2.92 Differential Oil Change

[SRG963]

As I understand it, the OEM 2.92 has carbon clutches which require GM specific diff fluid (GM P/N 92184900).

Is this the best fluid I could use / should use?

I've read others using Royal Purple, Lucas, and Redline, but they may all have 3.27, 3.45 or 3.70 gear sets.

[GRRRR8]

http://forum.grrrr8.net/showthread.php?t=14219

I have never been able to cross any fluid to this. I always get it from Pace or the dealer.

[SRG963]

Thanks Charlie!

[RamJet]

So my dealer just told me that rear drive cars use synthetic diff fluid, different than front drive. Not that I asked.
I'm having my doubts as to if they have any idea what they are talking about. They asked if my G8 was front or rear drive.

$35/bottle sound right? They say it takes 3.
And this isn't for a G8, I had to say it was for a 2013 Camaro SS, otherwise they couldn't find anything.

Thanks for any guidance.

[SRG963]

My research shows fill capacity 1.25L, which is the same size bottle they sell.
And yes, $35-$38 each is what I was quoted as well.

There's only 1 bottle in Charlotte, and that bitch is mine!

[RamJet]

Good thing i'm in Texas, otherwise there may be trouble...lol

[Greg@PacePerformance]

The Camaro uses a different fluid from the G8.
Takes just over 1 liter

92184900 - Rear axle lubricant 75W85 approved to Allison Transmission specification TES-295.

G8 rear and Allison trans use the same fluid????

[RamJet]

So these bottles are .946 liters, pn 10-4016 88900401 and you have to add a limited slip additive. Something seems askew here.

[RamJet]

Okay, left those bottles there and am hitting a Buick place on the way home that has a couple of the actual bottles I need.
Thanks for the info, Greg, you are the man.

[Greg@PacePerformance]

92184900 IS 1.25L so you only need one bottle.

Important: Both LSD and Non-LSD Differentials use the same fluid.
Differential Lubricant-Castrol SAF Carbon Mod. GM P/N 92184900
• Fill Capacity - 1.25 L

[RamJet]

I called the Buick place, and they were surprised I was asking for it. They had it, but the service manager kept it in his office, not on the shelves for general consumption.
Curious again. They had four, I'm buying two as both cars are over 100k miles.

Is this fluid going to become unobtanium in a few years, or just not in our sold in our desired quantities?

Thanks again, Greg.

[Greg@PacePerformance]

I wouln't worry about it being available. I'm sure the SS will use it also :)

[JSGT09]

Is shipping for one bottle standard rate?

[SRG963]

so I just picked up the bottle, it's only 1 liter, and it was 3 years old.

got the bottle for half price since it was expired lol

[Greg@PacePerformance]

Yes we can ship it UPS or FedEx ground.

[BLKG8]

so I just picked up the bottle, it's only 1 liter, and it was 3 years old.

got the bottle for half price since it was expired lol

1 liter?? I thought they came in 1.25L bottles .....they expire? ? What the heck. I have two bottles at home sitting for over a year......:confused:

[SRG963]

1 liter?? I thought they came in 1.25L bottles .....they expire? ? What the heck. I have two bottles at home sitting for over a year......:confused:

I'm not worried about the date....no one at the dealership even realized there was a date on the bottle, and he said that even if they ordered new, he couldn't guarantee the date would be any better.

I'm sure Greg@Pace has the freshest stock.

[RamJet]

Okay, finally got the two bottles yesterday, they are 1 liter bottles as well. Too bad the weren't the 1.25s, that would have been nice.

[Greg@PacePerformance]

I just had 3 the bottles we have on the shelf inspected. They were also 1 liter. I have updated the info on out site.
GM must have changed the size at some point. Or atleast the label :)

[RamJet]

So I was hoping to use one bottle for each car. Would it be okay to put .3 liters of old fluid back in with the 1 liter of new, and if so, would straining it be beneficial at all?
Thanks

[Greg@PacePerformance]

:uhm: I'm not sure on that one. I guess if you had too it would be OK.

I think I would do one first. Drain then fill. It might not even take a full 1.25L to fill.

[BLKG8]

Turns out the two bottles i bought last year must of been fresh, cause the expiration date is 3/13. Guess i'll change it soon.:thumbup:

[LDM]

Last week I changed out the differential oil and I figured I'd share a few pics in case someone wanted to do this themselves. It's a relatively simple procedure.

