I recently bought myself a 2002 Dodge Ram 5.9 with 92k Miles and figured I should do all the fluids and a tune up.

I included a picture of my glove box as well, maybe you could tell me more on what I have etc?

I looked around at some of the threads and found depending on if you have a LSD or not you need an additive or a fluid with additive. I don't know whether I have a LSD or not.

Also I've never done the transmission fluid in a Automatic tranny before so its all alien to me.

Also in the owners manual it said to adjust the bands on when doing transmission fluid what does that mean?

It also says change rear axle fluid, Im assuming they're referring to the differential fluid is that correct?

So my questions as far as the Diff and transmission are..

What type of oil should I put in my differential?
Also, what kind of oil do you recommend for my transmission?
Is there a filter on the transmission?
And I don't know if the transmission oil was replaced by the previous owner using synthetic or not, and if it wasn't and I replaced it with synthetic would that cause any problems?

Any insight on what oil and what viscosity you recommend is appreciated as well.


As for the tune up..
What all do you think I should do considering its almost at the 100k miles?

I was thinking
Plugs/Wires
Dist Cap/Rotor
Belts possibly


What else would you all recommend? PCV valve or fuel filter?

Also whatever parts you would recommend is appreciated

Any advice or secrets you guys have on doing the fluids or the tune up?

Thanks in advance.

 

Congrats on your truck! That's really low mileage, I'm very close to rolling over to 200,000 miles.
Tranny fluid is always ATF4, I think there's 2 filters in there when you drop the pan - I've never done that, but there are plenty of threads detailing the process. Upgrading the tranny fluid from conventional to synthetic should not be a problem, just make sure you get ALL the old fluid out - there's a lot more than just the pan drop will get you. If you have a 4x4 then the transfer case also takes ATF4.
Differentials, according to the 10 year manuals, they take 75W-90, that's what I used. But there was a TSB out that says it's safe to use 75W-140 - especially if you tow a lot. Synthetic is fine in there. From your glove box sticker "Anti Spin" means you do have a limited slip diff. You really want to pull the diff cover off when you change the fluid - don't be surprised if you find a small curved piece of metal kind of 'w' shaped. those are part of the LSD, and they are a weak point in our trucks. They are commonly called 'C clips' but the C Clips are actually big 'C' shaped clips that hold the axles in place. but if you search here for 'c clip' you'll find it. The diff fluid you'll use needs to have a 'friction modifier', some diff fluid has it in there already (it will say on the container) if not you'll add in about 5 oz of it - this will prevent the LSD from chattering. After you do the diff fluid it's recommended to drive around in a few figure 8s.
Copper plugs work great for this engine, and new wires too - I always have some break on me every time I change them. New distributor and rotor is great too, and not expensive. Kind of an awkward position to change out tho.
PCV is a couple of bucks - good luck, I couldn't ever get mine off and finally had my shop do it. With 190,000 miles on the original one, when I left the shop it didn't even feel like my truck it made so much of an improvement (the next day I brought them a big box of breakfast tacos for payment lol)
If it's still the original belt, or even if it looks old, I'd replace it. Less than $20 is good insurance to prevent a breakdown later.

Check out the FAQ and DIY section in the forum for a lot of good threads with pictures showing a lot of the maintenance you should do.

 

if your transmission shifts fine.. honestly I would just leave it alone. If it shifts fine theres no need to adjust those bands, and if the fluid doesnt look burnt then its probably fine. when you drop the pan to change the filter you're only replacing like 6 quarts of fluid, the entire transmission holds like 25 quarts. the only way to replace all the fluid is to do a flush, and those can be more trouble than what its worth.

 

There is no conventional fluid for this trans. All ATF+4 is synthetic, so no worries about mixing.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

I noticed that when making slow turns, such as at a stop sign there is a noise coming from what sounds like the rear end.
I would describe it as to what sounds like tires rubbing? not like a grinding but more like rubber rubbing against slick cement? If that makes any sense.

Is this something I should be concerned about?


Also, whats the difference between Bosch or Duralast wireset versus a MSD or Accel?

Any spark plugs you guys recommend? Is copper the best? What brand?

 

How many quarts of oil does the Diff take? and the engine?

Also, does the 5.9 have 16 spark plugs like the hemi?

