Well after reading a lot of posts on this Board and buying my first diesel two weeks ago, I crawled under there and looked at the fluids in the front and rear differentials. Guess what, the front was about 1/2 quart low and the rear was a full quart low! How can GM ship their new trucks out and not even be up to their specs on the fluids!


Thanks for the great advice!!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clap.gif

I had the same low fluid problems you had with both my front and rear diffs. The front was 1/2 quart low and the rear was 1 quart low. It sounds like GM needs to recalibrate the equipment that is used to fill the diffs. On the other hand, at $25+ a quart, maybe GM is trying to cut their costs at our expense http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Confused.gif. Don't forget to check the transfer case. My T-case was only about 3/4 full. My dealership told me they checked all the fluid levels. Yeah, right... http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Angry.gif


Good luck with your '04.


Mike

Ran out of time last night to check the transfer case, probably tomorrow's to-do list; I got my Mobil 1 Synthetic yesterday at the local parts place we frequent for the racer and they had the Mobil 1 for $11/quart; checked out the AVlube site this morning and even having it shipped to me it works out to $7/quart; guess I will add it to the order for the Primrose 405 at that price for the 5000 mile differential oil change.

is this dealer differential fluid worth it at 30 bucks a quart? that seems terribly expensive. i have a G80 rear. thanks!

I checked my diff and it was also low. After changing the fluid I complained to my dealer and come to find out, GM specifies 5.5 PINTS in the rear diff. That does NOT fill it to the fill plug. Dealer reported that filling to plug level (about 7.5 pints) is acceptable. The info was in a book GM provides the dealer for checking capacities.

Gator,


Look for a good synthetic with limited slip additives that meet GL-5 specs, and you should be fine. I plan on doing mine real soon and will be using Redline 75-90. My dad is a Redline distributor so getting things at cost definitely has its advantages and is the main reason for my choice of brands. Many on this forum use Mobil 1 synthetic. I just saw the Mobil 1 brand at my local Kragen Autoparts for around $7 a quart.


edit for grammarEdited by: surffisherman

Yesterday I took my new 04 to dealer because when I checked the rear diff I couldnt feel any fluid in the filler hole. The dealer checked and it took a full Qt. to bring it to the proper level. The book says level should be 0 to 1/2 inch below filler plug. Dealer said almost all rear diffs come in are low on fluid but that not many people bother checking.

Gator, doubt the GM fluid is worth what they charge, but I will run it til I'm off warrenty. You can find it significantly cheaper than $30/bottle however. try www.gmpartsdirect.com/ (http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/) , I think I paid around $18. Still too much though. You need 4 quarts!

i talked to my dealer today and asked them if they check them when they get them. my truck got syntehic oil in the front when they got it. tech fact out on the front. the rear they had a tech fact out in it too. they said the reason why they are shipped low is so when we drive it breaks in the rear dif by heating it up and then cooling it down. they said most dealers check the rear dif when first oil change.


i am kinda worried that they would leave it low. i had them put more in mine before i bought it.


patrick

I had the dealer check mine before I picked it up. They added 3 pints. A few days later I received the RO in the mail stating 3 pints low and added trans fluid.