If this doesn’t convince you…

[DinoNuggets]

My truck is at 4,998 miles. Did oil/filter change, rotated tires , inspect CVs.

Also drained and refilled front , rear , and transfer case fluids

My observations:

1) the rear diff was low. Also came out disgusting black with a hefty amount of metallic sheen in it.

2) Transfer case fluid looked ok , but the fill plug was so loose it wasn’t even torqued on.

3) Front diff looked totally fine

I’m not a scientist and a “visual” inspection of dirty fluid doesn’t mean much, but I’m glad I swapped out these fluids. Feels good knowing I have fresh fluids in there at the correct levels. In addition, was nice to torque the damn plugs properly .

Damnit Ram

 

[Drogon]

My truck is at 4,998 miles. Did oil/filter change, rotated tires , inspect CVs.

Also drained and refilled front , rear , and transfer case fluids

My observations:

1) the rear diff was low. Also came out disgusting black with a hefty amount of metallic sheen in it.

2) Transfer case fluid looked ok , but the fill plug was so loose it wasn’t even torqued on.

3) Front diff looked totally fine

I’m not a scientist and a “visual” inspection of dirty fluid doesn’t mean much, but I’m glad I swapped out these fluids. Feels good knowing I have fresh fluids in there at the correct levels. In addition, was nice to torque the damn plugs properly .

Damnit Ram

What are the torque specs for these plugs?

 

[DinoNuggets]

What are the torque specs for these plugs?

We used the torque specs for a TRX , 18 on the diffs and transfer , 20 on oil pan . But I’ve dropped my torque wrench so many times I’m certain there is no actual difference between 18-20 on my particular wrench.
I’m just a weekend tinkerer not a professional mechanic, so “close enough “ is close enough for me

 

[RamFan]

What are the torque specs for these plugs?

Goodntight

Nothing extreme…if you’ve worked on cars long enough…it’s not a torque sensitive part, just don’t over do it and strip it.

Chris

 

[Santino]

Is anyone taking off the skid plate to drain the front differential??...I haven't had a good look at it yet.

 

[RHOfan]

Is anyone taking off the skid plate to drain the front differential??...I haven't had a good look at it yet.

This may help you…

 

[gram10]

Is anyone taking off the skid plate to drain the front differential??...I haven't had a good look at it yet.

no, i did not

 

[Smedly]

Wasn’t all doom and gloom. Took off my fill plug and fluid started leaking so mine was fully filled. Color when draining wasn’t all that bad but both the fill and drain plug had plenty of fine metal shavings so I guess the change was worthwhile. Have just over 5000 miles. Took just over 2.5 quarts. Didn’t use any pump to replace the fluid and it was fine. The fill plug took no effort to remove but the drain plug was on tight. Definitely take the fill plug out first!

 

[ScooterInTX]

For those that aren't doing this themselves, what's the dealer quoting you? Mine is asking $275 each!

 

[Banger]

For those that aren't doing this themselves, what's the dealer quoting you? Mine is asking $275 each!

That sounds about right. I believe one member a while back said he paid about $1100 for both differentials and a transfer case fluid change.

 

[Scottie2Hottie]

For those that aren't doing this themselves, what's the dealer quoting you? Mine is asking $275 each!

I purchased all the fluid myself (roughly $350) and paid a local service shop who specializes in high end vehicles to perform the work. They charged me $200 labor.

 

[DinoNuggets]

I got front, rear, and transfer case fluids from Blauparts. About $190 for those, plus another $70 for Pennzoil via Amazon, plus another $12 for OEM Mopar filter from the local dealer. I have access to a shop / lift / air tools / cousin that works for free food so that's cheating on my part.

 

[dasstrum]

Did the rear diff diff fluid yesterday and made a rookie mistake. Maybe jinxed myself by asking this thread earlier this week if the gasket is reusable.

Anyways, I drained the old oil, definitely grey color, smelled bad, then started pumping new oil in with an Amazon hand pump that worked pretty well. BUT, the end of the tube had a black plastic nozzle with little “keepers” on the end. That got pushed into the diff too far and when I pulled the tube out, the plastic nozzle fell off INTO THE FUCKING DIFF! Damn it! Got new oil, tried to find a replacement gasket but apparently only one dealer in CA has it and it’s nowhere near me. So I pulled off the cover, removed the plastic nozzle from inside the diff, reinstalled, and filled back up.

So far so good. Lesson learned. 20 minute job turned into 2 and a half hours

Hah, reminds me of a panic inducing situation of mine that happened to me...

I was changing the rear diff fluid on my Isuzu NPR diesel box truck... the rear axle on these things hold 23 quarts of fluid.

I was under the truck and pulled out the drain bolt which splashed down into the oil catch pan. No worries I always get it out when it finishes draining.

Well.... I was under the truck and noticed the oil was coming out MUCH faster than the top part of the oil catch pan could keep up with and was about to the point of overflowing onto my driveway. I panicked and didn't want to submerge my hand into 5 inches of hot gear fluid to scavenge for the bolt so I decided in the moment to stick my finger into the drain hole because the fluid was about to crest over the top of the catch pan....

WELLLL.... the hole on the drain plug is fairly large... just large enough for my finger to go into it past the second knuckle.... and it got stuck.... like really stuck. This was at 10pm and my wife already went to bed (she wasn't feeling well) and my neighbor next door wasn't home and my phone was about 10' away out of reach.... instant panic.

