235,000 km
Replaced coolant.
Everything went smoothly, no issues.
(Check out my method here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5986&p=64731#p64731)
Scrubbed the inside of reservoir tank so I can actually see the fluid level!
Replaced engine oil.
Found out Mr. Lube had put on the wrong oil filter. It was the right diameter, but shorter. I don't usually go to these places, but I was leaving on a camping trip and short on time. Never again.
The magnetic drain plug had a couple pinches of fine metallic paste on it. I don't think thats normal. I haven't noticed any unusual engine symptoms, so I have no idea what it could be.
Rear differential
Fluid was quite dark and soupy, but the magnet had only a light coating of fine metal dust.
Inspected the gears. Spiders were in good shape. Ring gear wear pattern was dead centre. Pinion gear wear seems to be concentrated on the toe side, but there's no play in the shaft so I figure it's OK.
Wire-brushed the housing cover and gave it a coat of forest green paint (only thing I could find). Instead of sealing it with RTV, this time I decided to use a Fel-pro gasket. The idea is, I won't have to clean RTV off all the surfaces, bolts, and bolt holes, which is a lot of work. Besides, the gasket costs less than a tube of RTV. Fill hole was very easy to get to, especially with OV lift kit.
Transfer-case
Fluid came out BLACK. However, I didn't notice any binding in sharp, low-speed turns. Filled 'er up with fresh smurf juice and moved on. Fill hole is more difficult to get to, so I slid the oil bottle on top of prop shaft, and used a pour-tube to squeeze it in.
Front Differential
Fluid came out clean. This is the most difficult axle housing to get to. It's quite tight underneath, and you need two sockets. Drain plug: 13mm. Fill plug: 15mm wrench or low-profile ratchet (the steering linkage gets in the way). There's no way you can get a oil bottle higher than the fill hole, so I used a squeeze-ball pump to get the oil in.
For every one job you finish on a used vehicle, you find two more.
While I was working on the front end, I noticed the CV shafts were quite loose. That might explain the whining sound while turning at high speeds. They're not knocking yet though, so I'll leave 'em in. The front-passenger axle seal has a slow leak. Oil cooler lines have had a slow leak for a long time. Idler arms are still solid after more than a year. Those Moogs really did the trick. But the drag link is very loose so I'll have to change it soon.
High priority things I still need to do (whenever it stops raining):
Rotate tires. Buy new tires.
Replace transmission fluid, filter, gasket and mount aux cooler
Wash & wax before winter.
Check brakes and grease all joints
check ignition components
Change passenger door hing pins
mount scanguage in dash
fix armrest
Isolate critical circuits for aux battery setup.
Seems like a lot of work... For tires.
