Differential oil change

[razorlab]

That’s all you need to know. It’s super simple. Unplugging the sensor and filling up the diff is the only difficult part about this.

And taking off the weight so you can get to the fill plug.

For the sensor clip, use a pick and pop this tab up. It's a bit tricky since it's facing the diff.

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[bushido]

I have a PDF from Toyota that's over 1000 pages (I think) with DIY instructions. I can send it afterwards today

[i think i'm good tbh, but] if that's no bother. i'm sure others would appreciate it!

And taking off the weight so you can get to the fill plug.

For the sensor clip, use a pick and pop this tab up. It's a bit tricky since it's facing the diff.

thank you as well

 

[94boosted]

Yup. 10 ft/lb. Basically a little more than hand tight.

The replacement O-Ring is only for the fill plug correct, the temp sensor is reinstalled without a new o-ring?

P/N for the new drain plug with O-Ring I believe is: 90118-WA263

 

[razorlab]

The replacement O-Ring is only for the fill plug correct, the temp sensor is reinstalled without a new o-ring?

P/N for the new drain plug with O-Ring I believe is: 90118-WA263

Yea the temp sensor has a captive washer and I believe is only 10ft/lb tight

Rear diff plug
Toyota: 90118-WA263
BMW: 33117525064

 

[94boosted]

As always razorlab, thank you!

 

[30MilesOffshore]

Thanks for the write-up! About to order stuff for mine now.

 

[RGlbk1]

BMW - HYPOID AXLE OIL G4 - Part No. 83222447362
Fill plug 60 N·m {612 kgf·cm, 44 ft·lbf}

 

[30MilesOffshore]

I thought I'd share my experience with the diff oil change. I switched to the Motul 300 Gear 105777 and got a clunking in the diff. It wasn't a clunk noise, but felt like the right rear wheel drove over a stick.

This would happen when I first moved the car everyday and then when turning from a stop sign coming out of my neighborhood. After driving and the diff warmed up no issues. I figured it just needed more driving to allow to mix everywhere. Everyday this happened when cold and became less and less frequent, but never went away.

After about a week I flushed it again with another 1L bottle of Motul 300 Gear 105777. I was hoping that maybe there was some old GMW G4 fluid in there and maybe they weren't compatible. After second flush, still same results. When cold it would clunk reversing out of driveway and then at the first stop sign, then it would be fine after that.

After about another week it never went away and I ended up switching back to the OEM BMW G4 oil. Everything went back to normal after that, no more clunk.

On a side note I over torqued the vibration damper bolt, snapped it in half and had to order a new one. It took a little bit of digging to find the part #. I also tried several different transfer methods and found the pump bottle method to be the easiest / cheapest / less messy. I'll post a parts list and torque summary below for consolidation:

Parts List:
1x - $12 (*only b/c I snapped mine*) Vibration Damper Mounting Bolt - 33176860443
2x - $53 BMW G4 Hypoid Differential Fluid 500ml - Genuine BMW 83222447362
1x - $6 BMW Differential Drain/Fill Plug - OE Supplier 33117525064
1x - $7 Lower Unit Gear Oil Pump: Fluid Transfer Extractor - Amazon SKU B0CGW8JKQN

Torque List:
Vibration Damper Bolt - 21 ftlb
Oil Fill Plug - 44 ftlb
Oil Temperature Sensor - 10 ftlb

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