Have you are that roar?

[cwf]

I had a 2004 Suburban.. no noise at all... middle of nowhere Texas.. gave some gas to climb the hill.. and it makes a noise then starts slowing down... barely got to a stopping place. I knew it was the diff...

Turns out GM was waiting for this serial range to fail... hmmmmmmm Repaired 'for free', minus having my family endangered, extra time off work to pick it up after 'repair'... geez..

And, yes, I am a maintenance freak... this was only the second time any of my vehicles left me stranded.

I have rebuilt differentials before.. and I know how to set preload, gear mesh, crush sleeve... etc.. I have replaced worn bearings with 'offset' bearings to move the bearing surface further out on the axle shaft where there is usually zero wear... saved a couple hundred per axle for $50. But, not in the middle of nowhere, Texas or Louisiana...

Glad you guys had your AS guardian angel following ya.. Keep on Truckin'

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by badkat

Yes, thank you. Life throws us all punches. We are leaving and going back E to College Station. A year and a half ago our son the Aggie moved back to his love CS. He has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and we are going back to stay how long it takes. We love our boy so much. We can fix our truck. Please keep your thoughts and prayers with us. It is just money. On our way back Wedenesday. Love you guys.

Of course you probably know this, but most occurrences of thyroid cancer are very treatable cancers with a phenomenal cure rate.

Prayers!


Talis gentium ceciderunt.

[crispyboy]

The axle in your 2007 truck was manufactured by American Axle. The recommendation is 15k oil changes with synthetic oil. The gasket on the cover is reusable so the job isn't too tough.
There are also aftermarket differential covers that have a drain plug in the bottom and a site glass for the fluid check.
http://www.mag-hytec.com/

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by crisen

You didn't say what year your Dodge is but I guess I would looking at your maintenance schedule in the owners manual to see what is recommended. With the high load from towing the the oil will breakdown resulting in excessive wear. Gear oil is a lot cheaper than a rebuild.

The oil is synthetic, no break down, the carrier bearings are big around but are a about 1/2 " wide one of the weak links?

[badkat]

There have been recalls on diffs just not ours..seems like 2010-12. If you have one you might call a dealer.

Our son's cancer seems very treatable. Jackson, my husband, had colon rectal 8 years ago and I still get to kick him around today...hehe.

[J. Morgan]

I am glad to hear both accounts of your good news!


Talis gentium ceciderunt.

[CDONA]

I bought a used '02 Ram 2500 CTD @ 152k miles. To get it ready for my travels I had the tranny beefed up and added a limited slip diff. When they opened up the diff they found a torn up shim that spacers the axle going into the gear set. Half in place, half laying on the bottom.

[twolanehwy]

Probably built on a Monday....

[JCWDCW]

From now on change the Diff fluid every 30000 Miles or sooner, if you do mostly pulling. Be sure they use synthetic fluid and if you have limited slip be sure they put the anti-slip lube package in it also. My Dakota is now 13 years old has 217000Km and I change the fluids every 50000Km. I switched to synthetic fluid on the first major service and the gears still look perfect and new. Dodge is not known for failed Rear Diff's but it can happen. BTW I bought the Dodge because several friend had major failures of rear diff and tranny's after the warranty ran out on their Chev trucks...and I have been a Chevy guy my whole life!
JCW

[badkat]

The Red Sled is back. I pulled out the August 2015 invoice and the pinion seal was replaced then. Is there only one pinion seal and is it on it where the drive shaft comes into or the pumpkin itself?

Just to understand..everything is fixed and we will be changing diff every 30,000. Love our Red Sled.

Thanks for all the help and I am not a fan of west Texas. You drive forever and there is nothing but a bunch of pump jacks. Who am I to say..some guys must really like it here.

Thanks once again for listening to me whine. I need to put on my happy and strong face and I know our son, Bret will get through this. It always could be worse.

til next time, BadKat

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by badkat

The Red Sled is back. I pulled out the August 2015 invoice and the pinion seal was replaced then. Is there only one pinion seal and is it on it where the drive shaft comes into or the pumpkin itself?

