Threads onto a standard 28mm quart bottle and pumps gear oil, ATF, or diff fluid straight into a fill hole you can't pour into, with a clip that holds the hose in place while you pump.
If you are lying under a truck trying to fill a differential, a transfer case or a manual gearbox through a side fill plug, a bare quart bottle is the wrong tool. The fill hole sits above the bottle, gravity works against you, and most of the oil ends up on the frame rail and your sleeve. This 8cc quart-bottle pump threads onto the bottle itself and pushes the fluid uphill through a hose, so the bottle stays upright on the ground and every drop goes into the case.
The pump head screws onto the standard 28mm cap thread used on most quart oil bottles. A suction tube drops into the bottle, and each push of the plunger moves about 8cc of fluid out through a 17-inch flexible fill hose. Two suction tube lengths come in the bag, one long and one short, so you can pick the one that reaches the bottom of the bottle you are using and pull it close to empty. The black clip on the end of the hose is the 3rd Hand Adapter: it wedges into the fill hole and holds the hose there, so one hand works the pump and the other is free to hold a light or catch a drip. The listing rates it for gear oil up to 80W-90 as well as ATF and differential fluid.
On a gear case with a fill plug, the plug hole is the level check. Park on level ground with all wheels down, clean around the plug before you pull it, and pump until fluid just starts to come out of the hole. Freightliner and Sterling service literature for Dana Spicer and Meritor drive axles is blunt about this: oil you can see or touch with a finger is not full, the level has to reach the bottom edge of the fill hole. If you drained the case, count strokes or quarts against the capacity in your service information so you know you are close before you start watching for the overflow. For a refresher on doing the drain side of the job cleanly, see our drain and fill walkthrough, and if the old fluid looks or smells wrong, compare it against our fluid color and smell chart before you button it back up.
The pump does not care what is in the bottle, but the gearbox does. Most hypoid differentials want a GL-5 gear oil in the grade on the cover tag or in the owner's manual, plus friction modifier if it is a clutch-type limited slip. Many manual transmissions and transfer cases are different: Red Line points out that most GL-5 differential oils are too slippery for synchromesh gearboxes and that its MT-90 is a GL-4 75W-90 meant for those units. If your manual box calls for a GL-4 fluid, the Red Line MT-90 quart and the Royal Purple Synchromax quart both come in bottles this pump threads straight onto.
This is a quart-at-a-time tool. Sealed automatic transmissions that fill through a check plug and take several quarts are faster with a reservoir pump and threaded adapters, such as our 3L manual ATF fill pump. Heavier fluids than 80W-90, like 85W-140, will pump slowly or not at all, especially in a cold garage; warm the bottle in a bucket of hot water first or use a larger lever pump. Browse the rest of our transmission and driveline tools for extractors and fill adapters.
Gear oil left in the pump thickens and gums up the check valves. After each job, pump a little mineral spirits through it, then hot soapy water, and let it drain before it goes back in the reclosable bag. Keep one pump for gear oil and a separate one for ATF if you want to avoid cross-contaminating a transmission with sulfur-heavy gear lube. While the axle is open, it is also a good time to look at the vent; a clogged breather pushes oil out past seals, and a relocated breather kit keeps water out on trucks that see deep water.
| Output | 8cc per pump stroke |
| Fits | Standard quart bottles, 28mm cap |
| Fill hose | 17 in flexible tube with 3rd Hand Adapter |
| Suction tubes | Long and short included |
| Max viscosity | 80W-90 gear oil |
| Use | Gear oil, ATF, and differential fluid transfer |
It threads onto the standard 28mm cap used on most quart gear oil and ATF bottles. Some brands use an oversized or a proprietary neck; check that your bottle cap is the common narrow size before you buy fluid for the job.
The listing rates it for gear oil up to 80W-90. Heavier grades are too thick for a small hand pump, especially when cold. Warming the bottle in hot water helps, but for heavy 140-weight oil a larger lever-style pump is the better choice.
With the vehicle level, fill until fluid begins to seep out of the fill hole. The level must reach the bottom edge of the hole; being able to touch the oil with a fingertip is not full.
Yes, it handles ATF. For a sealed automatic that needs several quarts through a threaded check port, a reservoir pump with screw-in adapters is quicker and seals better at the port.
At about 8cc per stroke, a US quart (roughly 946cc) takes on the order of 120 strokes, about half what a 4cc pump needs. Thick, cold oil will take longer.
