resorted to the good ol hand pump. weird stuff huh?

[TrucksChixnbeer]

We got a 5 gallon bucket full of Diff oil and it bought a lid for it at a swap meet for 10 bucks has a handle built into the lid 4 pumps and and the diff is full, take about 2 mins from the time u pull the plug off till the time u put it back in

Diffrent strokes for diffrent folks i guess :)

[JoeLongmire]

a week ago i was putting my diff back together and a an old neighbor showed up as i was lifting the third into the housing. anyways he told me that he would just fill up a zip-loc bag w/oil and set it in, he said eventually the baggy would jus break down and it wouldn't hurt anything. i was sceptical and resorted to the good ol hand pump. weird stuff huh?


I have also heard about this. I've seen people do it on the trail. You can drain your old lube into the bag then restuff the whole bag into the diff. It helps keep the mess off the trail. I have heard the palstic won't harm anything.

[Silverbullet555]

Bear with me, I am on a steep learning curve.

If you usa pump, whether it be drill driven or hand driven and you are going to use it for different fluids (trans, diffs, no motor oil) does it need to be cleaned in any way between using it on different types of fluids

[fourwd1]

Bear with me, I am on a steep learning curve.

If you usa pump, whether it be drill driven or hand driven and you are going to use it for different fluids (trans, diffs, no motor oil) does it need to be cleaned in any way between using it on different types of fluids

Depends. If I was going between gear oil and motor oil, probably not, they're pretty close. But if I were to move to something like ATF, yes, I'd probably pump some mineral spirits thru it then dry it out as much as possible.

[Silverbullet555]

Thanks. I did pick one of the drill powered pumps up. It will primarily be used for manual transmission, transfer case and differential fluids. I have vacuum pump I use on my boat so that can be used for the oil. I will keep in mind to clean it if I switch over to ATF, brake fluid or power steering fluid. Or, I might just buy a second pump if I tend use those more often than I think I will.