Dr. Frankenstein

Hey all, I'm in need of a little assistance here. I'm finally getting set to do a FULL fluid swap soon but I've run into a bit of a problem, I have no idea what I need for any fluids whatsoever. I have a 95 I6 4.0 HO, NP231, aw4, 4x4, with a dana 30 front and a c8.25 rear. I do mean FULL fluid swap, front to back, literally ANY help is greatly appreciated, major thanks ahead of time!

DieselD

Engine oil (for the engine)

Anti freeze (coolant, again for engine)

Power steering fluid (for the power steering)

Brake fluid (for the master cylinder, brakes)

Automatic tansmission fluid (for the trans and tcase)

Gear oil (for the differentials)

Blinker fluid (for your turn signals)

Dr. Frankenstein

Hm. I worded that wrong. I know what needs to be changed, i just dont know the fluids that go back in. What should i use for coolant, engine Oil, diff oil, etc. I can pick up blinker fluid at the local napa right? Right next to the skyhooks and paper stretchers?

Tom95YJ

You have to be kidding right ?

If you can not figure out what fluids you need don't bother turning a wrench at all, Take it to a shop and pay them to do it.

steven72192

Use regular green or yellow extended life coolant, engine oil I would recommend 10w30 maybe a synthetic or high mileage oil, for the diffs use I would you 80w90 or something maybe with a higher viscosity, for the trans and t case use mercon trans fluid with some sort of trans additive I used it on mine but cannot think of the name I will look tomoorow. And also make sure to use mopar blinker fluid don't cheap out and checker your muffler bearing as well

steven72192

Haha

PNWjeeper

Mercon III (or equivalent) for transmission and transfer case
10w-30 for engine or 5w-30 if your in a colder climate
For diffs 80w-90 or if you tow 80w-140 (I believe)
Coolant should be green
Power steering fluid (make sure it's not Honda specific)
Brake fluid dot 3
I think that's everything... oh gas 85 grade is fine I run 87.

CrawlinPepper

How many miles?

Dr. Frankenstein

I have 87,000 miles. The reason I ask is because i see alot of people one here talk about using fluids that gunk up the workings, like using The long rating coolant that corrodes the block. I just dont want to learn the hard way. Also, to tom95yj, if i had been that clueless about my xj, i would still be here. This forum is supposed to be about helping noobs, not flaming everyone that has less knowledge than you

NewJerseyXJ609

Ok.. You will need 6 quarts of 10w30. 12 liters or 4 quarts of antifreeze for a full flush. Any 50-50 will do. As far as power steering whatever dot ps fluid you like. Trans fluid your going to want merc-dex. NOT at4. For your transfer case your going to want the same as the trans. Same goes for your axles. The chryco will take a tad more than the Dana. I would get 4 quarts SAE75w90 API GL5 gear oil and that should take care of you.

NewJerseyXJ609

If you have your owners manual every fluid is noted in there. Along with how much you'll need and where it goes and even how to properly service everything. I'm not going to explain the oil change bc you should know that. For the trans you have a drain plug and then you'll need a small funnel into the dipstick tube to fill. The tcase has 2 plugs in it. One is lower(drain plug) and one is higher(fill plug). I'm pretty sure the tcase calls for gear oil not trans fluid but I could be wrong ill double check that.. Anyways, you should know how to fill the ps pump so we will skip that and the master Cylinder. For the rears its simple also. But can be messy so make sure you have something under them to catch the fluid. You can take the plugs out but nothing is going to come out because they sit high. They are technically fill plugs. You just want to loosen the bolts break the seal and let the gear oil drain. Clean them up and either get yourself a gasket or I just use red high temp rtv sealant.

Edit: tcase calls for dex merclll.

PNWjeeper

Also something to consider are filters, for instance most people will recommend a WIX oil filter or napa gold (same thing really) and I think everybody will tell you to avoid FRAM filters.
I don't know what your level of knowledge is so I'm just trying to throw out some possibly needed info.

Dr. Frankenstein

I'd say i have an average knowledge level. Always changed my own, done my own tires, replaced brake pad and rotors, i've just never really gone inside the engine and what-not before. Like i said before just wanna make sure i dont put the wrong stuff in. I've always used fram an never had problems as far as i know, whats bad about them?

NewJerseyXJ609

The quality of their filters is just horrible. If you take one apart you will see what people mean when they say fram is crap.

CrawlinPepper

Basically what others are saying, here is my advice on the subject.

Engine Oil - Generally any upper-brand 10w30 will do great. I've heard of people going Rotella but with the miles you have I wouldn't use it. I just switched from Pennzoil 10w30 to Mobil High Mileage 10w30 and I am really glad I did. You will need 6 quarts of oil for the 4.0L. As for the filter, I have never seen anything bad from FRAM. They are one of the few that has kept their sturdy design unlike what other big name companies have done. Just make sure you change it out every 3,000 miles or 3 months, which ever is first.

Coolant - Just flushed my system the other day with Global Life. It needs to be 50/50 mix, 60/40 if you are in some really cold weather. I'd have your system flushed for this as there can be deposits throughout the engine and radiator that you would want to get out. Having it flushed makes it easier to clear it out but you can of course do it yourself the old fashion way using that bottom radiator hose, it just might take a couple of flushes to get it all out. Again, I recommend having it flushed professionally. If they use a cleaner make sure they really flush it out with roughly 18-20 quarts to ensure the cleaner is completely out. I actually flushed mine twice to be sure I had everything old out and everything new in, at a proper mixture.

Transmission Fluid - Mercon III, my advice would be to get the filter changed, pan and magnet cleaned, gasket cleaned, and a transmission flush on top of it all to get everything out of the lines. You can do a pan drop yourself and leave it at that if you want to shortcut it. If it were my truck I'd want to get ALL of the old fluid out while I'm doing it, hence why I'd do the pan drop and a flush.

Power Steering - You can do a flush easily yourself using a turkey baster (if you have an EVAC that would be preferred). Just get a gallon or so of the proper fluid (like PNWJeeper said - non-honda type fluid), start the truck, pull off the power steering cap, suck out the old fluid in the reservoir, put new fluid in the reservoir, cut the wheels to the left ALL the way then to the right ALL the way 3 times, then repeat the process 3 times or until the old fluid looks clean. That's what any machine will do in a nutshell.

T-Case - Mercon III, easy two bolt process.

Front/Rear Axles - Take off the covers, drain the old fluid, replace the gaskets, bolt it back up, and add 75w90 GL5 to the fill hole.

Grease it up while you are at it, change your air filter if needed, and make sure your battery terminals are clean and protected with an anti-corrosion spray. Knock it all out and do it right the first time so you don't have to worry about it later.

Reference - My family has owned and operated a full service automotive lubrication facility for the past 30 years.