OK so I was reading the hayness before putting down the money to buy the fluid. What exactly is "api gl5 sae 90 hypoid gear lubricant"? I mean, in terms of "75w-90" or "80w-140" or whatever, what should I get? And what is the capacity?

Another question is, what's the torque spec for the fill plug and bolts holing the pan? And is there a specific bolting "pattern" when one puts the pan back? I was not able to find the info in hayness and please shed some light on this topic. TIA!

 

I believe you can only find GL4 and GL5 for sale. I'm no expert but I believe they are just different enough that you should follow the specifics.

Torque on the drain/fill plug is "two hands tight"- just enough to make sure it won't come loose on its own.

Regarding the back cover bolts there is no pattern required. Just run them barely snug with a small impact gun and then add "one hand" torque to each bolt.

Regarding capacity- I don't know but I've been wondering about that lately myself because I will be doing this job soon. I plan to buy 4 quarts and then return what I don't use.

I think your biggest question will be in regards to the rear cover gasket or silicon sealer type.

 

Thank you for the insight. I believe I need GL5, per hayness. Still not sure about the weight rating though.

My research tells me that the rear differential is a "Dana", to which my other truck, nissan frontier's M226 is a direct descent. And they do look similar, even though one is more than 20 years older than the other. So I would just borrow the torque specs on the fronty to use on the E150, which is 25 ft lb on the fill plug, and 31 on the cover bolts.

I did not inquiry about the gasket thing since I already decided to use the gray RTV. Do you think it is a bad choice?

 

Do you have the manual with your van?

Closest Ford fleet online has 1996 manual:
http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Fo.../96ecoog1e.pdf

See page 359. It specifies conventional SAE 80W90 for both E150 (Ford Axle) and E250 (Dana) or 75W-140 Synthetic.

My 2000 E150 specifies synthetic, i got it at dealership it is not cheap (like $17 per quart) but you do not need much anyway.

 

Unfortunately no I never had a chance to read the manual

Out of curiosity I checked hayness after seeing you post, it does state 80w-90
for '96 (to be more precise, SAE XY 80w-90 QL gear lubricant). But '92-95 require sth different, which I have no idea what it is.

 

What about amsoil website?
1993 FORD TRUCKS E150 VAN 5.0L 8-cyl Engine Code [N] - AMSOIL Online Product Application Guide

Seems to be GL-5 SAE 80W-90 for most axles with some synthetic options 75W-90 and 75W110

Would be nice to confirm with manual but i am having no luck finding 1993 online. Hope this helps ...

 

The amsoil link is incredbly useful! Thanks.

I've been convinced that 75w-90 or 80w-90 GL5 would both work by the amsoil website and various threads floating over different forums.

I would probably try the super tech 80w-90 at wally world unless someone can tell me it's real bad 'cause it only costs $12.67/gallon. Rumors has it that the real manufacure is exxon-mobil so I guess it should be decent oil.

 

I'm sure that would be fine, I'm pretty sure that's what I used when I rebuilt the front axle on my F150 4wd. They don't sell a regular gasket for the TTB, can't remember what color rtv I used though

 

I usually use the permatex orange or the gray stuff from Yamaha

 

Did the job over the weekend and it was easy. Well real working time is 30 min but the gray RTV has to cure overnight, accoring to the direction! I was only able to pump in about 2 qts of fluid before it got full, which kind of concerns me. How do I make sure the rear differntial is sufficiently lubricated?

 

Squirt in a bottle of friction modifier (if needed for a limited slip) & about 2 quarts of fluid. Fill to 1/4" below the fill hole with the vehicle sitting level.

 

Sounds like 2 qts is the right number? I was concerend since I thought the rear differential would take 4 qts. What symptons would one notice if not enought lubricant is in there?

 

Heat, noise, vibration, abrupt lack of motion.
If you can't squirt anymore in there then it's full. You are overthinking it. Unless it is parked on a hill.

 

You are absolutely right I was overthinking it. I went so far that I put a leveler on the truck when I found that it only took about 2 qts.

 

cohomology,
2 qt seems kind of low. According to Amsoil 1993 model year fill capacity for the axle, even Ford Axle takes 5.5 pint or 2.75 qts, and others should take more.

Differential, Dana 70-2U Rear..........6.6 pints [2]
Differential, Dana 70 HD Rear..........7.4 pints [2]
Differential, Dana 80 Rear..........8.2 pints [2]
Differential, Dana M60-IU Rear..........6.3 pints [2]
Differential, Ford 8.8 or 9 RingGear Rear..........5.5 pints [2]
Differential, With 10.25 RingGear Rear..........7.4 pints [2]
[2] Fill to no more than 1/4 to 9/16 inch below fill plug hole.

By the way, if you have semi-floating Ford axle, then lubrication / cooling of wheel bearings is done by the diff oil; means the oil should be able to reach bearings at the left and right tips of the axle in a first place; affecting the fill capacity.

Do you recall how much was drained? Did you warm up the axle (by driving) before draining diff oil?