Identifying rear axle - 02 Quigley 4x4 V10

[Pete]

My axle looks the same. Is there no drain plug on this thing? I couldn't find one, so it seems the only way to drain the thing is to pull the diff cover off?

[ANZAC]

Originally Posted by Pete

My axle looks the same. Is there no drain plug on this thing? I couldn't find one, so it seems the only way to drain the thing is to pull the diff cover off?

Correct. You can suck it out with a suction/tube through the fill hole but you won't get all the gunk down the bottom.

Pulling the cover is worth it, you just need to make sure you clean up the gasket face on both cover and housing. The Mag Hytec covers use an O-ring (like their tranny pans) which makes life even easier (no need for RTV). It looks to me like the Mag Hytec cover doubles the fluid capacity (6 pints->6 quarts).

I am still checking on what LE oil they have that is 80w90. Mag Hytec recommended LE 607, which is SAE 90 but is now obsolete and Mag Hytec says is replaced by something that is SAE 110. I noticed LE have 703 which is 80w90. I'm pretty happy with how the LE ATF worked in my 99 transmission, so would like to see if they have something suitable for the diff. Found this article on the obsolete LE-607 which you may find interesting (page 1):
www.le-inc.com/DownloadResource?resourceID=61

[ANZAC]

LE has replaced their SAE90 LE607 with LE1605, which is SAE 110, because SAE changed their testing/specs (wait what? see below....) though they both have the same ISO 220 rating. I asked and they said it is also more temperature stable than their 80w90.

So I've ordered a Mag Hytec cover, and 7 qts (one spare) of the LE1605, and we'll see how it goes. Will use Ford Racing Friction Modifier (trying to figure out if I need 2 or 3 of the 4oz bottles with 6 qts of oil in the diff)

LE607 was formulated before SAE J306 specs circa 2004 were installed for gear oil labeling (SAE90 is now split between SAE90 and SAE110). Before J306, the SAE90 gear oils always fell into the higher viscosity range of SAE90, while the multi-viscosity 90's would fall into the very low end of SAE90 if at all.

And more info on SAE changes:
http://www.lubrizol.com/DrivelineAdditi ... tions.html