Gear Oil Change With a Mag-Hytec Cover???

[Buffalo]

My truck is an '03, 3500, 4X4 with a Mag-Hytec AA 14-11. 5 rear diff. cover that was designed for the GM diff's. When I got mine, they did not have one dedicated to the Dodge. I'm planning on changing fluids in the near future.



My question is, do I need to take the cover off the diff. & clean out the inside of the differential or, just drain the fluid & install new fluid? Right now, I have RedLine 70-90 with about 40,000 miles, on it. I just checked the oil level stick & there was a bit of "fuzz" on the magnet but, the fluid still looked transparent (fairly clear). Didn't look dirty, at all.



The last two issues of the TDR had great articles about the NV-5600 written by Dr. Joe Donnelly. He has been using Torco RTF (Racing Transmission Fluid) in his NV-5600. He had the trans torn down & rebuilt to much higher standards. He documented all the trans. fluid changes & the inside of the trans looked pretty good. The syncro's were still in good shape indicating that the aftermarket fluids that he was using were working very well.



As usual, Dr. Donnelly's articles were written very well with lots of good, useful information & pictures. He answered many of my questions about this transmission & its fluids.



Joe F.

 

[Larry Willard]

When I change mine, just pull the drain plug, wipe off the stick and refill. I did that for 180000 miles on the last truck and doing the same on the new one with no problem.

Larry

 

[macdaddy]

Interesting finding this post. I just changed my rear diff oil (with Mag Hytec) the 75-140 I drained had been in there for over 65K miles. You could'nt even tell it was dirty. The Mopar 75/140 was $25. 00 a quart times eight. This stuff will be in there for 100K.



Mac

 

[Buffalo]

Thanks for the replies, guys.



Macdaddy,



The Mopar stuff is quite expensive. You might try another dealership. I found that there was a big price difference between dealers. For my Mopar transmission fluid, one dealer wanted $21. 00 & another sold it to me for a bit over $15. 00/quart. It pays to shop around!!!



Have you looked onto the Red Line product? They are supposed to build very high quality synthetics. I believe myoilshop.com had it for about $10. 00/quart. My guess is that it is a higher quality product than the Mopar stuff, which, I believe is made by Texaco. I know that the Mopar transmission fluid for the NV-5600 used to be, at least.



Mopar is smart, though. They won't allow Texaco to tell it's customers that their off the shelf product is re-bottled into a Mopar bottle & sold at a much higher price. I don't mind people making a profit but, Mopar is trying to get rich off of the selling of their fluids, it seems.



You may want to go to "bob is the oil guy.com" & read up on the Red Line gear oils. They are quite well thought of & there are a lot of folks on that site that are very knowledgeable on lubrication products.



Hope this helps.



Joe F.

 

[macdaddy]

Buff.....



I think your right. The trouble is when I get the urge to do something it's usually not planned. The Dodge dealer next to me usually has quite a bit of stuff in stock which makes it easy.



$200. 00 +/- seems reasonable to me, especially when were talking every 5 years.



Mac

 

[Slow Six]

I was using Redline in my differentials and transmission and had major failures on both. The Redline MTL does not have the Mopar spec number on the containers. The warranty on my reman transmission is not valid if the oil does not carry the spec number. At least for me, lesson learned. A less expensive oil may not be cheaper. I am not starting an oil war, just telling you my experience.

 

[Buffalo]

Macdaddy,



I know what you mean about geting the urge to do something.



Slow Six,



I'm sorry to hear of your problems with Red Line products. I don't doubt you but, have read of these products being of very high quality.



At my last gear oil change, I emailed Red Line & they recommended their MTL for use in the NV-5600. You may be right that it is NOT compatible. I really don't know.



What are you using now for diff. & trans. ? Have they been working well?



This past week, I phoned Standard Transmission & they recommended Amsoil for the refill. That's what they use & they install 7 quarts. Factory recommends 4 quarts. With coolers or filters on both sides of the NV-5600, they recommended 8 quarts. How many quarts are you using?



Good luck with your gears!!! Now, I'm worried about the Red Line!!!



Joe F.

 

[Slow Six]

I'm using the Mopar oils. I have a good partsman and I get a fair price. I am not taking any chances with the transmission as there is a good warranty on the Mopar Remans. As for my rear diff failure it sure looked like a lube failure to me. The Mopar transmission lube wasn't much more than I was paying for the Redline but the differential oil was a lot more, so is it a lot better? I don't know. I am on the end of a 5 week trip towing the 5er and so far all is well.

 

[Wingate]

I run Valvoline 75/140 synthetic in both front and rear. And with the differential covers... it will be in there for a VERY long time before I change it.

 

[macdaddy]

Slow Six



You are right about venturing away from factory fill oils. I have read alot on this over the years, especially when it comes to the NV 5600. The mopar oil works really really well.



Mac