diff oil. I nearly fell of my chair

[ottofiddler]

Folks

Attempting a service on the 97 TJ and was advised by the local dealer that 2.5litres for front and rear diffs would set me back $300! Evidently some special additive. (gold?)

Can any suggest a cheaper alternative please?

Secondly can the tie down point on the front near side be replaced with a heavy duty recovery hook or do I need to get this installed in a more suitable place?

Thanks in advance

[ottofiddler]

Its a 97 Cherokee which is actually an XJ not a TJ as posted.

[Steve F]

The front diff in an XJ is nothing special and needs no additive. No idea where they get the $300 oil from. Sorry but I cant remember exactly what it does require though (grade wise)

On most XJ's sold in Aus the front tiedown also includes the additional support from the factory for it to be used as a recovery point. You should see some additional bracing going to the front crossmember, if you're not sure post up a pic. A recovery hook will bolt right up

Cheers
Steve

[Cpage66]

Front diff (Dana 30) calls for 80w-90 or if it's used in heavy off road or towing
it'll need 75w-140. 2.5 pints by the way

Rear diff (Dana 35c) calls for the same...80w-90 or if in heavy abuse 75w-140. If you've got the lsd (which you probably do) you'll need 4 ounces of LSD fluid as an additive. 3.75 pints is what it needs.

I used Castrol 85w-140 for my front Dana 30 when it was open and I use a Penrite now that already has the friction modifier added for front and rear...