Yeah, your right. Changing diff fluid should just not be that complicated and Chrysler should have not been so damn cheap. Is that not what a magnetic drain plug is for, to save you from pulling the cover unless there was a lot of metal on the plug? Anyway I order the pml cover for my truck and will have to grit my teeth at dodge when I do the durango. hemitruckclub.com has a good review of the pml cover. check it out.

John

 

You just have to bite the bullet and pull it off if you're going to do it yourself. It is probably the messiest job you'll do on it. Make sure you completely clean out any shavings or sludge in the bottom of the diff before refilling.

Like they said, pull it off, get some blue or black RTV for resealing. Go around each bolt hole and be careful when reinstalling not to smear it around too much. I don't know if it matters or not, but I like to let it sit for an hour or so after reinstalling it to let it set up before I refill it.

Also, if you have a LSD, don't forget the tube of friction modifier for the rear.

 

what oil wieght do y'all use? and how many quarts?

 

Best way to do it even if there is a drain plug is to remove the cover, it allows you to inspect the gears, and clean the magnet inside the rear end. If you use a synthetic Gear Lube like Amsoil, or Mobil 1 then you don't have to worry about the Friction modifier. And 75w-90 is what I used in my truck.

 

Ditto that - if you're going to take the time to maintain the truck, do it right and pull the cover off. It'll allow you to see if there's a problem developing before metal bits would give it away.

There's a company making Lexan diff covers too - just as spendy but you can see what's inside.

 

has anyone changed the rear diff oil who has a 5.7l 2wd with a 3:55, 9 1/4in rear axle? if so what wieght oil did you use and how much?

 

Owner's manual should say what to use, I'm going to guess the standard 75w90 unless you do a lot of towing, then perhaps 80w140 or whatever the thicker stuff is. Just fill it until it drips out the fill-hole.

 

Chrysler has put out a tsb on axle fluid level. TSB states fluid should be filled 1 5/8 (+ or - 1/4 inch) below bottom of fill hole. This should take 2.1L (72oz) of SAE75-140 synthetic. Don't forget to include limited slip additive if your vehicle is equipped with limited slip.

*TSB #03-001-04

 

1 5/8" below the bottom of the fill hole? That sounds retarded enough to be true. Is that for the AAM axles or the corporate?

And it was said before that most synthetics have limited slip modifiers in them already. Redline 75w90NS does not, but the regular 75w90 does. Check the bottle before putting it in.

 

I got the lube directly from the dealer Mopar 75w 90 for my 2500. They say, as well as the owner's manual that no posi additive is needed? Mine is a limited slip, and it is acting like it needs it?