There may be an aftermarket diff cover with a fill plug.... I havent looked though.

 

FYI a new diff cover with magnet & gasket is $11.99 from Autozone. I didn't even bother painting the new one. For twelve bucks it isn't worth anyones time.

 

this is going to be one of the first things i do, dad is giving me his '97 (with 160,000+ miles) and as far as i know the diff fluid has never been changed.

 

Couple of things.

No need for a gasket, buy a tube of gasket maker ( gray RTV), put a 1/4 bead around the bolt holes, and two 1/4" strips between each bolt hole.

Make sure the cover and axle mating surfaces are clean and free of dirt and oil, I use brake cleaner to clean the mating surfaces. That is after I scrap and wire brush off all the old sealant.

To refill, use a piece of hose on the end of the lube tube, a 12" piece should be long enough.

By far the hardest part of this job is pulling the cover off. Leave a couple of bolts loose at the top and the bottom, then pry it open slowely, unless you like smelling like rotten eggs all day.

One last thing, if you have a limited slip (G80) make sure you use the limited slip addative.

 

FYI according to the 2000 S-10 owner's manual it states that friction modifier / additive is NOT to be added for the G80 "limited slip" differential. What is with this? I see that some GM diff's use it and some don't.

 

You know, if I was smart, I'd have done this job before I put the new spare tire hoist on it and hung the spare tire where it belongs...

 

Hmmmmmmmmm...............Hind sight-aint it great! ha ha

 

im tossing the under-spare setup, see if i can find a rear swing-away carrier somewhere. the rear sway bar looks to be a bit in the way as well.

 

Got it done. Messy job. Wound up using a 1/2 inch socket on a universal joint to get the bolts behind the sway bar. Who was the oh-so-helpful designer who routed that one cable *right* over the top of one of the bolts?

No chips in the oil or on the drain plug, so that's good.

Here's what things looked like...anyone see anything worth worrying about?

 

While you're down there, check the vent tube that goes into the housing. Just pull the end cap off of the tube and try to blow some air inside; you don't have to use an air compressor. Just see if ANY air moves in -- that should be adequate to tell you its fine.

How are your outer bearing seals? Are they puking out diff fluid? I did the bearings+seals and it was an EASY job using the free-to-rent puller from Autozone. Whole job took about half an hour. Just pull the large pin from the diff (after removing the holding bolt), push in the axle's, and pull the c-clips.