Axle fluid change every 15,000 miles!!!!!!!???

[BBowers]

I am thoroughly disappointed to have found out recently that my 2005 drw ram 3500 cummins 4x4 needs the front and rear American Axholes fluid changed every 15k miles. This is ridiculous!!! I think all of the Fords I owned required it every 100k miles, and no more than 50k doing heavy towing. At $179. 00 to do it at the Dodge dealer and $125. 00 at a quickie place, this is insane. Is this really required? Anybody run AA 3:73's in a similar truck and get away with going a long time between changes? I run light truck all of the time with no serious plans for towing anytime soon. I do lots of city driving and keep my speed below 70 on the hwy. I live in flatlands too, so what gives?

 

[jwilliams3]

I would do it once early after break-in, say about 15k.

Then fill with a good synthetic gear oil and leave it for another 50k.

 

[99Supercab]

I think most ppl are doing the first change at 15K with a quaility syn fluid(which is what the factory fluid is) and then going 30K to the next. Do it yourself, both axles are easy to do and have a reusable gasket. Depending on what fluid you use, shouldn`t cost you over $60 to do it yourself per axle. I just changed mine for the first time at 17K, used Mobil 1 syn 75w90 fluid, cost me $38. The rear axle takes 122 oz, or just shy of 4 quarts.

 

[mberry]

What 99 said except I chose Royal Purple gear lube for my truck. If you are driving it like you say BBowers, then I would change it at 15K, use a very high quality synthetic of your choice, then not worry about it for 50K or so. At least that's what I would do.

 

[barbwire]

Hey fellas, couldn't we take differential samples, the same as sampling the engines, and change according to the results? At least a person would maybe feel a little better about running longer if the results said "oil OK" right?

 

[Nate]

I change mine out every 15k. The Jeep usually once a year, which is like every 3k.

Oil is cheap, new parts aren't.

 

[mlewis73]

I am thoroughly disappointed to have found out recently that my 2005 drw ram 3500 cummins 4x4 needs the front and rear American Axholes fluid changed every 15k miles. This is ridiculous!!! I think all of the Fords I owned required it every 100k miles, and no more than 50k doing heavy towing. At $179. 00 to do it at the Dodge dealer and $125. 00 at a quickie place, this is insane. Is this really required? Anybody run AA 3:73's in a similar truck and get away with going a long time between changes? I run light truck all of the time with no serious plans for towing anytime soon. I do lots of city driving and keep my speed below 70 on the hwy. I live in flatlands too, so what gives?

Is this a 4x4 thing, or does it apply to 2 wheel drive trucks too?

 

[amsoilman]

I am thoroughly disappointed to have found out recently that my 2005 drw ram 3500 cummins 4x4 needs the front and rear American Axholes fluid changed every 15k miles. This is ridiculous!!! I think all of the Fords I owned required it every 100k miles, and no more than 50k doing heavy towing. At $179. 00 to do it at the Dodge dealer and $125. 00 at a quickie place, this is insane. Is this really required? Anybody run AA 3:73's in a similar truck and get away with going a long time between changes? I run light truck all of the time with no serious plans for towing anytime soon. I do lots of city driving and keep my speed below 70 on the hwy. I live in flatlands too, so what gives?

Here's what mine looked like after about 50K. I used a High quality synthetic 75W-90.





Wayne

amsoilman

 

[klenger]

What's really weird is that there is no recommended service what-so-ever for the NV5600 on schedule A or B, but 15k for the diffs.

 

[TowPro]

Wayne, ain't that a Dana?

 

[steved]

Wayne, ain't that a Dana?

You can see the keepers holding the adjusters in place... it's an AAM.



I also found it hard to take that there is NO change mileage for the 5600.



If you read schedule "A", the diffs are 30k, 15k is for HD service, at least that is what my 04 book shows. .



I ran mine almost 60k before changing them... I am one to believe that there isn't anything different betweent he AAM and Dana that would make the AAM "eat" gear oil... especially since they come with synthetic which is better than the dino oil the Danas came with... I changed to Mobile 1, I probably won't touch the diffs again until 120k.



steved

 

[TowPro]

I hope the rear in my 06 looks different then that one. I am hoping that report in the FAQ about torsen rears is correct

 

[steved]

I hope the rear in my 06 looks different then that one. I am hoping that report in the FAQ about torsen rears is correct

First, that one above appears to be an open diff... mine has big windows in it that you can see the drive gears of the posi.



Secondly, (and personally... remember this is only my opinion here) I think the "latest and greatest" LSD is a POS when compared to my old Power-Loc'd D70 or my dad's D80 LSD... the AAM LSDs need power input to get them to work, to get the "drive shoes" to actually create friction between the axleshafts, (the dana's being a preload type LSD already have friction even with no input)... the AAMs work the best when both tires have equal traction... they work the worst when the tires have very different traction... which is fine on the drag strip, but absolutely sucks in snow. Where I was able to take off in 2wd in my 99 (both rear tires pulling/spinning), I only get the classic AAM one wheelie peelie in the 04 . IMHO, the AAM LSD is only marginally better than an open diff... I was so happy when I got my truck, I was able to get one with an LSD... until the first snow storm that is... then I was like "where is it... did it fall out??" I even had it back at the dealer and they told me it was fine... "oh, really... that's a matter of opinion... "



steved

 

[DavidBurt]

Had mine changed by the dealer at 15K because imo there was alot of metal on the rear fill plug magnet. The dealer said everything was fine just running in and you can wait 40 or 50K to do it again. Like was said earlier it cost $180 plus tax for them to do it.

Dave

 

[Dieselhed]

I just did mine at 25K and the oil looked pretty darn good. Switched to Royal Purple and I'll wait 50K to do it again.

 

[99Supercab]

Is this a 4x4 thing, or does it apply to 2 wheel drive trucks too?

2wd or 4x4`s, doesn`t matter according to the manuel. Mines a 2wd.

 

[Buffalo]

I changed my axle fluids out, the first time, at 15,000 miles. The original oil was a greyish-green color with a fair amount of debris in it (normal wear-in material). It looked kind of nasty. Glad I changed it & wished I had done it sooner. I replaced the gear oil with Mopar gear oil.



20,000 miles later, I changed it again. It was MUCH cleaner & looked like it could have gone much further. This time I replaced it with RedLine 75w-90 at $7. 00/qt instead of $15. 70/qt. (good deal). The Mopar oil is supposed to be a Texaco product. My guess is that the RedLine is a superior product to the Mopar.



I will be stretching the change interval by quite a bit, judging by the looks of the second change.



I do, however, think the first change is a good idea from what I saw.



Rather than give the dealer that huge amount of money, if at all possible, try it yourself. It's not that hard & I'm no mechanic. If you are worried about this proceedure, see if there is a TDR or DTR member that would be able to help guide you through it. Lots of folks will do almost anything for a case of their favorite malt & hops beverage.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[TX Gooseneck]

I know I'll get piled on here, but I haven't changed mine yet. Just checked it and added if it was low (198k )

 

[amsoilman]

Wayne, ain't that a Dana?

Nope, it's AAM.





Wayne

amsoilman

 

[Van Blom]

Here's what mine looked like after about 50K. I used a High quality synthetic 75W-90.





Wayne

amsoilman

What brand of oil did you use? :-laf :-laf :-laf