There will be two large nuts to drain and fill. That will depend on which you have. Just be sure to check the gear ratio in the one you get as a replacement if you go that route. I will go for Mobil1 without friction modifier. The van has 193,000 miles and the left side is still original and ok. The truck has 230k and never changed differential fluid.
Probably no more than 6-700 lbs. I'm sure some reading this drive Ford service vans. Being a racer and a trucker, Ive seen my share of parts failures. If it's Timken I feel ok. You might also consider adding an 08 finned alum cover as they are pretty cheap and have a machined flange making oil leaks without a gasket less likely. Using a combination of the screw driver and the hammer, try to pry away the bottom of the cover from the axle.
Standard Differential, Rear Dana 135. Brake line has ruptured on the road from rust once, mechanic replaced only half of the line with incorrect type of coupling used compression union. Body of the truck has started to rusting hole through. If open diff, no modifier is needed. Once that is done, it's time to break the seal. Normally you add gear lube until it runs out the hole used to fill it. Mitch When changing the rear differential fluid, did any of you guys use a replacement gasket or did you just use gasket maker silicone? The answer below is also correct.
Looks like the first letters are l73 which likely means 3. Probably will just top off the fluid until it gets worse. . The cover and pinion were bone dry. Just found out front axle seal is leaking too, but too much work to replace. Put on diff and hand screw the bolts in a criss cross pattern to get even pressure on it and only tight enough to get the stuff to just squeeze out.
Apply the rtv bolt up the cover and fill rear diff. I also bought the 4 oz. Here is the part number for the 8. Get a different axle, open it up and look inside. I can understand the bearings bumping and grinding but the squeal I was thinking the outer race started to spin in the housing.
Have them check the interchange book for rearends that are direct fit. As a last resort use a flat screwdriver to wedge in between gentlythe cover and gasket, working yourself the screw driver all theway around the cover until the cover drops. You can also tighten up the bolts a bit more at this point too. If you use a synthetic fluid do not add friction modifier until you have gone out to see how the differential reacts. Now hold offon adding the differential fluid just yet. If you have the 9. Drive around in theparking lot or neighborhood doing figure 8's.
Try to get one with the same gear set as the original if you are satisfied with the mileage now. Then oil should start to drain When it drain all the oil then go ahead and remove the remaining two top bolts. Any good parts store that sells FelPro gaskets sell the differential gaskets. For the age and condition of my father's truck, upgrading differential cover probably is a waste. It seems Ford no longer makes these axles. The main running gear of the vans is based on the running gear of the pick-ups, so you don't have to specifically get one from a van for it to work. If you have some binding during a turn on pavement, add a small amount and keep trying until the binding is gone.
I added 2 oz of slip lock and still have some chatter but have been dealing with it. Didn't matter the oil level. After 24 hours, you should be able to torque the bolts down and you should be leak free until you take it off again. Check the truck magazines out for more ideas, no van mags out there anymore. Hope it still works ok. You have more problems looming from your description.
I am concerned with the bearing that comes in the kit. Below is tag on the differential if that helps. Looks like the first letters are l73 which likely means 3. I have three quarts of Valvoline 75W-140 syn power fully synthetic ready to go. Also, you do not have to take the rear axle cover off , as ther is a drain bolt that is flush on the bottom of the axle.
This would probably be a cheaper, faster, easier fix than trying to rebuild the one you have for the second time. I mixed my friction modifier with a qrt before putting it in. The bearing has an outer race but no inner race. Has friction modifier already added so you don't have to worry about adding it. I'd be interested in a good source for that cover and those bolts as well, thanks! I put all the bearings back into the outer race to make sure I had them all so they wouldn't get into the rest of the rear end and do more damage. I needed it right away so I let them do it.