I have a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie SLT 5.2L V8 RWD with a corporate 9.25" axle and LSD, the truck has 230,000 miles on it, and I doubt it's ever been changed, so tomorrow I'm going to change it.

I believe I read it requires 4.5 pints (2.25 quarts) of 80-90 gear oil and 4oz of LSD additive added, is that right?

I am not planning on doing it the way of removing the axle cover, I was just going to drain it as much as possible with a pump and fill to recommended fill, I know I should, but I'm gonna do this lol.

It doesn't seem to be too hard of a task, I'm dreading tho to see how bad the gear oil looks if it's never been changed.

Is the ratio I read the correct one tho?

 

Fill it back up about 1/4 inch below fill hole with the 80-90 and 4 oz of friction modifier/ Mopar brand, a little extra won't hurt anything. Sounds familiar. You can clean it out better and inspect things if you pull the cover off. Just run a bead of RTV, bolt cover back on and fill. Pray you don't find a metal chunks on the bottom.

 

So far I have really not noticed any rear axle issues, so i'll keep my fingers crossed lol. I just figure it should be changed.

 

I didn't have any symptoms on my old truck, then I had a quick lube place change differential fluid use the suction method. First turn out of the parking lot...SHUDDER! Took the cover off and found clutch pack material and the clips that hold them together stuck to the magnet on the bottom. The fluid change method didn't cause the problem, it just stirred things up in there. I couldv'e been that way for 10,000 miles prior for all I know.
New fluid is always a good idea.

 

Well thanks for that scare haha, now i'm going ot be paranoid when I do it tomorrow >.<.

 

Just pull the cover, and see what you find. A tube of RTV is only a couple bucks, and actually inspecting things in there is a good idea given the mileage on your truck.

 

If I pull it, I have brakelean to clean the RTV off, but how do I apply the rtv? I read to make a line all the way around the the cover but circles around the holes?

 

Cleaning the RTV off is the worst part of the whole process....what i like to do is make a bead of RTV around the perimeter of the cover going underneath the holes...then I use my hand (with a latex work glove on) to evenly smear the bead of RTV around the outer rim of the cover so that I can be sure that there are no weak or uneven spots when the cover is put back on. Alot of people just run the bead and stick it on tho, which works fine for the vast majority of the time

 

If I just buy a rear axle gasket made for my rear axle, and clean off the RTV do I still have to worry about applying RTV? I think I may just go the gasket route, and get that, I can get one for about $6.

 

Either way will work. I just use a putty knife to clean the surfaces, followed by a wire wheel, or whiz wheel...