Rear axle service.

[HVAC2]

Yesterday I had the dealer perform rear axle service at 28000 miles. She shows 17k with the ATC behind it. With that and comments on this forum that factory Fluid is weak at best, I thought best to get it out.129.00 later I look at the invoice and they evacuated it. I thought the dif cover had to be removed? Seems the easy way out?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

[nukegm]

comrade - in my o , its better to pop the cover off - at least for the first fluid change. you get more fluid out, can inspect the diff, and can see if there are any pieces of debris in the bottom of the housing... it is good that you changed a good deal of the fluid though. cheers!

 

[GrantP]

That is definitely the easy way out, and not very effective at removing the metal. I'd suggest changing it yourself at your leisure, it's very simple with the reusable gasket.

 

[bcbender]

I forgot to do mine last weekend when I did the 15k service, How far should one drive it to warm the oil adequately to ensure a good drain? I will put AMS Severe Gear 75W90 in and would like to get as much of the OE crap out as possible... Ima do both ends at the same time, any pitfalls with pulling the front diff cover? Also TQ spec 30lbft?

 

[nukegm]

I forgot to do mine last weekend when I did the 15k service, How far should one drive it to warm the oil adequately to ensure a good drain? I will put AMS Severe Gear 75W90 in and would like to get as much of the OE crap out as possible... Ima do both ends at the same time, any pitfalls with pulling the front diff cover? Also TQ spec 30lbft?

i just snugged the bolts by feel. i recall 30 ft lbs is close to what i read. i only have a 1/2 drive torque wrench - it doesnt go that low...if you seldom use 4x4 might blow off the front diff till next time. my fluid in the front was new looking at 25k when i changed it. the factory rear fluid was like black water at 26k. doesnt take long to warm up either... also try to clean rear diff with a hose or something before pulling cover. there was some dirt stuck on the top of my diff that woudnt have been there if i scrubbed it off first. cheers!

 

[HVAC2]

i just snugged the bolts by feel. i recall 30 ft lbs is close to what i read. i only have a 1/2 drive torque wrench - it doesnt go that low...if you seldom use 4x4 might blow off the front diff till next time. my fluid in the front was new looking at 25k when i changed it. the factory rear fluid was like black water at 26k. doesnt take long to warm up either... also try to clean rear diff with a hose or something before pulling cover. there was some dirt stuck on the top of my diff that woudnt have been there if i scrubbed it off first. cheers!

That is definitely the easy way out, and not very effective at removing the metal. I'd suggest changing it yourself at your leisure, it's very simple with the reusable gasket.

My take is it's a box checked off for the 8/125k max care. Too bad they can't do it correctly and if it fails it's on Ram. Time will tell and I hope it doesn't leave us stranded due to incompetence.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Hearing about the poor quality of the OE fluid and replaced with same if I read correctly. HMMMMMM

Cover should have been removed to get as much of the fluid out.

I drive mine to operating temps and pull cover and let drain a minimum of several hours and also soak up the part that is left inside on bottom of diff housing.

 

[crazy jerry]

if your able to do it yourself then you should do it yourself. why rely on somebody else.
seems i pulled my cover off at 800mi. not that i hated mopar oil but theres no reason to let wear material run through the bearings any longer than as little as possible

 

[HVAC2]

Hearing about the poor quality of the OE fluid and replaced with same if I read correctly. HMMMMMM

Cover should have been removed to get as much of the fluid out.

Not sure what they used, no detail on brand of gear lube.

I drive mine to operating temps and pull cover and let drain a minimum of several hours and also soak up the part that is left inside on bottom of diff housing.

 

[Wiredawg]

I still perform scheduled maintenance on my 5500, Jeep, MH, and LRE, but not on my wife's Ram 1500. I do zero maintenance on it, all maintenance is done at the dealer.

If you're not happy, go back and talk to the dealer and see if there is a compromise. Tell them your concerns about metal particles. See what happens.

Let us know. Cheers, Ron

 

[HVAC2]

I still perform scheduled maintenance on my 5500, Jeep, MH, and LRE, but not on my wife's Ram 1500. I do zero maintenance on it, all maintenance is done at the dealer.

If you're not happy, go back and talk to the dealer and see if there is a compromise. Tell them your concerns about metal particles. See what happens.

Let us know. Cheers, Ron

Calling tomorrow. Thank you.

 

[GroundSquirrel]

lol. My 2016 3500 went 98k miles on the factory rear diff fluid before changing and Im yanking a trailer around with my horses and cattle almost weekly. Only reason I changed out the fluid was because I drove from Ca to Missouri twice this summer hauling equipment. I did not see any evidence of extreme wear whatsoever.

 

[Wiredawg]

lol. My 2016 3500 went 98k miles on the factory rear diff fluid before changing and Im yanking a trailer around with my horses and cattle almost weekly. Only reason I changed out the fluid was because I drove from Ca to Missouri twice this summer hauling equipment. I did not see any evidence of extreme wear whatsoever.

I've not changed factory fill of anything earlier than prescribed in the OM maint schedule and never had a problem. I just don't typically comment when folks mention changing it out before recommended. To each their own.

 

[Learjet]

I would think the magnet on the drain plug would capture most of the metal particles. I did my rear axle at 20,000 miles and it looked normal to me.

 

[Cummins12V98]

I would think the magnet on the drain plug would capture most of the metal particles. I did my rear axle at 20,000 miles and it looked normal to me.

There is not a drain plug. Fill plug sets above the fluid line.

Reusable gasket is just that! It simply works great, never a leak.

 

[bcbender]

There is not a drain plug. Fill plug sets above the fluid line.

You just have to park on a reeeealy steep slope to drain it...

 

[Learjet]

There is not a drain plug. Fill plug sets above the fluid line.

Reusable gasket is just that! It simply works great, never a leak.

yes I know I changed it myself...mis-spoke ....thanks for correcting me

There is a magnet on the fill plug. When I changed it out I found no debris at the bottom of the housing....everything seemed to be on the fill plug magnet.

 

[HVAC2]

It's standard protocol according to dealer. They don't remove the dif cover. Meets warranty requirements for max care as well.

Go figure?!

 

[bcbender]

They don't remove the dif cover. Meets warranty requirements for max care as well.

Well, since they are putting exactly the same type of oil in (grade / mfg, / etc) they assume some residual oil is not enough to hurt the longevity under normal use and its alot faster and less risk of a leak for the tech... Makes you wonder if they did their service interval setting based on a % new oil change vs. a complete oil change? FWIW, my 350 in my 1992 ski boat gets the oil sucked out of the dipstick every year and I never get all 5qts out.. but it doesn't get worked as hard as our rear axles...

 

[Cummins12V98]

There is a reusable gasket there for a reason!