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Observations on changing VTM4 fluid

52K views 34 replies 25 participants last post by  eurban 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey all, Happy Holidays-

I just wanted to share some thoughts from my recent rear differential fluid change. . . . .

I bought a gallon of Honda VTM4 fluid and the two crush washers (different sizes) for the drain and fill plugs from my local dealer. About $29 which was a good bit cheaper than the $120 they quoted me for them to change the fluid. Others have found dealers willing to change the fluid for considerably less but for me it was more of a matter of wanting to do it myself. I also bought a MityVac fluid transfer pump from PEP boys which turned out to be absolutely worthless!

I used a 1/2 inch breaker bar (about 18" long) with a 3/8" adapter and and 3"aprox long 3/8" extension (which is the correct size square head to fit in the fill and drain bolts) as the tool to undo the bolts. They were a bit tough to break loose but not too bad. After reading a few posts here I had my pnuematic impact driver handy incase I needed it to free the bolts but the breaker bar did the trick.

It took about a half an hour for all the fluid to drain out even with 55F temps and a just driven on the highway truck. Be prepared to wait a bit! The fluid that drained out looked pretty much like the new fluid (Ridge with 15K miles) and the magnet portion of the drain plug had a few very fine filings stuck to it. Who knows how worn out (if at all) the fluid was but of course following Honda's guidlines is the only safe way to go.

After snugging up the drain bolt and new washer (no torque wrench just "good n tite") the refill process ran into a snag. The pump I bought was either defective or simply insufficient to draw the fluid up from the container to the fill hole on the diff. The pump instructions suggested that the fill from container should be higher than the fill to container which pretty much defeats the purpose but even attempts at priming the pump with a high held VTM4 fluid container proved unsuccesful. Since it was late on Christmas eve I didn't have too many trip to the store options. However, a simple solution occured to me in my moment of dispair!! No, transfer pump or turkey baister was needed, just gravity, a long hose and a deep ATF style funnel. The hose and funnel should be new without old oil etc in them! I removed the drain plug in the trunk and ran the long hose from the funnel (which I bungeed high up to the open trunk lid) down through the drain hole in the trunk and then into the fill hole in the differential. I found on the internet somewhere that the Diff capactity was 2.79 qts so slowly poured about that much fluid into the funnel. The fluid ran down slowly but the funnel was deep enough that it could resevoir about a quart at a time. I kept topping off the fluid until it started to run out the fill plug into the catch pan that I had left underneath the Diff. I waited a minute or two for the overfill to drain out and then tightened down the fill plug. All told this setup was easy to create and cheap. The pump will be going back to Pep Boys! I will set the funnel and hose asside for the next change . . . .

Hope this is of interest to someone!
 
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#3 ·
OH yes...that is greatly appreciated, and thanx for the info. I too will be doing this soon, My B6 has now change from "need to be change soon" to Change B6 now. This info has detered me from buying a pump from pepboys, i just need to buy a hose and funnel to do the job.

What size of a hose did you use to fill the new fluid into the transfer case? btw?? :D
 
#5 ·
I ended up using the hoses that came with the crap MityVac pump because I didn't have anything else nice and clean on hand. However this hose which was probably 1/2 id didn't fit over the end of the funnel so I had to use electrical tape to attach it to the funnel. I would suggest buying a hose that will fit over the end of the funnel however if it is too fat it won't fit into the fill hole on the Diff. Also, if it fits too tightly in the fill hole it will probably slow down the speed at which the fluid flows as the air will not have anywhere to easily escape. Basically you want something that only loosely fits into the fill hole and remember to get a deep funnel that will hold a good amount of fluid. The 2.8 qt spec seemed to be about right on so don't pour the entire 1 gallon container thru the funnel.
 
#6 ·
Is the fill hole the one the top? Also, does the OLM flashes the code or do you need to scroll thru a menu to get the VTM code?

Thanks,

John
 
#8 ·
Changing the VTM-4 fluid is easy, but there are a few things that you will need to heed:

-Drive the Ridge a bit to get the fluid warm, just as you wouid when changing engine oil.
-Drain with the vehicle rear downhill or use a ramp or jack in the front to accomplish same. This will ensure that the diff. drains completely.
-Refill from the top plug but only put in initially about 2 1/2 qts instead of the 3 required (The remainder will be added after the next step) then tighten fill plug.
-***VERY IMPORTANT***... PUT THE RIDGE IN REVERSE AND DRIVE SLOWLY BACK, THEN IN DRIVE SLOWLY FORWARD. DO THIS SEVERAL TIMES. IN ADDITION, TURN THE WHEEL LOCK TO LOCK SEVERAL TIMES. FINALLY, SLOWLY MOVE BACKWARD WHILE TURNING THEN FORWARD WHILE TURNING IN EACH DIRECTION (YOU CAN DO THIS IN A NEARBY CUL-DE-SAC IF ONE IS NEARBY, OTHERWISE JUST IN YOUR DRIVEWAY. While this may sound like a ridiculous exercise, if you don't do this as I didn't the first time, you will get some weird noises as though you were in 4wd.
-Park the Ridge on level ground, remove the fill plug and put in the remainder of the fluid. Fill until it starts to overflow from the hole. You should still have a little less than a qt. left when done.

