Okay, here is my problem, I am not a gear head so forgive me. Last week I was taking a group of Boy Scouts to Summer Camp and my rear end started to sling oil. I was pulling the Troop trailer and luckily we had another dad driving a pick-up as well so we could move the trailer to his truck. Shortly after removing the trailer, the rear end started slipping real bad. We once again pulled over and after checking the fluid level in the differential I sent another parent on the hunt for some oil. I put almost a full quart the box and we continued our journey. The rear end kept slipping for about 30 more miles and then stopped. It continued to whine pretty bad but I had to get to camp. Once there, I had a relitive who lived in the area bring it a Dodge dealer to have it checked out and the verdict was that it needed $1800.00 worth of repairs. Of course, at 78,000 miles on the odometer it seems I'm out of warranty by 8,000 miles. Since I needed the truck for our return home at the end of the week I had them put it back together and I drove it the 200 miles back home and it whined the whole way but never slipped. I was told that there were a lot of metal in the case and they cleaned it out and replaced the oil. According to the info in my glove box I am running 3.92 gears in my 2003 5.7L Hemi 1500 Laramie. I also regularly pull a small 5th wheel camper (6500 pounds) Do I have options that wont cost $1800? Please help. Any info and advice would be great. My wife wants me to upgrade to a 2500 but I like MY truck.

 

Sounds like the infamous retaining clip issues to me????
Does your diff have the stock LSD/anti-spin?
There really is no alternative to a new rear axle, if the carrier is stuffed real bad.
Sorry.
Al.

 

Whatever you do, don't put another OEM LSD unit back in there. Replace it with a quality aftermarket that will be much better and last much longer. Otherwise, it's a lot of work to replace everything. Cannot say if the estimate is too high or not because i don't know exactly what needs to be replaced as it make s a difference. Their quote is on the high side.

 

I seen a complete Dodge Ram 3.55 rear end on CL the other day for 250. That sounds like the best bet to me until you get your money right to build a better rear.

 

I just had my rear diff rebuilt for 600 bucks and that included labor and new rear rotors. The rebuild was almost a full rebuild but I caught it early. It had a leak in the pinion seal and whined severely. The clutches had come apart and fell out and went through the spider gears and luckily didnt damage them. If your axles are fine and your gears are fine Id just rebuild it but $1800. isnt far off the mark for a new or remanufactured rear end. . Dodge charges $750 bucks just for the rear assembly and doesnt sell just the clutches. Youll have to go aftermarket for those. My rebuild consited of all new seals bearings, clutches but not gears,ring and pinion assembly, plus 4hrs labor and oil, and etc. If need to find aftermarket clutches etc let me know and I'll give you a couple options that I found. HERES A LINK FOR RANDY's RING AND PINION. www.ringpinion.com

 

You obviously had the dreaded "C-Clip" issue, you are not alone.

My guess is that your $1800 quote was to replace the Ring & Pinion which were in all probability damaged and the LSD.

You can purchase a new ring and pinion set for about $200 just about anywhere. Probably need a master install kit for about $100 and labor at a decent shop that specializes in axle work would be about $300 to $350.
You could run with an open differential, but if you wanted a good aftermarket LSD, then add about $450 to the above...

 

Thanks for the above info. I am still confused as to what i will need. I called the dealership that opened the case and I was told that they scooped out a handfull of metal and since I did not have the time or money to have them do the repair they closed it up and replaced the oil. They recommend that i replace the Ring and Pinion gear, bearings, seals and gaskets. Is this a complete overhaul? if not, what else is in there that could need replacing.

Also, is there a website that will show an exploded view of the inside of my case so I know whats what.

Is overhauling the diff something I can do with specialty tools from the autozone tool loaner program?

Thanks for all the help and advice - Dave

 

Unfortunatley geoing nuts replacing gears isn't a job you should try to do as a novice unless you have help from someone who has done several of them. There are several measurements that have to be correct or your rear end will fry itself quick. Did the dealer suggest replacing the carrier? I didn't see anything in the post about it. You can look around the web and get a desent set of gears (3.90) carrier (Auburn) and the master install kit for about $700. Most shops that do rear work have a set price for the install.. probably another $300-400. Trick is to find a good shop. Good luck with the rear.

 

That would basically be an overhaul. Nope, thiis is NOT a repair to attempt yourself, most seasoned mechanics send rear ends out to specialty shops for work. Setting the ring and pinion is not easy to say the least.
But you can probably about half the price the dealer gave you if you look for a good axle shop in your area.
Most 4x4 shops have a "gear guy" and even if they don't will have a place to farm it out to as gear swaps and larger tires go hand in hand. Start checking there...

 

Well after reading all the replies and reading up on other post in this forum and on the web I decided to leave this one to the pros. Most local shops in my area recommended that I buy a salvaged rear axle and install it. Not a great idea in my opinion. If I buy salvage, I have no idea what the previous owner did to it and I could still have problems down the road. I dropped my truck off at a shop here in town who told me I could spend anywhere from 2 to 14 hundred depending on the extent of the damage. I should know more this afternoon. Hopefully, my repairs will be somewhere in the middle and I'll know it's been fixed. Thank you to everyone who took the time to help out. I'm glad I found this site. - Dave