vapors2k

I too had the same results as yourself. First change...yuck....second chagne much better. It must be the coniditioning of the fluid. And obviously a synthetic based oil will last longer than a dino based oil that the factory uses. I'm currently in the process of designing a diff fluid cooler, but that would require a pump and some cutting.

Destiny2002

The Honda recommendation doesn't match the service findings of those here on the board, including myself. At least for the first change, it's overextended.

15K is the severe maintenance interval, 30K for normal.

The transmission fluid interval is probably also overextended. I changed my fluid at 7000 miles and the shifting was noticeably smoother. Couldn't imagine letting it go to 120K (normal) or even 60K (severe)

speed4tu

I changed mine at about 6000 and it was really dirty w/ lots of metal shavings. I changed it to Amsoil 75w-90 series 2000. It had a nice blue color , haven't changed it for the 2nd time yet. The tranny oil was pretty much clean at that same time, changed it to Redline, and shifts are a lot smooter.

Gernby

I have been trying to figure out a good layout for a POLL. I don't know how many poll choices there can be, but there would need to be several levels for those with diff failures (only) to chose from (i.e. "Never changed diff fluid", "Changed diff fluid at 10K and it died at 15K", "Changed diff fluid every 5K and it died at 20K", etc.). Any ideas?

The poll would need to be specifically for people who have actually had diff failures on a NA setup.

cdelena

I'm not sure that lubrication had much to do with most of the diffs that failed. Lube usually is about wear, and the failures we have seen appear to be primarily from shock loads.

My initial lube change showed a lot of metal and bad looking oil, but in hindsight I would guess it was due to break-in of the gears and additives in the lubricant.

A diff that fails because of inadequate lubrication (usually due to a leak) would probably act like one that was setup improperly, with a lot of whining noise and overheating before any breakdown.

xviper

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gernby
[B]

I have been trying to figure out a good layout for a POLL.

joe_s2k

I've been changing my differential & transmission fluid every 15k miles. I also noticed the same OEM oil conditions/metal shavings when I did my first change. The condition of the Redline/Royal Purple oils never looked as bad too. I'm at 74k miles now and haven't had any differential issues yet. <* knock on wood *>

xviper

[QUOTE]Originally posted by joe_s2k
[B]I've been changing my differential & transmission fluid every 15k miles.

MeAndMyS2000

Changed mine for the 1st time last week, along with the transmission fluid. 14,600 miles. Neither fluid was too bad, the transmission fluid was really good, diff was a bit dark, but not too many shavings. I don't drive the car very hard, no clutch dumps, just some curves. Still on the original S02's if that tells ya anything about my driving style.

Thanks to xviper for all the postings of the diff and transmission changes. Made the job a lot easier. BTW, I went back with the OEM fluids. I do use Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil though.

Gernby

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cdelena
[B]I'm not sure that lubrication had much to do with most of the diffs that failed. Lube usually is about wear, and the failures we have seen appear to be primarily from shock loads.