I hope this will help you make an easy job even easier.
 
#9 ·
tbones,

Honda would never make a differential that you would have to treat like this to change the oil. This is just not feasible for dealers to perform this task when changing a bunch of Ridgeline's customers oil. Also, when these trucks are on the lift, they don't angle downhill, so I would again, assume, that the drain plug area on the differential is already the lowest point inside the differential housing.
 
#13 ·
just changed the VTM diff fluid...

I have hand pumps, but they contained some other oil so I decided to use a clear vinyl hose. $2 from Lowes, and a small funnel.

Draining is easy... but make sure you open the filler bolt first.. just in case... plus that helps draining as it lets air in from the top and no sloshing from the oil while draining.

I tried routing the hose through the trunk drain hole, but realized it places the hose lower than the diff, so that didnt work well for me. An easy solution was to open the fuel filler door and mount the funnel onto that (my funnel has a small clip handle). Filling was SO easy.
 
#15 · (Edited)
hey...i've been reading all the comments on the vtm4 fluid....i found this:
http://www.wolfshead.com/specsheets/universalsynthetic.pdf...it has all the specs of vtm4 and is synthetic.....for about $6.00 per bottle..
Ralph

Don't use it! They list VTM4 and ZF1 as the same thing! They are not!! No one fluid can replace both and they are not interchangeable

While there are some that claim they are synthetic replacements for ZF1, there is NONE for VTM4.

BTW, your link did not work, but I went to the Wolfshead website.
 
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#17 ·
I'm planning to change my diff flu in a couple of days. Am I correct in understanding that the procedure is basically like an engine oil change?

Open the fill plug.

Open the drain plug.

Drain the fluid.

Replace the drain plug.

Refill the diff fluid until it begins to seep from the fill hole.

Replace the fill plug.

Clean up your mess.

Anything I'm missing?? Thanks.
 
#18 ·
That's the gist of it. Just use clean pumps/tubing/funnels with the VTM-4 fluid. It does not like to be contaminated. I keep separate and dedicated gear for it stored in a gallon ziplock.

Edit: torque to 35 ft-lbs (both fill and drain bolts).
 
#20 · (Edited)
I just wanted to add that this job is a whole lot easier if you take a 1 1/8" hole saw and cut a hole in the middle of the front wall of the trunk. After you do the fluid change you can then plug the hole with a snap in hole cover which will still keep out water. More info can be found here....I hope this helps!

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37358
 
#22 ·
Uh, you do know that there's a drain hole with a factory installed plug in the bottom of the trunk, don't you? I'm betting this is what 99.9% of the people use instead of drilling another hole.

If you are saying that another hole in another location makes it easier for the hose to empty, I simply lift up on the hose and have a helper pour fluid and hold the hose high and tight.
 
#21 ·
I skipped the "-***VERY IMPORTANT***... " and elaborate procedure Tbone described and have had no issues or noises. Used the drain hole in the trunk to route the hose, but I think I'll try clipping the funnel to the fuel door like JP422 described.
 
#23 ·
I just read thru this thread and saw "very important" section on Tbones post. Although it is not entirely essential, I would do some in part.

When re-filling a diff I will always make sure to turn the diff a few times to dis-lodge any air bubbles that form on the teeth of the gears. Looking at how the RL has multiple wet clutch plates in the diff, I can imagine how much more space there is for bubbles to form.

It's not a bad idea to move the vehicle a bit and make at least one turn to work the diff. Then let it sit for a few mins to let the bubbles float up and re-fill.

Just my 2c
 
#24 ·
Or just drive it normally, and recheck it the next morning. The fluid is quite thin though is it not? In that case the difference should be very small I would think.
It would seem to make a bigger difference in the transfer assembly if any at all.
 
#25 ·
I've found that if I top it until fluid runs out the fill hole, wait a few minutes and repeat, I'm able to cram some more in.. just like the gas tank. ;)

The difference is negligible. I do the fluid change with the wheels on the ground, so I can't spin the wheels without buttoning up the fill hole. I still get right at 3 qts in there and a fluid change is supposed to take right at 2.8 qts.

 
#27 ·
I do changes solo as well, but I use a gallon pump instead of the funnel/tube setup.
 
#28 ·
Why not just buy a $12 hand pump from an auto parts store and just pump from the VTM4 bottle. I did this and have a pump for the VTM4 and the hypoid gear oil from the transfer assembly. Saves time and mess.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Because I already had all the other stuff (right length hose, big funnel, drill bit) in my garage so it was free, and I wanted to spend the $12 on beer. :act035:
 
#31 · (Edited)
Whatever, my friend... :rolleyes:
 
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