How to Change Front Axle Oil
Before you get started on this, you need to know some things These are things what kind of oil to put back in the axle, how much oil to buy, why it is being changed, etc. If there is a leak, it should be fixed immediately.. all that kind of thing. You will need a socket set, a drain pan to catch the oil, and a funnel, or even a hand pump, so you can pump the oil back into the fill hole. You will also need the equipment to safely raise the vehicle so you can work under it. This can be a set of ramps and a wheel block, or a jack and some jack stands. Either way, if it is not a pickup truck, then you will need some kind of way to do that.
Changing the oil in a front axle is not a hard task. It can usually be done in just a few minutes. Sometimes, draining the oil involves pulling the cover, like on four wheel drive vehicles. However on front wheel drive cars, Draining the axle oil is usually as easy as pulling the plug on the bottom of the entire transmission assembly. Just make sure to catch that stinky stuff in the drain pan, and recycle it properly at any gas station, repair shop, or auto parts store.
So far you have: jacked it up, locate the drain access, place your drain pan under it, drain the fluid, replace the drain plug, find fill plug about one third of the way up the side of the axle. On 4X4 trucks, it will be on the side of the carrier for the gears, on the upper half. You can usually take this plug loose wit a 3/8" or 1/2" drive ratchet on most any make and model. The square shaft of the tool will fit right in it sometimes you have to use an extension, too. Anyways, at this point you should have the fill plug out, and after jacking it up and all, you are about 15 minutes into it. Only about 5 if you have a truck!
Now, it is time to fill the oil. Cut the end off the oil jug, and stick something in it to break the foil, and then put the end of the bottle of oil in the fill hole, and give it a good squeeze. You will want to fill it with oil, until it comes out the fill hole. Make sure there are no leaks, and put the fill plug back in the hole. Sometimes it is easier to pump the fluid into the differential, though. The pumps that come off a gallon jug of hand cleaner are the best thing in the world for that. Just put a hose on each end of the pump, and stick one in the bottle, and the other in the fill hole. I have a contraption like this in my tool box, and it is the most used thing I have.
Anyways, you got it! As long as there are no leaks you should be good to go for a few more years on that, and it took less than 30 minutes. If you need to know how to do the rear oil, it is much simpler than on most car front wheel drive systems.
