mopar rear end oil

[TCDiesel]

Lube

Originally posted by jman

Am I reading this right? The stock diff covers now have a gasket so you don't have to fool with the permatex anymore or am I misunderstanding something.



If so do you have to buy new gaskets at every change or are they reusable.



Sorry for the silly questions, but it is Monday. [/QUOTE



Yes, it is a reusable gasket . BE CAREFUL NOT TO USE ANY TYPE OF GASKET ADHESIVES. You could ruin it on the next removal

 

[TCDiesel]

rbattelle, I don"t known what they call it, But its steel with a rubber encasement,It is a robust gasket.

 

[jman]

Thats awesome. That was my main complaint on the Dana axles. I hate permatex. With a gasket it either seals or it doesn't. With permatex you better be on the ball or you are sure to have a leak. Of course the answer is a Mag-Hytec, but I haven't gotten that far in the BOMB's yet.

 

[Buffalo]

Mopar front/rear gear oil

Called American Axle the other day to see what they recommend. They told me that the Mopar GL-5 75WX90 (fully synthetic) is made for them by Texaco and that it was a specially designed oil made specifically for these axles. It was not supposed to be an "off-the-shelf" oil. Next, I called the local Texaco distributor and got to speak with the sales rep. Told him what American Axle said and He said He would call American Axle and see what was going on, and get back with me. The Rep. called me back this afternoon and told me that the oil that A. A. is using is in fact an "off-the -shelf" product (Texaco Synstar GL-5 75WX90-fully synthetic). He said it is the "factory fill" for American Axle and that those axles are shipped "wet" to Dodge. The product is only sold to us in 5 gal. pails for $121. 45 ($6. 07/qt. ) I checked around the local dealerships for the 05102232AA. The "high" price was $23. 11/qt. and the "low" price was $20. 00/qt. After "haggling" I got the price down to $15. 34/qt. So I bought it. $107. 38/7 qts. Then I got home and received the message from the Texaco Rep. FWIW Chevy uses these axles in some of their trucks, also. So i thought I'd give the Chevy dealers a try and see if I could get it any cheaper. One of the dealers was $29. 02/qt. and the other was a whopping $34. 00

 

[Buffalo]

Mopar front/rear gear oil

Hello, again. Sorry for being so long-winded. Had to start a second reply. Amer. Axle also said that the front axle(9-1/4") took 2. 9 qts. and the rear axle (11-1/2") took 3-1/2 qts. He also said that "it was O. K. to fill to the bottom of the fill hole"???. He also said NOT to use the 75W-140, from Texaco. It is not "fully synthetic" and does not work as well as the GL-5, 75W-90, that we have been talking about. The Texaco Rep. also told me that if I, or anyone else, had anymore questions that they had a good information line, l-800-LUB-ETEK. Hope this helps. I'm not sure if Amer. Axle or the Texaco Rep. was right. The A. A. guy insisted that this was a "unique oil" used "only" in the A. A. axles. The Texaco Rep. couldn't, due to legal reasons, say that this was an "off-the-shelf" oil but, it was pretty easy to figure out what He was trying to tell me. It really sounds,to me, like the Synstar is the same stuff. O. K. , I think I'm finally done!

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

There is nothing that I know about these axles to make them need something special in oil. In contrast, the NV4500 "needs" a special oil to keep temp low, protect gears and synchros, etc. The use of 75-90 syn by AA is mostly to give a bit better fuel mileage, I suspect. I refilled mine with LE 607 when I put on the Mag Hytec.



I suggest you check the backlash. Ideal is . 006-. 007" but some come through outside that window, even at the allowable min-max of . 003-. 010". The former will cause the gears to run quite hot, and the latter makes them more prone to cracking on shock loading.

 

[adsharpe]

The owner's manual specifies 75W-90 synthetic GL-5. Why trouble yourself further? If the AA axle requires a "special" lube, then it's a piece of crap. The manual does not specify a Mopar part no.



What I put in looked and smelled way better than the thin, dirty gray crap I took out at 2800 miles.

 

[rbattelle]

Well, if the owners manual just says "75W-90 GL-5 synthetic", seems to me that ANY 75W-90 synthetic you put in is acceptable.



I'm torn here. On the one hand, I don't want DC to deny my warranty if my axle should sieze up in 5000 miles. On the other hand, I don't want to pay the eye-gougingly ridiculous price of $20/quart for their snake oil.



What do we do?

 

[adsharpe]

Originally posted by rbattelle

Well, if the owners manual just says "75W-90 GL-5 synthetic", seems to me that ANY 75W-90 synthetic you put in is acceptable.



I'm torn here. On the one hand, I don't want DC to deny my warranty if my axle should sieze up in 5000 miles. On the other hand, I don't want to pay the eye-gougingly ridiculous price of $20/quart for their snake oil.



What do we do?

Well, I put in Shell Spirax S, at less than $5. qt. in 5 gal. pail. It is rated by the major heavy duty truck guys for up to 750k in rears and trannies - Rockwell, Eaton, Meritor - etc.



I would have used Mobil synthetic but it is not so rated.



I think it would be difficult for DC to argue that an oil which met those rigorous standards wasn't good enough for that piece of crap AA rear.



Since DC lost 1. 9 BILLION this last quarter and 1. 3BILLION the quarter before, you may well not have to worry about a warranty situation.



Also, if you have a problem and your dealer is like my dealer, they'll deny your warranty claim anyway at first.



Find out your State's Lemon Laws and use them.

 

[Casey Balvert]

I would feel a lot better using a synthetic 75W140 oil in my axle because of my heavy trailer. Is there any downside to using the heavier grade as long as it is GL5 synthetic? I have been considering Royal Purple as they are one of the few manufacturers of the heavier synthetic.



I would think if DC was that hung up about the oil in the rear axle they would not have been so "generic" in the owner's manual.



Casey

 

[ttreibel]

Casey the plus side of using 75-140 your bearings will last much longer one possible negative your seals may leak sooner, with that said I have Royal Purple 75-140 behind my new Mag-Hytec cover took almost 8 quarts.



BTW when you make the switch buy 2 more quarts then you think you need. I would get 6 if you are keeping the standard cover.