2013 Platinum 4x4 used fairly hard when driven. 65K and now out of warranty. Time to put Amsoil in every hole. Saw that it would be tight, but now that I have the front diff drained of the grey goo, I cant get the cover off! Been thinking of grinding the aluminum electric power steering harness tabs off the steering assembly, but not sure it that will give me enough room. Have seen a vague post that you can loosen front diff mounting bolts, support diff with jack and lower diff "enough" to get cover off, clean, and replace. Any thoughts? This thing is dead in the driveway but luckily I have a 200k mile 3rd gen 4Runner that has drain plugs from the factory to get me around while I try to figure this out. Thanks in advance.

MAJ Stew Brown

 

Get a torch, warm it up (not HOT, just warm it), then get a cold chisel and a hammer and it should pop off easily. Make sure you got all the bolts off.

To put it back on, I recommend RTV seal.

 

That's some sage advice ManualF150; appreciate it.

The question is not "how" to remove the cover.... The question is: On a 2013 F150 Platinum 4x4 SCREW that was obviously built by engineers not concerned with the home mechanic...or any mechanic for that matter, how do you physically remove the front diff cover, "once unbolted and seal broken", from the truck? I suppose i need to throw down on a service manual as it appears from my hours of surfing all these sites, that nobody has attempted to change their own "lifetime" front diff fluid. I ground off the tab mentioned in first post, and that did not provide the necessary clearance either. Looks like I will have to remove the entire axle assembly. Now I'm wondering if it is easier to remove the steering assembly or the axle assembly...I'm leaning towards the axle. Any takers on this one?

Forgive the sarcasm...I realize it doesn't translate well over the interwebs, but would appreciate any advice from those with similar model vehicles that have successfully negotiated this obstacle. Are there any Ford Techs lurking here?

Stew

 

lot easier if you get it on a hoist. cant be any worse than my 06. i also used tubing on the
qt bottle to get the syn fluid back in. ford makes a quick dry rtv.--irv
you can use a flat putty kife or thin chisel to break the rtv. i have a snap on mid rise
underneath hoist at the shop. good for front and rear and outside work, but covers the trans and exhaust.

 

I'd take some pictures and post them. I'm used to having lots of room to work on stuff like that. Pictures state a million words (well, usually, lol).