Axle Draining
- Park the vehicle on a level surface, shut down the engine, and set the parking brake. Chock the tires.
- Clean the fill plug and the area around it. Remove the plug from the oil fill hole. See Fig..
- Remove the plug at the bottom of the housing and drain the lubricant while the unit is warm. Allow enough time for all the old lubricant to drain completely.
- Clean the drain plug. For magnetic drain plugs, a piece of key stock or any other convenient steel slug may be used to short the two magnetic poles and divert the magnetic field.
- After cleaning the drain plug, install and tighten the
plug 30 lbf·ft (41 N·m) for Detroit axles or 35 lbf·ft
(47 N·m) for Meritor axles.
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Front View
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Rear View
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Breather Hose
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Axle Housing Breather
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Oil Drain Plug
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Oil Fill Plug
Fig. 1, Component Locations, Detroit Axles
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Caution: Be careful when draining the axle oil. It may be very hot, and could cause personal injury if it contacts the skin.
Note: Meritor recommends using magnetic plugs with elements having a minimum pickup capacity of two pounds (one kilogram) of low-carbon steel in plate or bar form. Magnets will rapidly lose effectiveness as collected material bridges the gap between the two poles. Clean or change the plugs before this occurs. It may be necessary to clean or change the plugs one or more times between lubrication change intervals.