Rear end again
Captain
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 561
Likes: 3
My 08 has help up well to a Diablosport tuned Hemi for over 84K miles. I think the manual says to change the fluid every 60k miles. The only issue that I have has was not the fault of the diff, but the dealer mechanic. I had a pinion seal leak, they tech changed the seal. He didn't realize that the spring from the seal had fallen back into the housing. It got in the bearings and caused a vibration. They replaced all of the bearings and it is still fine to this day. I am glad that mine came with a lifetime powertrain warranty so it is covered as long as Chrysler is in business. Mine is a 3.92 anti-spin (LS) diff.
I tried my hardest to clean the diff out after I replaced the spider gears but it was no use, short of taking it completely apart I wouldn't have been able to clean that diff out. I did 4 lube changes in a month just to make sure it was clean, but the damage had already been done.
Captain
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 561
Likes: 3
I kind of glanced at your signature, what mods do you all have? Pretty impressive for a 4.7 to blow 3 rearends up lol. I just hope I can show restraint on my current rearend, I'll eventually beef it up but now is not the time seeing its 12 below outside and working in winter without a garage sucks.
A Hemi with a manual trans would be orgasmic! I'd love to bang shift one, my Hemi winds up so fast with the auto a manual would be a just a dream!. I love my 5 speed Neon, car just goes!.
Rookie
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
One nice thing to know is that a Chrysler 9.25 will work from a 4 or 2 wheel drive truck V6 or V8 even if the junkyards say it wont. If you get one from a 2 wheel drive truck you may have to weld bump stops on it if you're doing rock climbing style articulation otherwise if you keep it mostly straight on the road & between the trees don't even worry about a bump stop.
I threw a 9.25 out of an 03 V6 ram into my 04 Ram, no problems and paid only $450 cuz the junkyard doesn't sell many V6 differentials out of 2wd Rams lol. Its identical in every respect except the bump stops which you can weld on at a later date if you ever need to without removing the rearend. Swap was a total of 4 hours, most of the time was spent painting & cleaning the junkyard rearend. I don't have time to **** with diff rebuilds on my daily driver, downtime more than a few days is not an option.
Could I use one from the V6?
How could I find out exactly which rear ends I can replace mine with? I street drive it, don't burn out, and rarely haul or pull anything, so I don't care which one is in it.
PS - Your post is from exactly one year ago today lol.
Captain
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 561
Likes: 3
Ive got an 03 RWD, because it's not a 4x4, it doesn't matter what rear end I put in it does it?
Could I use one from the V6?
How could I find out exactly which rear ends I can replace mine with? I street drive it, don't burn out, and rarely haul or pull anything, so I don't care which one is in it.
PS - Your post is from exactly one year ago today lol.
Could I use one from the V6?
How could I find out exactly which rear ends I can replace mine with? I street drive it, don't burn out, and rarely haul or pull anything, so I don't care which one is in it.
PS - Your post is from exactly one year ago today lol.
In short pretty much any Chrysler 9.25 rear end from an 02-08 Ram will work so long as you select the right gearing if you have a 4x4 truck to match the front diff gearing, also 2nd gen rams (94-01) will also work with a few parts swapped from your 3rd gen diff: Yoke & Disk brake mounts. If your stock rear is a 3.55, put a 3.55 rear end in, if your truck is a 2x4 and you don't care really about gearing and all you can find is a 3.92 rear, then throw that in, even a 3.23 will work but will be a slower but better gas mileage vehicle.
My rearend currently in my 4x4 ram is a 03 2 wheel drive (2x4) chrysler 9.25 from a V6 equipped truck. There is no physical differences in these rearends engine to engine that drives them, they're all the same strength & quality. The main differences is 2x4 or 4x4 packaging and its a minor one that can ignored in most cases. The difference is the little bump stop pads on the 4x4 diff, if you're doing extreme steep rock or hill articulation it might be good to have them, but for most offroad scenarios and all normal public road driving scenarios you don't need them If you need them you can always add them to the 2x4 diff very easily. I haven't ever rubbed my old bump stops and I've got into some pretty hairy stuff. The 2x4 diff will work in a 4x4 perfectly so long as you match the gear ratio to your front axle's ratio. Likewise a 4x4 diff works in a 2x4 config as well, just has extra hardware...the bump stops.
What they don't tell you is that 2nd gen ram (94-01) differentials will work also (leaf springs must mount on top of diff not inside), so long as you change the driveshaft yoke to the 3rd gen style and swap your disk brake mounts over to 2nd gen diff to replace drums (very easy to do), its a very easy thing to do and saves you $500-600 in the used market as 2nd gen diffs can be had all day for $200-$300 bucks & readily available, meanwhile 3rd gen rear ends are $800+ and hard to find. If you go this route and swap yokes, put a mark on the diff yoke nut and count the turns to remove it, then place 3rd gen yoke on and tighten nut to exact number of turns as it took to remove it. I changed my pinion seal and have had no problems with this method in 30,000 miles since.
