W124 diff - what oil?

[SilverSaloon]

hi

i understand 80w90 is recommended for a W124 (1994 E300D) diff....

i have seen this at Hellfrauds;

Castrol Differential EPX 80W-90 1L from Halfords Price £9.99

would this be ideal for it?

i'm limited really at the moment to eurocarparts and halfords as a supplier.

also, to save me jacking up the car to find out i need a different sized spanner etc, can anyone tell me what size and type of bolt the drain and fill plugs are please?

thanks

 

[Ian B Walker]

The oil you have mentioned is ok and you will need a 14mm allan key to remove the filler plug. Make sure that you can undo the filler plug before draining.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

Also, be prepared for it to be seized in which is what happened to the one on my R129.

It was a bugger of a job to remove!

 

[Druk]

Also, be prepared for it to be seized in which is what happened to the one on my R129.

It was a bugger of a job to remove!

Not with the special spanner available from Druks Tool Hire.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Hi

believe it or not, i actually got around to changing my diff oil today!!

I bought the oil 7 months ago, but never got around to it for several reasons.

Anyway today I did it on my driveway, jacked up the rear passenger side of the car, supported on axle stands, got under and undid the filler and then the drain, and drained the old oil out. i then cleaned up both plugs and refitted the drain. i then filled up with the oil. then i lowered the car to the ground so its level and let the overfill flow out. then i jacked it back up again to fit the filler plug. both tightened to 50 NM and job done.

this overfill method is great if you dont have the means to raise the car up level. the oil comes in 1 litre bottles so you have plenty of spare to waste (car takes about 1.1 litres i believe). I also managed to fill it using the oil bottle it came in squeezing it just above the exhaust and then the final amount via a small oil can i got from PoundLand.

I've had the car for about 40k now and the oil that came out looked quite good - i was expecting horrible stuff after doing the Alfa's diff/gear oil and reading threads on here. I assume the diff oil was changed soon before i purchased the vehicle.

 

[Ian B Walker]

Well done mate.

 

[johnsco]

I need to do the same job on our E300TDs pretty soon.
I suspect it's never been done and I have the oil.

Can anyone advise - Is it still the same 14mm Allan key ?

Previous diff lube changes I've done ... The old oil has always looked pretty new.
But with one exception.
Cars that use limited slip diff lube ... Some of the LSD lubes are often pretty black, even when new.
The does NOT (of course) apply to either the W124 (E300D) or the W210 (E300TD).

 

[SilverSaloon]

I need to do the same job on our E300TDs pretty soon.
I suspect it's never been done and I have the oil.

Can anyone advise - Is it still the same 14mm Allan key ?

yes i think its the same 14mm key as i borrowed the key from Olivier on here who has a W210.

 

[219]

The one time I did it, the thing that knocked me out was how SMELLY the oil was !

 

[grober]

Castrol squeezy tubes.

I mourn the loss of the soft conical bottle shaped diff and gear oil containers complete with capped long transparent plastic filler tube. You just squeezed em like toothpaste tubes and they were so pliable you could literally roll them up to get the last contents out. The clear tubing let you see the oil flowing into the gearbox/diff----- you could actually suck a little out the same way.
Wonder why they did away with such a simple and useful means of packaging.

 

[Bellow]

Have they done away with that Grober? That is stupid. As you say, you could roll them up and squeeze it all in.

For anyone doing this kind of filling regularly, Google Oil Safe and look for their pump. I'v been using one for years - and they make such a difference.

NB. I am not active in promoting these products and gain nothing from anyone purchasing one - merely a helpful heads up.

 

[flango]

Oil safe pumps are what we use for jobs like this, fantastic bit of kit simple but effective. The diff and gearbox one comes with a little metal nozzle on you simply hang through the fill plug hole and pump away.

 

[Bellow]

I used to sell them a about 8 years ago. The ones I sold then are still in use.

The pour jugs are spot on too. Ideal for topping up. No spill, and calibrated. Brilliant kit!

 

[SilverSaloon]

The castrol oil i got had the transparent bottle pourer with it so you could indeed squeeze most of it in and see it go in. The bottle is fairly hard though so cant squeeze last bit out very well.

so, i used one of these for £1 from PoundLand:

cheers

derek