Last week I posted a thread about replacing the whole rearend on my 98 Ram 1500 5.2l 2wd..I was able to locate a 94 model w/less milage, both axles turn perfectly, gears look good, no leaks around the coverplate, & appears to be a perfect bolt-on match..This was after an extensive search at a couple of local boneyards..
The first place I went to there were about a dozen trucks, but all of the rearends were pulled off already..The 2nd place I went there were 6 trucks and all but 2 had there rearends pulled off.. I was wondering if there are issues w/2nd generation Ram rearends?
I was able to pull off the 94 model w/no problems-all cables/lines intact..& going to bolt it on to my truck this weekend..
What gear oil weight do I need to get???Regular or synthetic??How many quarts?? & are there any issues I might encounter when bolting this one on??
Thanks for your time!!

 

use 80w90 fluid of your choice.....BUT if you have an LSD you NEED to use the addtitive or you'll burn up rear ends....and that was the problem with 2nd gen ram rear ends, the LSD's would gernade in there if they arent maintained correctly and have the additive....I have an open diff with 4.10's and thats good enough for me....havent had a problem with rear end since i bought the truck....has 207K now...but obviously my gears are newer...they have around 35K on them, but the previous owner told he did the gear change for towing, and that his open 3.55's were fine, just needed the upgrade.

So if you get an open diff...just buy 3 quarts of 80w90 gear oil and you're good to go...
If you have LSD....grab 3 quarts of 80w90 AND the additive

 

Thanks 95Ram360! But can you tell me how to check if I have LSD? & if I have it, what would be a good additive to use?

 

The additive is just a friction modifier. You can get gear lube with the additive already in there.

To see if you have LSD, you can either pull the cover, clean things out, and look.... or, before you hook up the driveshaft, spin one of your rear tires, if the other one spins the SAME direction, you have LSD, if it spins the other direction, you don't. (or, you have an LSD that's worn out.....)

Best bet? Pull the cover and look.

 

what exactly do you want to look for..I ask because sometimes my truck is a one tire fire and others it spins both...and thats on dry pavement on both?

 

An open diff will just have the spider gears inside the carrier, LSD will have clutches between the spiders on the axles, and the case.