Differential gear oil

[Pop]

I'm new to the forum - I joined because of the quality of responses to the questions I looked at.

That said I may have already screwed up and need your advice. The wife complained of some roughness in shifting (2000 PF, 4xWD, manual trans., 202K miles) so started to check levels. The rear diff was low and so was the trans. I am in the process of checking the front diff and transfer case. I got some 80w90 gl5 (MasterPro) from a local O'Reilly's store which said it could be used for limited slip/positive traction rear axle differentials and topped off the rear with that. The question is did I use the right stuff. The repair book mentioned the oil should be LSD quality but 'approved for use in Nissan'. Will what I put in there be satisfactory or should I drain it and replace with something from the Nissan dealership? Thanks

[smj999smj]

That'll work just fine. No need to worry about it.

[Pop]

Thanks smj. I appreciate the input. Both rear and front differentials were in need of toping off. The transfer case was only slightly low, while the transmission is needing gear oil added to it. I can't find the 75w90-gl4 needed for this model so will have to order online. A further question - should I drain and fill these components or is 'flushing' better? The first I could do, but the other needs the engine running as the old oil is drained out and the new is added. I would probably have to pay the $$ to the dealer for the latter.

[smj999smj]

Thanks smj. I appreciate the input. Both rear and front differentials were in need of toping off. The transfer case was only slightly low, while the transmission is needing gear oil added to it. I can't find the 75w90-gl4 needed for this model so will have to order online. A further question - should I drain and fill these components or is 'flushing' better? The first I could do, but the other needs the engine running as the old oil is drained out and the new is added. I would probably have to pay the $$ to the dealer for the latter.

If you are in TN, you should have an automatic transmission. It doesn't take gear oil, rather, it takes Nissan-matic Type "J" or Type "S" ATF, or an aftermarket ATF recommended for those applications, such as Valvoline Maxlife ATF or Castrol Transmax Multi-import ATF, to name a couple. On mine, I use the Valvoline Maxlife and drain and fill the transmission and transfer case (which also takes ATF) every 60,000 miles. The factory ATF is synthetic and really should not need to be flushed unless it is contaminated, which would mean you might have other issues, like a bad radiator. The drain plug washer for the transmission pan is Nissan 11026-01M02 and for the transfer case, they are 11026-4N200. If you do the transfer case, don't do like I did and mix up the drain plug and fill plug!

As far as the gear oil, what you are using is fine. I use either Walmart's Supertech full-synthetic 75W90 or Mobil One full-synthetic 75W-90 in both the front and rear diffs. The drain plug and fill plug washers are 11026-4N200.

[Pop]

Ours is a manual transmission.

[smj999smj]

Ours is a manual transmission.

My bad! I thought I was still in the R51 section, not the R50! Still, the gear oil you picked is fine. As far as the gear oil, you can use a GL-5 gear oil as long as it states it is "safe for yellow metals." I know Advance Auto Parts used to carry Stabil GL-4 gear oil in my area.

[food4e1]

Oils for R50:

Engine : 5W30
Transmission: ATF Nissan Matic D - (Dexron vi)
Transfer Case ATF Nissan Matic D - (Dexron vi)
Differential Front: 75W-90 (manual gear oil)
Differential Rea: 75W-90 (LSD gear oil)

Front and Rear Differential are totally different in their funtionality, proper oil should be selected/