What is the easiest way to change a 9" oil from diff?
Is unbolting the 3rd and removing the shafts the only way that I can think of?

Sorry for the stupid question but then again thats why its in the newbie section
Terrain is 50% mud 50% rocks, might need to change fairly often

That's the only way I ever seen it done :)
some might say put a drain plug in the bottom but you run the chance of scraping it all to shit

My 9" has a drain/fill hole on the side of the 3rd member. I will be buying myself a pump. IF you can find someone who know what they are doing then you wont have a problem getting a drain drilled in.

Stowe: Could you possibly provide a picture of your drain/fill valves as I would like to see it before I could attempt to Drill and tap the 9" housing
Much appreciated

I will take pics of it this weekend.

i think currie sells a drain plug kit. not sure what it consists of but it's prob just a pipe plug. i think i need a drain. last weekend i caused a small exxon valdize in my shop. the third was stuck to the housing with rtv. i tried to jack up the third but it lifted teh vehicle. i had teh nuts still on the end of the studs but the third let loose violently causing the jack to kick my oilpan out. lost all the gear oil on the shop floor. what do you know? only about a cup of "kitty litter" left to clean it up. wasn't fun.

Go to a small shop and tell them youve heard a lot of good things about them and ask them if they have an evacuator you can use to get the oil out and they might just drain it for you real quick for free. If you feel you need to flush it than yes pull the third. I wouldnt bother with a drainplug if you run any real rocks because they get messed up real quick. another thing that some people do (on a toy anyway not sure about a 9) is weld a couple nuts to the studs around the bottom and use them to drain the third, slow but it does work.

I drilled my housing and put in a 1/8" pipe plug. I dont have any pics. I drilled the hole at the back of the housing almost at the bottom. I was protected by the rest of the housing.

Go to any Lube shop and pay the $35 to have it serviced.

you could put a fill/drain hole at the axle center line. it'd be a hole about 3/4-1" in diameter with a plug. you'd use a pump to drain it, and it'd be easier to fill that the standard hole in the member.

Justin

one of my nines thirds has a fill hole in the third itself, you can pump out of it, my other nine has had a hole drilled and tapped on the back and bottom left of the center section.

Drilled and tapped mine 1/4"NPT with Allen heads, sits flush with the bottom of the housing.