Differential transmission and transfer case fluid change 08 Denali.

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08grey

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So I tackled this todAy going to make a small Thread on tapatalk to help anyone who may want to do it themselves.

What you need.
5 bottles of gear oil
8 bottles of tranny fluid.
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There are the part numbers and cost for my 2008 Denali.

First front diff
Pull top plug first. 18mm. Then drain 13 mm.
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Let drain replace plug and fill. I filled it untill it leaked out of the full port. This uses gear oil. It stinks. Mine took 1.75 bottles till it leaked. At 20+ dollars a bottle try not to drop it.
By far the full is the hardest part of this whole job. I created a hose to bottle contraption to fill it. Find a better way to do it. My hands are still hurting from squeezing the bottle.
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Transmission.

Many have noted they got the pan off by prying the exhaust down. Well mine wouldn't give enough without taking loose the drivers side of the exhaust. I almost broke a selonoid doing this luckily I just broke off a plastic piece and bent a electrical tab.
Loosen all the bolts. The pan will likely stay in place. Take a pry bar and just one end a little so as to start the liquid flowing. There is 6 quarts in there so be easy.
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After hearing a crunching noise after trying to do it without dropping the exhaust. I finally dropped the exhaust first. Here is where a helper comes in. Pry down the exhaust and somebody else slide out the pan slowly trying not to spill the fluid.
Let drain, I left mine for a hour and at that point no more fluid was coming out. Dab clean internals and pull out filter and seal. It comes out pretty simple not science here. Clean pan well and place in new filter. The new gasket will have 2 pilot holes on each end to line it up. It only goes one way so don't mess that up. Replace pan tighten to 6lbs of torque which is simple hand tight. I did my Tighten in a x pattern then clockwise.
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Transfer case.
The easiest of all. Pull fill plug and drain plug and refill took 10 minutes. It will use 1.5 quarts of the tranny fluid.

Rear end. First remove drain plug then pull cover just enough for the fluid to run from the bottom of the cover. Let drain and pull cover.
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You have to clean all the old gasket off. It's a paper gasket so it's going to be on there good. Cover the internals when scrapping off the gasket so it dosent going flying inside. I use a fine grinder disk to clean up the cover and used a razor scrapper to do the housing. I then cleaned with three cans of brake cleaner and dried out with air before refilling also wiped clean.
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I ordered a gasket with my vin and still got the wrong one so if your ordering one for yours it's a 10 bolt. I ended up having to use a cheap paper gasket because the dealer was already closed and it was all I could get.
My rear too roughly 2.5 bottles of fluid and I used the same contraption as the front but with a shorter hose.
The dealer will give you some of the spouts that screw on the bottle that I connected the hose to for free.
All and all no harder than changing your own oil. A lift makes all the difference but definitely not worth giving a grand in labor to the dealer.
 
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lt1gmc

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Thanks for the great write-up and pics!
A couple of thoughts for others doing this: Mobil 1 75W90 LS synthetic gear lube that passes GM specs is available at Advance and AutoZone for $10 a qt. They also sell a hand plunger pump that will fit on the bottle to make it way easier to get the fluid in.
Thanks again for the awesome thread.
 

kylevd23

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Thanks for the awesome write-up, just picked up an 08 denali as well, quick question, where did you get the tranny filter & gasket from? and what's the part number if you don't mind me asking?
 

1BADI5

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Nice to have a heads up on the work.

When I dropped the trans pan on my 08 Tahoe LTZ it came out pretty easy.......the bracket for the shift linkage was my holding point......but I got around it with a pry bar and some big pliers
 
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08grey

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Rock auto is where I got the filter from, dealer for the gasket.
 

RollinHorns

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This may be a dumb question question, but isn't the "drain" plug you're referring to on the rear end actually the fill plug? I was kinda bummed when I looked at my Yukon earlier to find that there was no drain plug and that I'd have to pull the cover off to replace the oil.
 

RollinHorns

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Thanks for the help. Looking for a rear diff gasket right now, and Autozone definitely has me scratching my head.. I've got the 08 Yukon SLT with 4x4 (auto, 4H, 4L, 2)

Does anyone have any input as to which one I need? Haven't found much on the forum (pic attached). Thanks in advance



Not sure if the pic worked, but options are:

10 bolt hole x 8.25" ring gear ($69.99)
10 bolt hole x 8.625" ring gear ($9.99)
10 bolt hole x 8.625" ring gear ($38.99)
 

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08grey

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Call the local dealer and give them the Vin. Ask if they have it in Stock. They likely won't and then politely ask hey is it the 8.65 10 bolt or thd 8.25.
 

RollinHorns

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I'll give that a shot. Just usually like to avoid talking to those guys if at all possible lol
 

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