Newb here.

I changed out my differential fluid and trans fluid. The trans fluid appeared as what I would have expected, but the diff fluid is a different matter..

What should one-year old diff fluid look like? I paid a shop to do it late last summer after I purchased the car, but since then, have lost confidence in this particular shop. Hence, I decided to do it myself, and know it was done (properly).

Mine looked like... well, first, tell me.. What should it have looked like?

 

After only a year it should still look new like honey.

 

Lemme guess, Its was gray with grit in it?

Have fun rebuilding your LSD.

 

Actually, it was a pinkish brown. It looked like it had micro bubbles in it, and had an unusual viscosity that reminded me of molasses. Very odd looking. In any case, it's gone, replaced with proper diff fluid, done by yours truly.

This reminded me of a couple years ago when I checked my oil after bringing home my daily driver from the dealership. (different car & shop) My interaction with the personnel at this shop left me with a very bad feeling overall, so I checked the oil after the 20 mile drive home. It was black. These bozos never changed the oil at all.

Hard to find good help these days, I guess.

 

What shop did bad work? What city?

 

our lsd's dont where out or break its the gears themselfs that take a ****

 

this kinda **** irratates me...im a mechanic and there are plenty of times where ive changed the oil in a car, filled it up with fresh oil, and it's still black...that just means you dont take care of your car...my oil has never ever been black, in fact, i have 2000 miles on the oil thats in my s2000 and it still looks like i just put it in there

 

You can't tell if oil is bad by the color.

 

exactly...and if its an older car, even if you put new oil in it it will still be black because of years of carbon deposits and not properly chnging the oil

 

my oil stays purple

 

thats what i used to run in the teg....ive been trying different oils for the S...she seems to like valvoline

 

I've changed the oil in enough of my cars in my 51 years to know what 'used" oil looks like versus oil that has twenty miles on it.

I appreciate some of the comments about older cars, etc, and oil looking used, but I would offer this: next time you have your oil changed, pull out the dip stick after twenty miles. What does it look like? Does it look like it has 3000 miles on it, or twenty? Can you tell the difference between the two?

I can.

 

"....that just means you dont take care of your car....if you put new oil in it it will still be black because of years of carbon deposits and not properly chnging the oil "


First of all, you have no idea of how well I maintain my vehicles. Second, don't let a simple post about some flunky shop make you defensive. I'm aware there are decent, qualified mechanics out there - my Toyota dealership is absolutely outstanding. If their mechanics told me the sky was green, I'd probably look up. I usually judge them by their referrals, and meeting them.

I change the oil on my vehicles at the proper intervals, so this is not the case. Finally, the stuff that came out of my rear diff looked weird. That's all. It's gone, and now I know the job was done correctly.

 

I wouldn't say that, necessarily, but you deffinately have to have a thick skin to hang around on hater-tech.

 

There may have been some kind of friction modifier in there to give it that weird color. Who knows...

 

Neat-o

 

depends on what brand of fluid you use, they all have different color. the main thing to look for is metallic in the fluid. the color shouldn't look that much different from when it was new, maybe just a little darker. clutch-type lsd tend to change the fluid color more as the clutch wares out.

 

you're 67?

 

and dont we have factory magnetic plugs on our diffs... that reminds me i should do mine soon...

 

Anyone have pictures of the diff so I know what to expect when I go to change mine? I'm assuming it's pretty straight forward like the oil.

 

What?? that stuff turns gold in like 5 mins in my car. I used it only once though. Not a huge fan.

OP: My diff and a lot of other diffs that I've drained drained out some nasty looking stuff. I've seen gray/brown a lot. It also smells delicious when you're trying to refill it and the tube pops out and showers your hair with 80W-90. mmMmMmMM.

 

It looks like every other diff. Fill plug on the rear cover about half way up. Drain is on the bottom.

You need a WEIRD *** wrench, though. A 23mm box wrench. WTF.

The drain is a 24mm. Use a socket. Get some Washers from Honda.

BTW...who is this? PM me. I live in Aurora too.

 

On the dealer experience note. I had one of the local Honda dealerships about a year ago change my diff fluid, lets just say they didn't tighten the drain plug properly :\

I noticed when I was pulling out of the service drive and saw a little droplet trail behind my car.

 

Would have flipped ****

 

I'm sure I could see purple in yours if I looked at it. I have good eyes.