C7 Z06 Discussion General Z06 Corvette Discussion, LT4 Corvette Technical Info, Performance Upgrades, Suspension Setup for Street or Track

Rear diff low fluid

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Old Jan 14, 2017 | 08:46 AM
  #41  
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Mine all failed with GM fluid and from heavy track use + excessive heat. Once I started using the Royal Purple the failures stopped. Still ran her hard on the track and never had another issue.
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Old Jan 14, 2017 | 12:13 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by spearfish25
No sir. My first diff started whining after 3,000 miles on the GM fluid. They swapped it and the second one got about 10,000 before puking fluid out the breather valve, also with GM fluid. The third one whined from the moment I drove it out of the service area but I had given up by then. That's when I tried Amsoil with the GM additive and it chattered on turns. Drained and refilled with the GM juice and no more chatter but it still whined.
Sucks, sorry to hear that. Mine started at 1000 (factory fill) and was better (only 2500 subsequent miles though) with the first replacement. But you have a lot more miles, guess I'm glad I have the extended warranty on mine...
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Old Jan 17, 2017 | 08:24 PM
  #43  
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Does anyone think there could be a problem if you over-fill it? I mentioned this “low diff fluid” topic to a service advisor at a texas-size chevy dealership. He said he had never heard of it, and, never seen any service bulletin, or similar advisory. I told him I might buy some fluid and pour it in the hole myself. He replied that over-filling it could cause an issue.
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Old Jan 17, 2017 | 08:29 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by tlschmidt71
Does anyone think there could be a problem if you over-fill it? I mentioned this “low diff fluid” topic to a service advisor at a texas-size chevy dealership. He said he had never heard of it, and, never seen any service bulletin, or similar advisory. I told him I might buy some fluid and pour it in the hole myself. He replied that over-filling it could cause an issue.
yes. But hard to do. Fill till runs out and stops. Proper height. I guess if you parked downhill or jacked the back up putting the hole at a + degree angle ypu could theoretically overfill it accidentally.

do it on a lift.
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Old Jan 19, 2017 | 10:41 AM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by DAVE396LT1
I bought 3 quarts on Amazon, took my Z into the dealer for an oil change yesterday and had them do the diff, they said it was a bit low and like others the fluid looked shimmery, glad I had them change it out. I have 2300 miles on the car now, did the first oil change at 500 miles and again at 2300 miles, for me fluids are cheap preventative maintenance, I think next time I am going to have the transmission fluid done to be on the safe side and do the diff again at 5k to see what it looks like.
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Old Jan 21, 2017 | 04:41 PM
  #46  
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I just checked mine, I could put some of my finger in the hole and couldn't feel any fluid.

I went ahead and just drain it and ordered new fluid. Mine is an early '15 Z06 #66 first week of production.
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Old Jan 22, 2017 | 07:19 AM
  #47  
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Just took my 17 in for its 500 mile 1st oil change. The diff was making some noise until warmed up. talked to the mechanic and he recommended a fluid drain and refill on the diff. No burnt smell or any metal in the fluid coming out but with the new fluid, the diff is quiet. btw, it was about 1/2 a quart low.
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Old Jan 22, 2017 | 12:42 PM
  #48  
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My 14 Stingray and my 16 ZO6 both needed to be topped off....I purchased both of them out of state and the local Corvette tech I use checked during the first oil change and did it no problem. Why the dealers that take delivery are not doing it is the real question. He told me the rears get delivered to the factory filled so they must have some reason not to top them off.
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Old Jan 27, 2017 | 07:12 PM
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According to the service manual, diff. Fluid is within operating range from bottom of fill hole to 1/2 inch below.
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Old May 11, 2017 | 09:55 PM
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After reading this thread, I changed the oil in my rear diff - stuck my pointer finger in to the 2nd knuckle and could just barely touch fluid - so about 1/2 - 3/4 of a quart low. Car has 4,900 miles so I'm glad I changed it to the correct level.

I usually switch all my vehicles over to Amsoil and was surprised when the specs said to call Amsoil tech support for recommendations on the rear differential - when I called they said to use the GM recommended fluid.
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Old May 11, 2017 | 10:08 PM
  #51  
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It's not right that some diff's are short fluid but these diff's are over engineered mostly because it cost so much more to make bigger ones for the HP/torque increases year after year...
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Old May 11, 2017 | 10:14 PM
  #52  
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We just changed ours at 3,000 miles 3/4 quart low built Aug 15.

Last edited by Joy c7; May 11, 2017 at 10:17 PM.
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Old May 12, 2017 | 08:01 AM
  #53  
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I think it's a Ford guy working at GM shorting the fluid machine parameters...you never know.
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