Differential fluid: how much to let out?

[Mach3M3]

Hey guys. I have a pretty simple question. When you change the diff oil and the new oil starts coming out of the fill hole, how much do you let drip out? Do you plug it when it stops dripping, when its dripping slowly, or just after it stops streaming and starts dripping? Today, i plugged it as it turned into dripping from streaming, is that wrong? what kind of damage could i cause if i overfilled?

[eatsleepboost]

You are fine. Full is level with the hole. There is no spec on a drip or a stream. It's not that technical. Typically when you pull a plug to check to see if one is full it begins to drip so you are spot on in that regard.

I think a lot of times people either don't know better or are just OCD when it comes to fluid levels. They don't need to be at an EXACT level. There is a safe range fluids can be in. At that point the components are safe but many feel the need to get the fluid to the top of the safe mark.

I have had so many people top off their brake fluid. Well it's not leaking or you wouldn't have brakes. Then when you change the pads and compress the calipers fluid spills out of the reservoir cause it's overfull. It's not a fluid that needs filling if it's low your pads are low if your brake pedal is hard.

Sorry for going off topic at the end. Just an example.

[Mach3M3]

Thanks man. The way i see it, better to slightly overfill and maybe encounter more mechanical drag, then to under-fill and potentially not lubricate the gears enough.