This is a really dumb question but I own a 1992 Acura Vigor and 02 Accord.

The Vigors owners manual says nothing about replacing the differential fluid, but upon finding out in an Acura forum that the Vigor does have this. So with about 130k miles, I changed it for the first time. It was gross, dark, dark black sludge and smelled really bad. So I pumped the new (very clear)gear oil in and I'm good to go. Why is this not stated anywhere to be changed?

Main Question: Does my 2002 Honda Accord 4cyl have this?? It's not stated anywhere in the owners manual to be changed.

Thanks everyone.

 

accord is FWD no differential. You would change the transmission fluid and if so, ONLY use Honda/Acura ATF fluid. ONLY!!!

 

ohh ok, thanks. I thought my Vigor is FWD as well? Also, my friend has a Jeep Grand Cherokee with only FWD but it has Front and Rear Differential fluid.

anyway, I guess I should learn more about it (google is my friend)

thanks again

 

FWD = front wheel drive. A Cherokee is either rear wheel drive (RWD) or four wheel drive (4WD, 4x4), never FWD alone. All standard, road driven cars have differentials whether they be FWD, RWD, or AWD/4WD. Front wheel drive cars just tend to have the differential incorporated into the transmission housing and sharing the same fluid. Of course use the correct fluid for your transmission type - ATF (automatic transmission fluid) for an automatic, or regular gear oil of the appropriate weight for a manual transmission. Any normal 30w (eg 10w30) will work in a pinch for a normal manual trans. For the automatics it's generally preferred to use honda genuine ATF since it has additional additives. I've used Valvoline ATF in mine and it worked fine for the 30 or so thousand miles it was in (216k miles on the trans). The honda genuine fluid just gets a bit pricey at $5+/quart.

Stand alone differentials (eg the rear diff in a RWD vehicle) tend to use a heavier weight gear oil such as 75w90, and some people like to use even thicker. Regular gear oil can smell pretty bad even brand new, depending on the brand you buy, so smell's not a real good indicator of anything.