I was thinking about changing the rear diff fluid. Iv'e got an 05 Saab 97-X AWD which has the same common GM driveline. (I believe it is a limited slip diff) Looked on the forum and saw a good explanation of the job with pics. In the pics the drain plug was center bottom of the diff housing, with the fill plug on the side. I found the fill plug, but couldn't locate any drain plug. anywhere. What am I missing?
Those may have been my pics of when I drained and refilled the rear diff.
Im thinking that I THINK... Ive read on here that there is no drain hole on certain newer models.... and would require you to suck out the lube, or loosen the rear cover and slowly let it drain out.
Don't see how it is a bad design, but everyone has an opinion. The drain plug was only used from '02-'03 if I remember correctly. Even if you have the drain plug, I would still recommend pulling the cover to clean the magnet and wash down the rest of the components before filling the diff back up.
So the drain plug is convenient, but it really isn't that messy or difficult to just pop the rear cover. Just leave the top bolts in loose, remove the rest, then pry the cover out at the bottom to drain it.
But if you really want a drain plug you can buy a aftermarket one and install it. If they don't make one for differentials, I know they make them for transmissions and you could use one of those. But it is best to remove the cover and clean it out including the magnet.:m2:
We're luck to have the cover though. On some older cars I've worked on there's no cover even. You have to pull the driveshaft and then remove the differential assembly out the front of the pumpkin. They were built a lot stronger but a pain to work on.
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