2014 ram 3500 cab and chassis pinon seal

[ckkoch09]

Hi all, I have a question about my 2014 ram 3500 cab and chassis truck. I have a rear pinon seal that only leaks when I am towing my living quarters horse trailer. It doesn't leak at all empty driving around. The trailer doesn't squat the truck down very much and the trailer is normally in the 10k-12k weight range on the scale when towing. When I ask the shop they say these things do this every once in a while and if they quit leaking they are not bad. This truck does it everytime I tow. I don't notice the truck working very hard towing the trailer. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[MudChucker]

Get a new seal installed and be done with it. Be sure and use a qua seal and not some offshore cheapy... My dad would tell you to put a little sawdust in the diff and forget about it...

 

[mjbjw77]

Sounds like the preload was loose, sloppy assembly line. Any gear whine?

 

[jhenderson]

Check the vent just to be sure. Towing raises the fluid temp enough to pressurize the diff if the vent isn't clean. It's a rubber hose that runs up from the diff and clips to the body or frame. It has a one way vent fitting on the upper end. Mud, wasps or other debris may plug the fitting.

 

[ckkoch09]

I have checked the vent and it is good, no gear whine that I can hear on the truck.

 

[Kirwin]

Does it actually drip on the ground? These leaks are usually more nuisance than real problems.

 

[ckkoch09]

This last trip we went 225 miles with the horse trailer. We stopped for dinner about 1/2 way thru the trip and when we were done eating there was a silver dollar sized puddle on the ground. We finished the trip and the next morning there was no oil on the ground just wet at the pinon seal area. Two days later we drove back home and the rear end by the pinon seal was wet but not dripping on the ground. I wiped it off and have been driving it empty and I have not seen any evidence of it leaking again. It seems to repeat this pattern with no leaking empty then leaking when towing. I removed the vent hose and all the fittings when I got home after that to make sure it was not a plugged vent hose and all that was fine.