Page 24 - KCRPCA MarApr 2020

NUTS & BOLTS TRANSFER CASE CHANGING DIFFERENTIAL FLUIDS MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE TECHNICAL EDITOR KARL WILEN One of the most commonly overlooked services with a Cayenne of all years are the fluids in the all- wheel drive transfer case and the front and rear differentials. The front differential and the transfer case are both well-known failure points on these vehicles; the transfer case replacement running around $4-5k and a front differential in the $3k range. One of the keys to keeping these healthy are regular fluid changes of these components. I recommend every 40k miles or 4 years to be safe. The fluids are cheap insurance against premature failure. The process is also relatively simple, with most of your time spent letting the fluids drain or trying to fill the components with a cheap pump from Harbor Freight or the auto parts store (Note....you are going to likely make a mess with these cheap pumps, but they do the trick. A second set of hands is very helpful). Since I left my air powered fluid filler at home for another project and I’m already late on getting this article to Stan, I’ll show you how to do it the “peasant” way. First thing to do is either raise the vehicle, or if you are skinny enough, you can likely slide underneath without raising the vehicle. If you have air suspension, you can raise the vehicle to the off-road height to make it easier. You need the vehicle level to drain and fill the fluids properly, so avoid using drive on ramps. See Pic 1 You don’t need a ton of tools for this job, just a ratchet, drain pan, rags, and 10mm socket (possibly a phillips screwdriver depending on year) for the lower belly pan for the engine and the transmission, an 8mm allen (hex) wrench, and a pump for filling the fluids. 15 24 Der Sportwagen YEARS