How important is it to change the rear axle oil. I see in the Haynes manual that it is to be changed every 24,000 miles or 2 years. It is something I have never considered doing. I have never heard of anyone changing rear axle oil on cars over here.

The harder the service, the shorter the interval. A V6 won't be as hard on the gear lube as a V8 would be, daily driving won't be as hard on it as racing would.

Every couple of years isn't a bad idea. Fairly cheap insurance. As long as you don't have an Auburn or Eaton posi unit, synthetic lube will last longer and protect better than petroleum based lube. Make sure it's rated GL-5 (gear lube 5, hypoid gear).

I changed my gear lube and manual trans fluid a few months ago. Took a whole 20 minutes. I used Valvoline Synthetic gear lube with a bottle of limited slip additive, and synthetic ATF for the trans. When I drained the fluid out of the trans, gear lube came out. I was wondering why my shifts were mushy. ATF is way better IMO.

I like to change mine ever 40,000 miles. It's really easy to do and only takes a few minutes. Just undo the ten bolts on the inspection cover and catch all the dirty oil in a pan. Wipe out the residual crud, put a new gasket on, bolt the cover on ( or clean and paint it if you are finicky like me. )and undo the small allen-key plug on the side. Squirt in a bottle and 1/2 of Mobil 1 gear oil and put the plug back in. You are done!

Hey IrocZgrl88. Did that "limited slip additive" work at all?

Thanks

Thanks Knight Warrior, I have one last question. I am a bit concerned about the seal on the inspection cover. Because I live in Ireland I can't get a replacement seal too easily so would it be okay to get some gasket paper from an autoparts store and cut it to size or have you to use a special gasket?
Thanks.

lot of people use RTV and no gasket

I just changed my rear axle gear oil and I never use the gaskets. I use permatex blue rtv silicone sealant. It has never let me down. Hope this helps.

The limited slip additive is required for posi rears...it's an anti-friction fluid.

I've changed both my rear end and tranny oils a few times. I probably should do it more frequently. I use 100% synthetic oils in them these days. Mobil 1, Redline, Royal Purple.

I have a 9-bolt rear end in my car, and I just use the synthetic lube in there with no additive. The LS additive is already built into the synthetic oils.

I too have used no gasket, just RTV, but I prefer using the gasket and RTV. No leaks.

Using the synthetics gives me some extra margin for being sloppy in not getting around to change the oil that frequently.

The gasket works best with Permatex Tack & Seal gasket sealer applied to both sides of the gasket. Mine doesn't leak at all.
As far as a gasket goes, I bet you could by one over the internet from numerous online parts suppliers.