Should I be concerned about wrong fluid in differential

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pfflyer

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First question here but I recently purchased 2014 King Ranch with 145k miles that has the appearance of being well taken care of. Previous owner relied on a quick-change lube for regular maint. Besides using an oil filter not even specified for any Ford they put gear oil in the differential instead of automatic transmission fluid. According to Car Fax it was changed at 79k miles. PO said it was his wife's vehicle and she never towed so I was wondering why it was changed so soon. Did they put in a heavier fluid to cover up another issue or just grabbed a jug of the first gear oil they found and put it in. I went ahead and put in the specified fluid and no issues noticed yet in a couple hundred miles. I didn't see any threads here about a common issue with the differential, so I was wondering what you all think.
 

Fastcar

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I'm not aware of ATF being used in the rear diff. Having said that there is a difference between limited slip lube and non limited slip lube.
Hoping somebody chimes in on the ATF issue.
 
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pfflyer

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The same fluid for the transmission Mercon LV , is specified for the differential in the my manual. Maybe I was looking at wrong but I double checked. YouTube video I watched also read it the way I did.
 

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ATF in a differential seems odd to me, but I also don't have a newer vehicle. The only thing I could think of is that Ford would specify LV for mileage reasons. That being said if it were my vehicle I'd use a proper gear oil anyway.
 
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Yupster Dog

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The same fluid for the transmission Mercon LV , is specified for the differential in the my manual. Maybe I was looking at wrong but I double checked. YouTube video I watched also read it the way I did.
Transfer case has the same fluid as the transmission. Differentials have gear oil. See owners manual about specific gear oil weight for front and back are different and if you have limited slip rear there is a friction additive.
 
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pfflyer

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Well, I am officially an idiot. Instead of Quick lube putting in the wrong fluid it was the new owner. Let me revise my question.
Do you think I should be concerned after driving a couple hundred miles with ATF in the differential? I will drain and install with 75W140 full synthetic this evening or tomorrow and check for metal in the wrong fluid. Great first question on my part.
Mercon LV is correct for the transfer case which is stated 1 line below the specs for the differential. I am positive if you can believe me, that the wrong oil filter was used by a quick lube though.

Thanks for all the help.
 

Fastcar

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Well, I am officially an idiot. Instead of Quick lube putting in the wrong fluid it was the new owner. Let me revise my question.
Do you think I should be concerned after driving a couple hundred miles with ATF in the differential? I will drain and install with 75W140 full synthetic this evening or tomorrow and check for metal in the wrong fluid. Great first question on my part.
Mercon LV is correct for the transfer case which is stated 1 line below the specs for the differential. I am positive if you can believe me, that the wrong oil filter was used by a quick lube though.

Thanks for all the help.
That is why you never take your truck/car to a quick lube!!
 
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pfflyer

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It Looks like quick lube may have got the differential fluid right though. Not sure what weight they used and if it was synthetic but it was closer to being right than ATF. Lol Parts store employee says he gets quick lube stories every day.
 

mr_dave

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I really don't think a couple hundred miles with LV in the diff will hurt it, especially if you're not towing heavy loads. Get proper gear oil in it asap and if anything, you cleaned out the diff very nicely with the ATF detergents.

As far as the oil filter, if it screws on correctly and the o-ring is the same size that shouldn't be a big issue either. I swap oversize oil filters on all the time.
 
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