front differential and fuel filter

Good evening all I have a 2000 Eddie Bauer 5.0 AWD. I was wondering if anybody can tell me how the heck you get the fuel filter off?? I didnt want to break anything. Another question I have is how to put oil, and what kind, in the front differential. Any help would be appreciated.

J-Ro

Welcome to the forum!

For the fuel filter, check out the Sticky on the Explorer forum main page titled, "Fuel Filter Replacement w/pics."

As for changing the oil in the front differential, the factory service manual suggests the following:
1. Raise the vehicle on a hoist.

2. Remove the differential fill plug.

3. Use the oil suction gun and remove the axle lubricant through the fill opening.

4. If necessary, a cleaning solvent can be injected to remove any contaminants.

5. Repeat Step 3 to remove the cleaning solvent.

6. Refill the differential with Motorcraft SAE 80W90 Thermally Stable 4x4 Axle Lubricant meeting Ford specification WSP-M2C197-A.

7. Install the fill plug and tighten.

Completely empty it should take 3.25 pints of lubricant.
-Rod

Thanks Rod. I noticed that there was some oil drippings coming from under the front. I took a look and saw that my front differential was leaking. I also noticed that there was some greyish white goop around the seal ( it looked like a sloppy seal job) but the oil was dripping from there. Should i take the cover off and replace the seal and how hard is it to do?

Are you absolutely sure it's leaking from the differential seal and not from above, then running down the differential and dripping off the bottom of the diff housing? Gear oil often has a distinctive odor, quite a bit different from engine oil.

-Rod

Oh no, its not engine oil, it has that distinctive (and stinky) gear oil smell.

Is there a chance it was overful, or you spent a lot of time driving in a circle and it spewed out the vent? If you're sure that it is leaking from the seal, then it looks like you need to make sure the fill plug can be removed, then remove what you need to to access the bolts holding the differential cover in place. remove the bolts with a drain pan underneath, drain, remove pan and clean. Clean mating surface on the axle housing, apply gasket maker, and reinstall everything.

-Rod

Do not put in synthetic gear lube!Synthetic gear lube is very hard on differantal gears and you will go through front and rear ends.I know someone that replaced differantal gears in a 9 inch Ford rear beacause of synthetic gear lube.

I'd be curious to understand this a bit better. I've used synthetic gear lube in differentials and transfer cases, including in my AWD Dodge Stealth with rear LSD, and never had any problems.

A Ford 9-inch is a pretty common rear end for drag cars, are you sure the rebuild was due to synthetic gear lube rather than dumping the clutch at 5000 rpms on a 600 HP car? A sample size of one problem is not a trend. How many differentials have you heard of that had to be repaired and had non-synthetic gear oil?

I'm not saying that it didn't happen, just that making such a broad statement off of something you heard happened doesn't necessarily make it fact. Just like I can't say that the person who's now driving my Stealth didn't have to rebuild the differential or transfer case because I used synthetic fluid. Synthetic oil in the transmission sure made the gears engage smoothly though, especially in winter temperatures.

-Rod

This guy has a 1983 Chevy Monte Carlo,w/an automatic transmission with a 9 inch Ford and with a Detroit Locker.The place he got the rear end from said do not use synthetic gear lube and it screws up the locker.I know the guy too,he pulled the differantal out and the gears were thin as a pencil tip and shiney due to synthetic gear lube.I know of 3 more due to synthetic gear lube.I have never heard of rear ends replaced because of non synthetic gear lube.

Maybe he should have listened to the place that sold him the rear end. ;) Any idea what is causing the gears to wear in these performance-oriented rear ends when using synthetic? Obviously if you're putting a Ford 9 in with a Detroit locker in a car, it's not a grocery getter. That's a different application and configuration than the everyday Explorer.

-Rod

I gotta agree with Rod on this. Ford started using synthetic gear lube around 1998. (Not to be quoted on the year) We have not had to rebuild a rear end because of the lubrication qualities. We have over 900 Ford products with well over 2 million miles driven per year on all vehicles and have not had a lubrication related rear end failure. We have, however, had to rebuild due to water getting into the rearends.

He also knows someone that switched to synthetic gear lube in the rear end and heard noises right after the switch.It tore up the differantal gears up which had to be replaced.Most aftermarker rear end companies suggest not to run synthetic gear lube.

I'm not saying it can't or didn't happen, I just don't think it's appropriate to apply "don't use synthetic gear oil" across the board. I think you'll find a lot of people that have used it with great success. But, like so many other automotive fluids, certain fluids are engineered for certain applications and won't work well in others. Take automatic transmission fluid for example. How much different can it be from one type to another? Try using Dexron in a 2000-era Chrysler minivan and see how far it gets you.

-Rod