TLDR:
- Milky rear diff/transfer case oil is probably a bad sign
- Always use a broken down cardboard box when you're changing the fluids in your vehicle
- Warm 5W-30 motor oil has basically the same consistency as water
- If applicable: Remember to open the container that you're using to catch the fluids that you're draining out of your vehicle.
Did a bunch of work on Kitsune (my red, SLS) the other day; she was just a few miles over 59K . Jacked her up all the way around so I could start with the tire rotation. Fronts are about at the 3/32ths mark, but the backs have a good amount of meat on them. Seems like they should be able to get me through the rest of the summer of spirited driving.
While I had the tires off, I inspected the breaks and the suspension components, but they all looked alright.
Then I moved onto the rear differential fluid change. It looked like the drain plug and fill plugs had never been taken off the rear diff. I got the drain plug off easy enough, and was pleased at the oil that came out was milky (which is NOT a great sign. Also, the buildup of gunk on the rear diff oil drain plug was unpleasant. Then, I had to use BOTH of the 3 inch extensions that I have to reach the fill plug. After wiping off all the crap on the drain plug and filling up the rear diff with Amsoil 75W-90 diff fluid, I moved on to the transfer case.
First thing I had to do was get the underbody panel that was covering up the transmission and transfer case. In the process of doing that, I sheared off the two bolts that were holding it on at the end farthest from the front of the car. So now the cover kind of flops around under my car, which is lovely. Anyways, the fluid out of the transfer case was actually pretty clear. I'm not sure when it was changed, but it seemed like it was done recently. And like the rear diff, the drain plug on the transfer case also had a significant amount of sludge that had to be cleaned off.
After I got the transfer case refilled, I checked the engine oil for the first time in months, and I realized that the goofuses at ARC Auto OVERFILLED the engine oil, and I had been driving it like that for a few months now... I happened to have a jug of Penzoil synthetic motor oil that was supposed to go in my old Chevy Cruze, but couldn't get around to it because I had to take that car to a shop after I stripped the oil drain plug on that car (seriously, who engineers an oil drain plug with a 10mm head?). Since I don't have it anymore, I decided to load the oil that was intended for the Cruze into Kitsune.
I had to drop Kitsune and take her to the O'Reilly to get an oil filter. Got her back home and jacked up just the front side of her. I also decided to try and prevent spilling a bunch of engine oil all over the parking lot like I usually do by diving into the dumpster in the lot where I was working on her, and pulling out a giant rectangular box to put under the oil catch container I have.
I say "TRY" because I failed miserably. It was about 90 degrees F in Kansas City by this point in the afternoon, and the drive to the auto parts store heated up the oil, so when I took off the drain plug, the oil came gushing out with basically the consistency of water. Then, the flood of HOT oil quickly overflowed my oil catcher because I forgot to take the cap off the top of it...
Probably 4 of the 5 quarts of oil that was in Kitsune turned into a river flowing down the cardboard channel I was using and out onto the parking lot... Somehow, the river of oil managed to miss the jack I was using to prop up Kitsune, and none of my tools were in the flood path.
After that figured it was time to stop working on the cars for a while. I don't know what it is about oil changes, but it seems like every time I try to do one myself, I forget/mess up one little thing and utterly muck up the entire oil change... *sigh*
On a side note, front end grip seems to have improved a bit now that the tires with about 4-5/32nds on them are on the front wheels.
Next thing on the To Do list is to drop the front bumper and try to repair/repaint the crack I put in it while I was doing some sweet, sweet drifting back in March...