I noticed the other day that I have a whine in my rear end while decelerating. It is a low volume-medium pitched whine. It only does it when I let off the gas and it doesn't matter if I'm braking or not. There is no whine when accelerating. Does this sound like something others have experienced? I am hoping the oil has just broken down and needs changing and it's not too late. I did a search on the forum but couldn't find anything specific. There seems to be a lot on rear whine all the time or having to do with aftermarket gears and backlash, but nothing mentioned only while decelerating.

My truck is a '03 1500 QC HEMI 2wd. It has 165,000 miles on it and I have never had a minutes problem with it. It runs and looks as good as it did when I bought it. I vaguely remember doing something to the rear end around 50,000 miles, but I'm not sure if it was a complete oil change or just topping off with additive.

Also, can you tell me what the best recommended oil and additive is. It's been so long I can't remember.

 

My old truck did that right as the rear end was starting to go... it gradually got worse and worse and after so long it started making the noise any time. Mine went until 200k miles before it went though, open it up and look for bits and pieces of your gears, that will tell you if its your rear end, The gears start grinding and shaving off little pieces of themselves(sometimes big chunks) But if you dont see any little metal shavings or chunks of metal or any damage to your gears then it is probably something else...

Oh and btw, your supposed to change your differential (rear end) fluid every 30000 miles I think... could be more, but not more than 50000 I dont think...

 

Diff is suppose to be every 15k, plugs and trans are every 30k.

 

Thats right, point is that you have gone a long time without a differential fluid change if the last one was at 50k miles and you are at 165k, I wouldn't be surprised if your rear end was going, hell I am surprised it lasted that long

 

15k for the rear end. Also anyone have a tutorial or anything about changing the rear end fluid. I'm looking into doing it myself but not sure if its something I should get involved with. Also is the front every 15k also?

 

Actually the owners manual doesn't have you change the diff fluid at all on schedule A. It only said 15000 miles in the schedule B service interval. 15k service on a differential is over kill except for the reason that dodge has issues with the LSD retaining clip. Most RWD cars and trucks have a 50 k or more service interval.

 

I knew I was gonna get beat up for that! But let me put some light on it...

I've had my truck since '04. I have always kept up with my vehicles, doing most if not all the work myself. I have run Dodges all my life. I think this is the 6th or 7th I've had. The maintenance history on this truck is as follows:

Between every 10,000 to 30,000 - changed engine oil. Whether it needed it or not...
50,000 miles - did a tune up including engine oil, air filter, and something to the rear end.
100,000 miles - upgraded spark plugs, installed a Brute Force CAI, and Superchips tuner. No oil change.
130,000 miles - sent to dealership to change exhaust valve spring that had broken. (Common with the '03 HEMI)

That's about it. I can't remember when I changed the engine last, so it's probably due again. Oh, and I have NEVER changed the tranny fluid!

The point is, I have done nothing but run this truck - hard. I use it on calls with my local FD, sometimes running at 100 or more. I pull my tractor and anything else I need to.

Now, with all of you preaching the maintenance scheduke, explain how I have still managed to get 170,000 on a truck that wasn't babied. And all I have now is a rear end about to go out? I'm not complaining one bit.

I know people with other brands that have gone through three sets of engines, trannys, alternators, starters, you name it, with way fewer miles than I have. These trucks are tougher than people give credit. Dodge always has been that way. I wouldn't dare miss an oil change on my wife's '08 Altima. Or my tractor for that matter. All you have to do with a Dodge is hang a foot in it. You can't baby them or they will not hold up.

Now I am not condoning neglect of any vehicle. Frequent fluid and filter changes are the life of a vehicle. I'm just sharing my personal experience. Call it luck. But I've been "lucky" 6 or 7 times now. Never blown an engine, never lost a tranny, never been stranded on the side of the road with any of my Dodges. I'm sure the day will come, but I won't complain a bit knowing it's my responsibility.

 

So how often do you do your oil changes