 

We take just 8 spark plugs, I use the Champions and the duralast wires (.040 inch gap). They run fine (I've never noticed gain from more expensive plugs). Plus like I said before even though I use the spark plug boot grease, at every plug change I have about 2 or 3 boots that pull out and the metal connector stays on the spark plug. So I have a box of wires ready in the garage to go back to autozone for a warranty swap. Engine crankcase takes 5 quarts of oil. Rear diff - book says 2.45 quarts, but I think I only used 2 qts with the friction modifier added in.
As far as that rubbing noise you have, what size tires do you have, they may just be rubbing on the truck if they are bigger than stock. The other option is wait until you open up the rear diff and inspect for damage. - but if your LSD was damaged or binded up, I would think it would be very noticeable and almost undriveable. It just may need some friction modifier in there to quiet it down.
As far as the tranny service goes, you'll find many opinions as far as not doing anything, full system flush, to just a pan drop on a routine schedule. I've had my truck for a while and I'll admit at first oil changes and plugs were the main things I did, I missed a lot. A quick lube place supposedly did a pan drop for my 100K. But at around 180K I brought it to my shop and they did a full flush with a machine that used hot tranny fluid and replaced the filters. It still runs fine today. So as long as the system flush is done completely and correctly, there should be no worries of excess gunk or debris still floating around the system to clog up the filters

 

You can always drop the pan, change the filters, then install a drain plug in the pain. You gradually change the fluid to get it fully swapped that way without dropping the pan everytime.

 

Bad info. Transmission fluid breaks down with heat. You cannot tell if the fluid has lost it's capabilities by looking at it. Basically this logic is as such...Wait until your fluid is brown and dirty and smells burnt before taking action. That basically says that you've lacked prevetative maintenance and waited until there is a risk of a problem! I've always been a preventative maintenace kinda guy and never had any major failures..ever!

Aside from what's plastered all over the internet, ATF+4 is a blend. It's not technically synthetic. It has Lubrizol in it which Chrysler contracted out instead of going Synthetic for cost reasons mainly. It's as effective as a Synthetic though!

The noise you are describing actually sounds like bind within the clutch packs in an LSD equipped diff. This would mean the clutch packs are grabbing each other too much from either moisture being present, dirty fluid not lubricating peoperly, or too much modifer added.

Rear diff takes 2.25qts.
Transmission takes 17-18qts total. I would reccomend a standard DIY flush with no machinery use. You simply unhook your return line from your transmission and put a bucket under it. You then start your truck and let it run in park until the fluid spits/sputters out the return line. At this point, your trans pan is empty for an easy drop and removel to change the filters and gasket. Take care of them and button it back up. You would then fill the trans up with 7-8qts of fluid and repeat the first step watching for the sputtering fluid. Do this once again and now you have flushed 14qts of fluid out. On your 3rd fill, watch the fluid for it to turn pink as it comes out the return line. Once fluid is pink, you have flushed all the old fluid out and can turn the truck off and close up the return line. Check the trans level and be sure it's topped off. There is minimal mixing involved in this procedure but the fluid can mix a little. I've always had greast sucess with this method.
That method uses the transmission to normally pump the fluid through the system and in non-invasive! No backflushing, no pressured tools used..etc Your transmission will not be effected at all by this procedure and is the best way to change out your fluid(tried them all) Pan drops suck. They are messy and you only change out 40% of the fluid. What good is 60% bad fluid ixed with 40% good fluid. That is a main cause of trans failure back in the day!

As for wires. If you have stock ignition(most likely) I would get the standard plug wires. there is no improvement in plug wires with stock ignitions. Maybe you ike the color better, but it wont help in performance.
Copper plugs are the safest bet. Not sure how the 5.9L reacts to longer life plugs?

 

i dont really think its bad info. you never know whats been done and what hasnt been done before. my advice was to leave the transmission alone if it was fine. screwing around with it can be more trouble than what its worth...

Im also a big believer in preventative maintenence. I owned my dakota from the time it had 2k miles on it until it had 80k and 10 years later, I never had any sort of driveline malfunction. I did the schedule the book suggested for maintenance and it paid off. when I got my ram, it already had 75k miles on it... I just looked for some of the known problems and made sure it wasnt an issue. since I own it now and it still has alot of life left in it, I do all the maintenance the way it should be done... but you still never know what was done before.