Just as the oil in the gearbox and engine needs to be checked and changed, so does the oil in the diff. Checking and changing the oil in the diff is not as easy as checking and changing the oil in the engine, but it is still a relatively simple job. The diffs of the SJ410 holds 2.3 pints (1.3 litres) of SAE 75W-90 gearbox oil. The front diff of the SJ413 holds 2.6 pints (1.5 litres), and the rear diff holds 3.5 pints (2.0 litres) of oil. Like the engine, both the front and rear diffs should not be overfilled as it can result in damage.

Suzuki SJ diff oil change ...

Begin by placing a bowl underneath the diff to catch the old oil that is to be drained out. Next, remove the oil filler plug - you will find it most frustrating to have drained out all the oil only to find you can't remove the plug to refill the diff again.

Now make sure the bowl is still in place to catch all the oil, and then loosen and remove the oil drain plug. After a while all the oil will have drained out, and the diff will be as empty as it can be (there will always be a residual amount of oil left in the diff).

Replace the drain plug (red arrow) and start to refill the diff with new oil until it just begins to overflow out of the filler hole. Replace the filler plug (yellow arrow). It's that simple!!

Filler plug tip...

If the filler plug is really locked tight, and cannot be removed, you can take out one of the bolts that are used to hold the diff housing to the axle. Choose one that is at roughly about the same level as the filler plug, and use this hole to refill the diff oil.

Fill the diff until the oil just begins overflow out of the bolt hole. Replace the bolt. Remember that the bolt hole will be a lot smaller than the original filler hole, but at least you can get the diff filled.