The first thing you'll need is two bottles of lubricant. It takes about 1.3 qts or 1.25 L, so one bottle won't be enough. The GM part number is 92184900. The general consensus seems to be that if you have the stock GT diff, you need to use this factory lubricant due to the special additives, so that's what I used.

http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz352/lenmartin23/G8/Maintenance/20150807_LM_D5100_4465.jpg

To get the oil into the diff, I purchased a pump for filling lower units on outboard motors (http://www.amazon.com/Shoreline-Marine-Pump-Lower-Unit/dp/B004UOPZ9S). It was under $5, screwed right onto the bottle, and worked like a charm. All I did was remove the lower unit adapter from the end of the hose and stuck the hose right in the fill port.

http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz352/lenmartin23/G8/Maintenance/20150807_LM_D5100_4467.jpg

Once I got the car lifted up, I removed the rear section of the right side exhaust to get better access to the drain and fill plugs. My Corsa makes this easy because there is a connection on the midpipe not too far forward of the diff. If you have the stock exhaust, I suppose you could disconnect at the muffler which might allow you to move the section of the midpipe out of the way. On the right side of the differential are the drain and fill plugs.

http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz352/lenmartin23/G8/Maintenance/20150807_LM_D5100_4460.jpg

Crack open the fill plug first with an 8mm hex bit. You don't want to drain the oil and then realize you can't get the fill plug open. The plugs have integral o-rings, and if they need to be replaced, they get replaced as a unit (the part number should be 92184898.) Mine were in good shape and just got wiped off and reused. Remove the drain plug, being sure to have a pan underneath to catch the old fluid.

http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz352/lenmartin23/G8/Maintenance/20150807_LM_D5100_4464.jpg

Once all of the old oil has drained out, you can replace the drain plug and torque it to 26 ft-lbs (35 Nm). Next I stuck the hose from my bottle pump into the fill port and just pumped until fluid started overflowing out of the port. It took all of one bottle and about a quarter of the second. Make sure that the car is level when you do this so that you fill it to the proper level.

http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz352/lenmartin23/G8/Maintenance/20150807_LM_iP6_0583.jpg

http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz352/lenmartin23/G8/Maintenance/20150807_LM_D5100_4468.jpg

At this point you can replace the fill plug and torque to 26 ft-lbs, wipe up any spilled oil, replace the exhaust, and then lower the car. I couldn't find a recommended service interval in the owner's manual, but for what it's worth my car was at a little over 38,000 miles.

[-Ray-]

Good job Len.

[cstmg8]

Thanks Len, I need to do mine soon. How did you keep the car level and have it jacked up for access?

[LDM]

Thanks Len, I need to do mine soon. How did you keep the car level and have it jacked up for access?

I drove the front up on my Race Ramps and then jacked up the rear and lowered it onto Race Ramp Wheel Cribs. Both are 10 inches tall and the vehicle's weight was on it's wheels so I knew it was level as if it were sitting on the ground. You can sort of see the cribs in the last picture I posted. I did the transmission service the same day so I wanted to be certain that the car was level for the fill procedure for that.

[CommodoreG8]

Awesome! Thank you! This is on my to do list for this fall.

[J Wikoff]

I did mine at 50k or so. I didn't remove any exhaust parts. I think I used an extension and a wobble joint so the ratchet was outside the exhaust pipe.

[LDM]

I did mine at 50k or so. I didn't remove any exhaust parts. I think I used an extension and a wobble joint so the ratchet was outside the exhaust pipe.

I'm sure I could've done the job without removing the exhaust. The service manual doesn't tell you to remove it and it normally tells you to remove all kinds of things that you can get away without touching. The Corsa was just so easy to remove that I took the extra minute up front to make things easier later.

[matts88yj]

Good post Len. Quick question on the Wheel Cribs but when raising the rear end do you put the jack under the diff and raise the entire rear up in one shot or are you raising it up in another location? I already have the Race Ramps and love them but have been looking into the Wheel Cribs as well.

[LDM]

I jacked it up from the center, but because of how the independent rear suspension droops down I had to do it in two stages. So I jacked up the rear and put it on jack stands, then added some blocks to the jack to get the extra height to get it up on the Wheel Cribs. Did the reverse to get it back down.

[TonyKarter]

Excellent write-up. Does anyone make a magnetic drain plug?

[AVIDMOTION]

With that GM number, do you need the little bottle of modifier?

[LDM]

With that GM number, do you need the little bottle of modifier?

No, use it straight from the bottle.

[AVIDMOTION]

So with this number 92184900 you do not need the small bottle of modifier?

[Chewy]

I've merged a couple of diff oil threads together and stuck it.

[texn884]

It is on my list of things this summer to get done to the Rat, I was going to have it done last year but so many questions I held off.

How can oil go bad its not milk, lol

[Napalm]

It is on my list of things this summer to get done to the Rat, I was going to have it done last year but so many questions I held off.

How can oil go bad its not milk, lol

I'm not an organic chemist but from what I recall from engineering school - there are cases where exposure to air/water causes some of the items to break down. when they do, the viscosity or the anti-corrosion compounds will start to fail. Given time you'll have acids in the mix or additional water - lack of protection etc etc.

thus the requirement for changing it out. it would appear the oil being used in not synthetic based - ie man made polymers. Like Penzoil platinum or Amsoil etc.

[Napalm]

I changed mine 3 years ago and I had 90+K on the clock - time for it again. I now have 140K.