Differential Fluid Replaced

[baseball]

After reading about the problems associated with the differential fluid, I went and had my changed. I have an 04 LE and the mechanic talked me into replacing the original fluid with a synthetic 80/90 weight fluid. He said that since the truck was under warranty he would not advise replacing the fluid with the 75/140 fluid. The original fluid looked really black, should I be concerned about having the original weight fluid in my differential?

[Bama334]

I agree with your mechanic, 90 weight is the recommended oil for the 04, as a matter
of fact I changed mine last night to Mobil 1 75w90 sythetic. Many people on the forum are changing to 75W140 because the 05's recommend that, it's personal prefernce for them, specs for me.

[HEMI-SMOKER]

Originally Posted by baseball

After reading about the problems associated with the differential fluid, I went and had my changed. I have an 04 LE and the mechanic talked me into replacing the original fluid with a synthetic 80/90 weight fluid. He said that since the truck was under warranty he would not advise replacing the fluid with the 75/140 fluid. The original fluid looked really black, should I be concerned about having the original weight fluid in my differential?

My dealer said yesterday that they are now recommending 75/140 in all titans. I am getting leak fixed in rear diff this morning, let you know what they put in it.

[Hatchman]

It's the exact same rear end, but the '05's have a different, better, finned cover. You can put 75/140 in it, actually recommended by Nissan. But 75/90 is still good, much better than stock. I've got 75/90 in mine now, but I'll put 75/140 in it when I put the new finned cover on it.

[bestatchess]

What is the story on the availability of the new cover?

[honeykeeper]

The 75-140 is good to -50°F.....that might be of concern to some in the North. I put the 75-140 synthetic in the rear yesterday and will put the same in the front today......With 4 x 4, Big Tow and E-loc and the 05 oil spec. changes.....I feel better with the 75-140. Maybe the 75/90 in the Winter and 75-140 in the Summer would be better yet??????? At any rate I was glad when i changed mine the dark oil looked NORMAL..this has relieved my paranoa somewhat of my Titans rear differential. The gloss black paint I put on the pumpkin months ago is holding up perfect so I don't think too much heat is happening..at least for this time of year. Anyone who is about to chnge the rear oil only needs about a 10" length of 3/8" tube to stick on the nozzle of a qt. size bottle of diffie oil to get it in..no pump is needed for the rear..unless you only have a 1 gallon size oil jug..takes 68 ozs. exactly......don't forget to seal the threads with something although I bet it is not needed if you torque to spec....about 20 lbs. You don't have to lower the rear tire but might want to so you will know how that system works also!!

[GA-matt]

Originally Posted by TYTAIN

I agree with your mechanic, 90 weight is the recommended oil for the 04, as a matter
of fact I changed mine last night to Mobil 1 75w90 sythetic. Many people on the forum are changing to 75W140 because the 05's recommend that, it's personal prefernce for them, specs for me.

As others have stated, either is better than original fluid. The specs in the book do call for 75w90. However, these specs were printed BEFORE the rear diff became a problem. Nissan is now instructing all techs to go with 75w140 in both '04 and '05 titans... also state that using 75w140 in the '04 will not harm warranty.

I had a very difficult time finding 75w140, but eventually got it at Pepboys. If I couldn't find it, I would just use 75w90 for now... again, it's better than factory fill.

[HEMI-SMOKER]

Had keak fixed on rear diff today. They put 75w140 syn in it. kind of cool that I got a leak. Got my oil upgraded to 75 140 for FREE!! I like it when things go that way!!!

[TitanicSE]

I was able to put the Mobil1 75/90W fluid in both front and rear diffs w/o the use of any extention tube...although the front was a bit of a pain. The rear has plenty of room to tip the bottle up enough to empty it into the diff.
I'm told by the dealer that switching to synthetic is all that's needed. You don't have to use the hard to find weight...although Nissan uses it now.

[azxr]

Originally Posted by GA-matt

As others have stated, either is better than original fluid. The specs in the book do call for 75w90. However, these specs were printed BEFORE the rear diff became a problem. .

Not to be picky, but the specs for the 04 say:

Rear final drive oil API GL-5 Viscosity SAE 80W-90 *6

Front final drive oil API GL-5 Viscosity SAE 80W-90 *6

Note 6 says

*6: For hot climates, viscosity SAE 90 is suitable for ambient temperatures above 0° C (32° F).

[honeykeeper]

Originally Posted by azxr

Not to be picky, but the specs for the 04 say:

Rear final drive oil API GL-5 Viscosity SAE 80W-90 *6

Front final drive oil API GL-5 Viscosity SAE 80W-90 *6

Note 6 says

*6: For hot climates, viscosity SAE 90 is suitable for ambient temperatures above 0° C (32° F).

That is a strange footnote????? Is anything above 32°F a hot climate????

[IAH Titan]

I changed my differential fluid today as well and there WERE metal shavings in it - quite a bit actually - My XE 2WD was built in 09/04

[abmobil]

I think some people are just a little to worried about the metal shavings. They are normal especially on a new diff. My 04 frontier had metal shavings at 8k when I first changed it to synthetic, and I changed again at 11k and it still had some. Its normal nothing to worry about. My 97 hardbody had metal shavings and it was changed regularly and still had shavings at 140k. Totaled it at 150k!!

[NorCal 4x4]

For the 2004 Titans, I've seen in a couple of threads now with people saying the dealers and their tech training is specifying 75W140 for the rear differentials. But does anyone have this in writing?

Of course if your dealer is the one that puts it in and it is documented on the work order, your warranty will be protected, no matter what they put in.

But if Nissan is recommending 75W140, why don't they send a revision page for us to stick with our owner's manuals?

For do it yourselfers, they could deny a warranty claim without having something in writing.

Since some of these diffs are smoking, I don't want to void my warranty based on hearsay. For some reason I don't exactly trust Nissan to do the right thing if it went out and they found non-spec diff oil in there.

Now, I would think the chances of it going out are pretty slim, but I was thinking the same about my brakes, when out of nowhere the judder hit. [Same day I had an appt. for other minor issues, and they did the tsb fix too].

[Foo]

140 seeam pretty thick... probably good for where I live in Phoenix,AZ (117 in summer). but 75/90 Synthitic should be good as well. Until I see a real report, I'll stick with my manual.