How to Replace Rear Differential Cover 2000-06 Chevy Tahoe

Now to access the cover, I'm gonna pull this bar out of the way. Let me use a 13/16 wrench or a 21-millimeter wrench. On the backside, there's a nut on the other side of this bolt, and take that bolt out. Use a 21-millimeter socket. I'm just gonna use a bungee cord and just pull this out of the way.

Now, it's always a good idea before you take the cover off to take the fill plug out. Otherwise, if you can't get the fill plug out, then you won't be able to add fluid to it after you're done. So just use a 3/8 extension and a ratchet. There we go.

Now some of these cover bolts are pretty rusted so I'm just gonna take a wire brush, just try to clean up some of the rusts. All right. Now, I'm gonna take the cover off. I'm gonna use a 13-millimeter socket to take all these bolts off. I'm gonna leave the top one in a little bit, just leave it loose, and then I'll pry the cover off.

This one has the brake bracket right here, brake hose bracket, or brake lines. Move it out of the way. Just be careful. If this looks really rusty, be more careful with it. Now I'll just loosen this one up. Let's leave it like that. Make sure you have a drain bucket underneath before you start taking those bolts out. And then just get a screwdriver or a pry bar. Just get underneath the cover and just slowly pull it back. Let the fluid drain.

And once that's loose, you're gonna take the bolt off. And just slide the cover out. There you go.

At this point, I can use a scraper or even a razor blade. Just be careful if you're using a razor blade and just scrape off any excess gasket material. Now I'm gonna use a little brake parts cleaner and just wipe this down. Just try not to spray directly into the gear. Now I can take the gasket and just line that in position. I'm gonna take the cover, try to go over the gear. There you go. Just twist it a little bit.

You don't have to pick the sway bar links out, but you could if you were struggling with that, and just line this all up, and get the bolt started. And I can move this brake hose bracket down and brake lines. Put that bolt through. I'm just gonna snug these down before I torque them down.

Now I'm gonna torque this to 30 foot-pounds and make sure you torque it in a cross pattern. So we'll torque this one and then just go criss-cross. All right. That's all.

If you're not gonna use this fill plug to fill up the rear differential, you can use a 10-millimeter hex socket and tighten that up. Just make sure it's snug. Now, just hook this up and torque this to 77 foot-pounds. With the fill plug out, I'm going to add the limited-slip additive first. It's always a good idea to add it and do that first before you add the gear oil, then add the proper gear oil. You can check your owner's manual.

You can use a hose to get the fluid into the rear diff. All right. Now, as you're filling this up, if you notice that it starts coming out the fill plug, then that's up to the ideal level. Certain vehicles, it doesn't have to go all the way to the fill plug. You want to check your owner's manual and put the appropriate amount of fluid in. Now put the fill plug in and snug this up. Not too tight.

Once it starts getting a little snugger, just a little bit more. That's good. Take a little brake parts cleaner and clean it off.