Hello,

I took my car into the local Infiniti dealership today for an oil change and I was told that I have dirty rear differential fluid that needs to be replaced for about $80. Does this sound legit?

I have a 2010 G37 Sedan w/ about 29000 miles.

Thanks!

 

$80 sounds like a good price to me. I don't know how they determined it was dirty though.

 

I'd be a bit concerned with the report of "dirty" diff fluid. First off, how did they actually assess the condition of the fluid? Second, it's a high-pressure lubricant that doesn't usually change color unless it picks up some contamination from a mechanical problem. More details needed.

 

I've never heard of this before and I wasn't able to research too much online. My owner's manual was stolen out of my car so I can't look it up...

Same place wanted to charge me $100 for replacing 2 air filters. I said no thanks, went ahead bought the 2 filters and replaced them myself.

I just want to know if the rear differential oil is something that you change often.

Thanks.

 

LMAO at the dealership charging 100 bucks for replacing air filters. IF anyone doesn't know how to change an air filter they deserve that bill and a kick in the *****.

 

Remove the fill plug, stick your finger in it!!!

 

Bearings, and gears wear, causing the fluid to darken.
I do my diffs at 1 year.
I did it the right way, on my back.
$18 for 2 quarts of Mobil 1 75/90 LS
$5 for the fluid transfer pump. They make one that fits standard oil bottles, and tall 90w quart bottles.

Yes mine was dirty at 14K.

 

That's what she said!

 

hooters

 

Another "that's what she said" moment, brought to you by myg37.com

 

^+1, diff takes a lot of beating if car is occasional beat on, changing once a year yourself is a good practice, costs ~$20 for fluid and is a super easy DIY.

 

ugh...i just paid $60 to have my new rear pumpkin fluid swapped w/ some motul. eating the $60 because, the shop showed me how to do it. DIY is extremely simple.

 

I change the diff fluid once a year in my race 350Z because it uses a NISMO mechanical LSD and gets heavy use. The 75-90W synthetic fluid is already amber or honey colored as it comes out of the bottle. Draining will show some wear material on the magnetic drain, but rarely does it change the actual color of the fluid itself. I've also changed the diff fluid in my VLSD and follow the recommendations of 30K. No problem (or color change) there, either.

So I stand by my recommendation to the OP to get more info on what the tech found. Also, if you do replace the diff fluid, I'd highly recommend going with a synthetic (Mobil 1, Redline, Vakvoline, etc.) replacement for a few bucks more.

 

The fluid that came out of my differential was rather dirty, stank pretty bad, too. It had about 30k on it.

 

Is there a DIY for this on the forum somewhere? I'm sure it's very simple and I can see the drain bolt from the picture above. Where is the fill bolt?