im sorry i know this is my first post, but im begging for some help asap! I just bought a 2001 dodge ram 1500 4wd. After a week in colorado, i came home to a front end oil leak. I know for a fact it is 90wt oil leaking. It is leaking from a "thing" on passenger side about halfway from the diff to the passenger tire on the front axle, my neighbor is a mechanic but only works on chevys, and does not know what it is. I think the seal or gasket from this "thing" just needs re siliconed, but i dont even know what it is. has anyone else had this problem? what is this thing[if it helps there is a vent hose running just below the hood]! please help yall! thank you in advance

 

Sounds like the CAD unit that controls the 4wd.

Go to the FAQ?diy section and download the free service manual and parts manual. It will help. Someone that has 4wd will be along and shed more light on this (mine is 2wd so I have no experience on these).

 

Welcome to DF, Excellent thread title.

 

so it is the CAD unit? will taking it off, and replacing gasket with silicone and refill with 90wt fix this?

 

Silicone? If that's what the service manual says.....

 

welcome to df.

the front end holds about 2-1/2 quarts of oil, so as long as you keep it full, its not an emergency. just re-fill the diff up to the fill plug.

to fix it, remove the cad. 4 small bolts. a cup full of oil will drain out, so have a pan under it. beware of the tendency of those small bolts to break. if they don't come out pretty easy - stop and spray some pb-blaster on it and let it soak.

probe both surfaces with a putty knife. there's an aluminum clad gasket that's sort of hard to see. remove it and throw it away. clean both surfaces with brake cleaner and apply RTV. bolt it back up finger tight and allow the rtv to cure for a couple of hours. torque lightly to spec. refill diff.

 

i wasnt looking for a smartass anwser..i really needed help, thanks to everyone..im not a mechanic, im a 18 year old high schooler whose trucks leaking, just looking for some help

 

Chill out!. It wasn't a smart *** answer. I already stated I have 2wd so I did not know for sure. I suggested using the manual. That's pretty straight forward, but I wasn't going to sort through the pages and look it up for you.

 

thanks sir

 

Indeed! Gdstock is one of the most helpful people around here.

Learn to help yourself pipsqueak. Be thankful that your crappy title got helpful to respond rather than ignore you. Geez you got a picture. You got some actual direction on performing a fix ASSUMING ITS THE PROBLEM.

You have access to a camera of some sort? Take a picture and use a photo hosting site like photobucket. Link the picture here so then its one step closer.

Otherwise get a manual from parts store since you'll have to spend money there anyways. This is my motivational post since the other guys are providing technical support.