Break in rear diff fluid change?

I would have gone with the FP if they made it for the Sterling. Bastages.
 
Break-In rear diff fluid change mileage? Never. Haven't changed a diff fluid in all the years driving or vehicles I've had. Just make sure they have the correct amount of fluid in them. Transmission or coolant? Every 100k miles. Oil by the OLM. It has worked well me for all these years, but some do things differently and that's good, too.
 
TahoeBlue said:
Welp, I crawled my lazy butt under there and counted bolts. 16. Not the dana m275. Who knew AI could be wrong?! Lol

So, 16 bolts makes it the sterling?

thanks man. I’ve got the oatey pipe dope in the garage. I thought I had a dana and this was going to be a simple drain and fill. Now that I have to pop off the cover and re-gasket, I think I’ll go ahead and put on a banks or ppe cover with a drain plug.
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Banks refuses to make a cover for the 11.6.
 
The Evil Twin said:
First off, find a new dealer. Never in my life have I ever heard of a dealer turning down easy money. Unless you are trying to get them to do it under your pre paid maintenance plan, there is no valid reason they would refuse to do maintenance a customer wants.
Nothing wrong with Banks. Is it worth an extra $80 over a different brand? That you’ll have to decide for yourself.
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Yeah, I was trying to used my prepaid maintenance. TB over in FFx has been good to me over the years. Leaving Virginia shortly so I'll be looking for a new dealer anyway.
 
Churchkey said:
Yeah, I was trying to used my prepaid maintenance. TB over in FFx has been good to me over the years. Leaving Virginia shortly so I'll be looking for a new dealer anyway.
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Ah, that explains it. They would do it if you were paying, but it’s not part of the PPM plan. They don’t work on them at Fairfax anyway. To the best of my knowledge all 250 and up trucks go to the Chantilly truck shop. Their new shop is impressive.
Hope you find a good shop where you go. The Ted Britt truck shop is the best and most competent dealer shop I have ever used.
 
The Evil Twin said:
Ah, that explains it. They would do it if you were paying, but it’s not part of the PPM plan. They don’t work on them at Fairfax anyway. To the best of my knowledge all 250 and up trucks go to the Chantilly truck shop. Their new shop is impressive.
Hope you find a good shop where you go. The Ted Britt truck shop is the best and most competent dealer shop I have ever used.
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No trucks at Fairfax? Is that a new thing? I've been going there for over 15 years. My tech John is great and it doesn't hurt that he has the same truck as me. I just had him install the disaster kit on my truck a couple of months ago.
 
Churchkey said:
No trucks at Fairfax? Is that a new thing? I've been going there for over 15 years. My tech John is great and it doesn't hurt that he has the same truck as me. I just had him install the disaster kit on my truck a couple of months ago.
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Maybe they only do some stuff at Fairfax. I was under the impression they all went to Chantilly. My friend has a 250 and took it in twice- once for a transmission input seal and another for a front cover oil leak. Both times they sent it to Chantilly. When he found out, he was like “why would I drive past the truck shop and take it to Fairfax if they just drive it to Chantilly?” 😂
 
I chose the Banks cover because it has a re-usable rubber gasket.
 
I changed mine at 2k and the oil was very metallic looking. Just used the diff oil Ford said to use. Don't forget to get a new gasket.
 
kbass24emtp said:
I changed mine at 2k and the oil was very metallic looking.
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That’s why every reputable gear manufacturer recommends an oil change at 500 or so miles.
 
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McE said:
Service interval matters significantly more than brand in a diff. Use any full synthetic 75w-140 that meets spec and makes you feel good. I almost always use the Supertech full synthetic gear oil from whale-mart and change it every 30-50k or so depending on load (after the initial break in change). The PPE cover is good but the fill port is too low which can potentially lead to starved bearings. I do not believe they plan to revise it. However, I still bought one and just use the factory fill port. Someone on here had a brilliant idea to put a sight glass where the PPE fill plug is for keeping an eye on fluid condition. The magnetic drain plug is a welcome addition.

Here was mine after the first 4k which included a fair amount of towing. Not great, not terrible, but glad I changed it.
View attachment 246589

This is the sealant I use on the fill plug. Probably not necessary over something like pipe dope, but I always have some on hand for the transmission drain plugs on my fleet vehicles and the wife's Explorer. Works great.
View attachment 246590

You will likely find some rust on the axle housing behind the gasket. I wire brushed it off and smeared grease on it before installing the new diff cover and gasket. Should help mitigate future rust.
View attachment 246591

Can't think of anything else to add. It's a super easy job.
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Thanks for the tips on the sealant and the grease. From the pics I’ve seen, it looks like there’s an o-ring on/in the gasket. Putting some grease on the housing seems like a good idea to limit rust. Is any old grease okay with that o-ring?

Thanks again. The PPE cover is on the way.
 
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TahoeBlue said:
Thanks for the tips on the sealant and the grease. From the pics I’ve seen, it looks like there’s an o-ring on/in the gasket. Putting some grease on the housing seems like a good idea to limit rust. Is any old grease okay with that o-ring?

Thanks again. The PPE cover is on the way.
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I used regular lithium grease, but most chassis grease should be ok. The gear oil is almost always going to be harsher on the elastomer than the grease will. Trick is to try and keep the mating surface dry where the “rubber” contacts it.

The grease thing is pretty old school and not really necessary, but I don’t like rust accumulating on a gasket-sealed mating surface.
 
I usually put a light coat of assembly lube on the gasket.
 
I bought several new 11.6 pans from Ford and have plans to sell a modified pan with a fill plug, drain plug, and a sight glass ,
at the request of several members here...

PXL_20251027_230916513.webp
 
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