Just to understand..everything is fixed and we will be changing diff every 30,000. Love our Red Sled.

Thanks for all the help and I am not a fan of west Texas. You drive forever and there is nothing but a bunch of pump jacks. Who am I to say..some guys must really like it here.

Thanks once again for listening to me whine. I need to put on my happy and strong face and I know our son, Bret will get through this. It always could be worse.

til next time, BadKat

There is only one pinion, and pinion seal, per differential. If it's a 2wd, there is only one. If it is 4wd, there are 2, one for each axle assembly.

Not that it matters, but this weekend, I will be replacing the pinion seal in our tow vehicle, as well as the one in my boss's SUV. This seems to be the season for it.

[badkat]

It is 2wd so is it located at the drive shaft?

[ijustlee]

The pinion seal is right behind the U joint at the differential and keeps the oil in. The lip of the seal usually rides on the rear of the flange that the U joint fits to and is what I consider an "iffy" repair. I wouldn't buy a vehicle with a leaky seal unless the price was such that I could replace the axle assembly. When rear ends are assembled there are several critical adjustments one of which is the correct torque on the pinion nut. It is best to never mess with this nut once the rear end is put together. This is more of an issue on some differentials than others. If it starts leaking bad you have to fix it but in my experience it can be a sign of future trouble. All you can do is try not to dunk the differential at the boat ramp, hope they put a matching ring and pinion in at the factory, have a cover with a magnetic drain plug and change the oil every now and then. I don't think the oil wears out but tiny bits of metal wear off the parts as you drive and you don't want them to circulate around in there. No matter what you do, sometimes things happen and you just deal with it the best you can and move forward. Best wishes for your son, thankfully as mentioned the cure rate is very good. I too will say a few prayers.

[cwf]

I have seen the "wear" sludge that builds up inside the differential..
When changing oil, I remove the cover and wipe out the inside "pumpkin".. Not down the axle shafts ..especially the bottom, inspect backlash, preload, etc...

Then replace cover and lube...and any recommend additives. Drive carefully for a while the. Check for leaks then move on...

[badkat]

Whatcha think..do get 2 yrs Mopar parts and labor warranty at any Dodge dealer.

[cwf]

That's the deal!!!

[wvstreamer]

And always wondered why the differential fluid stinks so bad. That's all. ..
And all our best for your Son's full recovery badcat.
Dave and Debbie in WV

[J. Morgan]

Gear oil stinks because it has a lot of sulphur in it.


Talis gentium ceciderunt.

[Jekerrville]

Badcat
Our prayers are with your son and you!

As far as West Texas is concerned, Ft. Stinking Dessert is not the best spot to break down, but Odessa has its good points. Some of the best Dodge techs are there and they will do the job correctly. There livelihood and that of their clients (oil patch) depend on it.

I drive Fords. There are more Dodges in the Permian Basin then anywhere and they work their butts off. You have got one of the best pulling machines there is.
"Ford being the exception"

Some of my oil patch buddies that are Dodge folks have had issues with the back universal joint. (knuckle shapped affair just in front of differential connecting drive shaft to differential)

Because they are sealed bearings there is no grease fittings. If one of the grease cups is defective the universal joint gets very hot and thus causes a failure in the oil seal of the differental. Next all types of nastiness does damage.

The Dodge has so much torque and the six speed tranny delivers this to the drive line so well any part that is not up to the job will cause you grief.

Ranchers have been known to replace a new sealed bearing u-joint as soon as they get a new pickup. Being on the side of the road with 20 head of baby cows is not good.

Bet the Dodge House put a u-joint that can take grease on your retrofit.

Takes care and the very best to your family. See you down the trail.

Happy Trails

[cwf]

When you have good connectivity check this pinion seal replacement...

http://youtu.be/HNkGdByzyjI

Pinion seal replacement... Just in case you didn't know...