While they may not be at the top of your routine maintenance list, transmission fluid and differential fluid are important lubricants that serve a role in any heavy-duty fleet vehicle. The recommended timeline for replacing these fluids varies by manufacturer, application, and environment. For mile after mile, both of these fluids will deteriorate.
Signs Differential Fluid Needs to Be Replaced
There are some telltale signs that differential fluid needs to be replaced, including:
- The fluid is contaminated with other chemicals or metal particles
- Grinding noises when turning
- Presence of water and dirt in the differential fluid
- Humming while driving due to gears rubbing
- Increase in vibrations
Depending on your fleet, some vehicles may use a combined transmission and differential fluid. This is most common in front-wheel drive vehicles, while all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles have separate differential and transmission components.
Signs Transmission Fluid Needs to Be Replaced
A few specific situations are clear indications that it’s time to replace a vehicle’s transmission fluid, such as:
- Clogged transmission fluid filter, which prevents the normal flow of fluid and results in contaminated fluid
- Transmission seals have ruptured, resulting in lower transmission fluid levels
- Slipping gears, sharp or abrupt shifts, or clunking
How Often to Change Transmission Fluid or Differential Fluid?
Every vehicle manufacturer provides specific instructions for replacing all your vehicle lubricants, including both transmission fluid and differential fluid. Always check with the owner’s manual or work directly with the manufacturer for their recommendation. Many mechanics recommend changing this fluid between 30,000 and 60,000 miles.
Fleet Vehicle Maintenance
Servicing your vehicles regularly is an important part of getting a long life out of your fleet. To make sure issues are caught early on, encourage employees to take weekly notes on their vehicle’s performance, especially if they notice any of the signs of transmission and differential failure noted above.
Only use the very best lubricants in your fleet to ensure more miles and better performance to get the job done.
Avoid downtime from breakdowns and costly repairs. Explore all our Heavy-Duty Transmission & Differential Fluids:
Transmission fluids:
- MileGuard TO-4 Drivetrain Oil
- MileGuard Full Synthetic SAE 50 Manual Transmission Fluid
- Mobil Delvac 1 Transmission Fluid 30
- Mobil Delvac 1 Transmission Fluid 40
- Mobil Delvac 1 Transmission Fluid 50
- Mobil Delvac 1 Transmission Fluid Arctic
- Mobil Delvac 1 Transmission Fluid MBT 75W-90
- Mobiltrans HD 10
- Mobiltrans HD 30
- Mobiltrans HD 50
- Mobiltrans HD 60
- Mobil Hydraulic 10W
Differential fluids:
- MileGuard 80W-90 Limited Slip
- MileGuard 85W-140
- MileGuard Full Synthetic 75W-90 Limited Slip
- MileGuard Full Synthetic 75W-140 Limited Slip
- Mobilube HD Plus Gear Oil 80W-90 | 85W-140
- Mobil Delvac 1 Gear Oil 75W-90 | 80W-140
Maintain Your Fleet with Tilley Distribution
Having a reliable, quality lubricant supplier is an important part of ensuring your vehicles are running at peak performance for the long road ahead. We offer businesses the best lubricants and dynamic sourcing to make sure we deliver what you need, when you need it. Whether your order is 6,000 gallons or a couple of quarts, you can rely on our commitment to excellent service.
Talk to a Tilley team member today.