Anyways - I was under the truck for what seemed like forever trying to ease my finger back out of the drain plug hole all... meanwhile my finger is getting swollen from all the back and fourth. Anyways.... I finally just committed to rock my finger back and fourth with the threads to basically cut grooved in my finger and eventually got it out....

Talk about crazy time because also - the rear diff was just high enough I had to elevate my head and neck off the ground to reach it so the entire time I was stuck I had to "hold myself" up in the air.... NEVER again and lesson learned!

 

[Robflo]

All RHO owners…get that rear differential fluid changed! Max miles would be 5000. 2500 miles is probably not too early.

Changed mined yesterday at 5082 miles & it glopped out of the drain hole like chunky maple syrup. Loaded with metal shavings (see photo). The new fluid is nearly clear…the old stuff looked like liquid graphite & smelled horrible. Even found a few chunks of cast iron (biggest was 1/4 pea size), likely left over from the axle housing manufacturing process.

It’s an easy job…easier than an oil change, since there is no filter. You’ll need 3 qts of 75W-140 synthetic ($20/qt for Mopar brand)…but you’ll only use 2 1/4 qt, unless you drip a little like I did. Drain plug is 1/4” drive, fill plug 3/8”. No plug sealant needed…the drain plug has a sealing washer & fill plug fits nice & snug on the rear cover.

Pro-tip: Make sure your fill plug is removed (not just loosened) while draining. It flows 3x better!

All RHO owners…get that rear differential fluid changed! Max miles would be 5000. 2500 miles is probably not too early.

Changed mined yesterday at 5082 miles & it glopped out of the drain hole like chunky maple syrup. Loaded with metal shavings (see photo). The new fluid is nearly clear…the old stuff looked like liquid graphite & smelled horrible. Even found a few chunks of cast iron (biggest was 1/4 pea size), likely left over from the axle housing manufacturing process.

It’s an easy job…easier than an oil change, since there is no filter. You’ll need 3 qts of 75W-140 synthetic ($20/qt for Mopar brand)…but you’ll only use 2 1/4 qt, unless you drip a little like I did. Drain plug is 1/4” drive, fill plug 3/8”. No plug sealant needed…the drain plug has a sealing washer & fill plug fits nice & snug on the rear cover.

Pro-tip: Make sure your fill plug is removed (not just loosened) while draining. It flows 3x better!

I am a maintenance nut and I totally agree. There’s nothing wrong with changing it out. I’ll make sure I take mine out after the first 3000 miles thanks for sharing.

 

[Robflo]

You should not have to. I changed my rear end fluid on my brand new 9" after about 4k miles on it and it looked A LOT better than what @RHOfan had. The company said after that, maybe every 25-30k miles or so.

Chris

Hey, if it’s easy enough and it doesn’t take that much time and if somebody’s a weekend renter why not change it out every 5000 miles I don’t see it being that big of a pain in the neck

 

[RHOfan]

Hey, if it’s easy enough and it doesn’t take that much time and if somebody’s a weekend renter why not change it out every 5000 miles I don’t see it being that big of a pain in the neck

It’s crazy easy, unless you have trouble getting down or up from the floor.

 

[Metallikahn]

Been meaning to do this on the rear diff for about the last 5000 miles. Had the oil sitting on the shelf ready to go since September, but just finally had an opportunity this morning where I had both time and motivation.

As others have mentioned, a little hand held fluid transfer pump with a flex hose on it would be handy, but not necessary. I just squeezed as much as I could from the three mopar bottles I had, then combined the remaining into one bottle and squeezed again. Started flowing out with just shy of 1/2 quart remaining, so all good.

To be honest, at 10K miles I thought my factory oil looked pretty good. Wasn't cloudy, very little for shavings I could see, nothing bigger than table salt. I probably would've been fine going the recommended interval before changing. Oh well. Good to go for the long haul now.

Hopefully the recalls on the cluster and 2-3 missed software updates I'm currently having done, go as well! Lol

 

[deeve]

I think the answer is it's fine, but any problem with going full Amsoil for both axles and the diff? Read through this and it seems the diff requires some special gold infused stuff from MOPAR. Amsoil is an easy one stop shop and seems like a good product, but I am never been die by the brand kind of person.

 

[Faze]

My truck is at 4,998 miles. Did oil/filter change, rotated tires , inspect CVs.

Also drained and refilled front , rear , and transfer case fluids

My observations:

1) the rear diff was low. Also came out disgusting black with a hefty amount of metallic sheen in it.

2) Transfer case fluid looked ok , but the fill plug was so loose it wasn’t even torqued on.

3) Front diff looked totally fine

I’m not a scientist and a “visual” inspection of dirty fluid doesn’t mean much, but I’m glad I swapped out these fluids. Feels good knowing I have fresh fluids in there at the correct levels. In addition, was nice to torque the damn plugs properly .

Damnit Ram

the diffs - is it something ram does under warranty, or is it maintainance like oil changes? it seems it should last longer than 5000 miles

 

[Sweptfever214]

the diffs - is it something ram does under warranty, or is it maintainance like oil changes? it seems it should last longer than 5000 miles

No u j pay for them to service them. I did my rear at 5k they said it looked like it had 40k miles on it