So in closing, you have a lot of options for a rear diff ranging from 94-08, especially cheaper to do if you save your old rearend hardware like yoke and disk brake mounts as you will need them to convert a 2nd gen rearend to 3rd gen spec. Its all about whats available to you in your area and whats easiest, I had limited options in my area and the 2x4 3.55 rearend from a V6 ram fit the bill for me, I paid $400 for it and got a hood thrown in for my car by the junkyard as per the deal. They wanted $700 when they found out what I was using it for, but then I told them I'm one of the few who knows that info and not many guys with a V6 2x4 will be looking for a rearend so if they wanted my business this was the deal...they agreed and gave me the diff at a good price, which amounted to $350, since they threw the hood in for my car at a $50 value.
Here's the kind of abuse a V6 rearend can take haha
Last edited by JoshSlash87; Dec 27, 2016 at 05:48 AM.
Rookie
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
I know crazy right? lol
In short pretty much any Chrysler 9.25 rear end from an 02-08 Ram will work so long as you select the right gearing if you have a 4x4 truck to match the front diff gearing, also 2nd gen rams (94-01) will also work with a few parts swapped from your 3rd gen diff: Yoke & Disk brake mounts. If your stock rear is a 3.55, put a 3.55 rear end in, if your truck is a 2x4 and you don't care really about gearing and all you can find is a 3.92 rear, then throw that in, even a 3.23 will work but will be a slower but better gas mileage vehicle.
My rearend currently in my 4x4 ram is a 03 2 wheel drive (2x4) chrysler 9.25 from a V6 equipped truck. There is no physical differences in these rearends engine to engine that drives them, they're all the same strength & quality. The main differences is 2x4 or 4x4 packaging and its a minor one that can ignored in most cases. The difference is the little bump stop pads on the 4x4 diff, if you're doing extreme steep rock or hill articulation it might be good to have them, but for most offroad scenarios and all normal public road driving scenarios you don't need them If you need them you can always add them to the 2x4 diff very easily. I haven't ever rubbed my old bump stops and I've got into some pretty hairy stuff. The 2x4 diff will work in a 4x4 perfectly so long as you match the gear ratio to your front axle's ratio. Likewise a 4x4 diff works in a 2x4 config as well, just has extra hardware...the bump stops.
What they don't tell you is that 2nd gen ram (94-01) differentials will work also (leaf springs must mount on top of diff not inside), so long as you change the driveshaft yoke to the 3rd gen style and swap your disk brake mounts over to 2nd gen diff to replace drums (very easy to do), its a very easy thing to do and saves you $500-600 in the used market as 2nd gen diffs can be had all day for $200-$300 bucks & readily available, meanwhile 3rd gen rear ends are $800+ and hard to find. If you go this route and swap yokes, put a mark on the diff yoke nut and count the turns to remove it, then place 3rd gen yoke on and tighten nut to exact number of turns as it took to remove it. I changed my pinion seal and have had no problems with this method in 30,000 miles since.
So in closing, you have a lot of options for a rear diff ranging from 94-08, especially cheaper to do if you save your old rearend hardware like yoke and disk brake mounts as you will need them to convert a 2nd gen rearend to 3rd gen spec. Its all about whats available to you in your area and whats easiest, I had limited options in my area and the 2x4 3.55 rearend from a V6 ram fit the bill for me, I paid $400 for it and got a hood thrown in for my car by the junkyard as per the deal. They wanted $700 when they found out what I was using it for, but then I told them I'm one of the few who knows that info and not many guys with a V6 2x4 will be looking for a rearend so if they wanted my business this was the deal...they agreed and gave me the diff at a good price, which amounted to $350, since they threw the hood in for my car at a $50 value.
Here's the kind of abuse a V6 rearend can take haha
https://youtu.be/WMZ3z6mok3Y
In short pretty much any Chrysler 9.25 rear end from an 02-08 Ram will work so long as you select the right gearing if you have a 4x4 truck to match the front diff gearing, also 2nd gen rams (94-01) will also work with a few parts swapped from your 3rd gen diff: Yoke & Disk brake mounts. If your stock rear is a 3.55, put a 3.55 rear end in, if your truck is a 2x4 and you don't care really about gearing and all you can find is a 3.92 rear, then throw that in, even a 3.23 will work but will be a slower but better gas mileage vehicle.
My rearend currently in my 4x4 ram is a 03 2 wheel drive (2x4) chrysler 9.25 from a V6 equipped truck. There is no physical differences in these rearends engine to engine that drives them, they're all the same strength & quality. The main differences is 2x4 or 4x4 packaging and its a minor one that can ignored in most cases. The difference is the little bump stop pads on the 4x4 diff, if you're doing extreme steep rock or hill articulation it might be good to have them, but for most offroad scenarios and all normal public road driving scenarios you don't need them If you need them you can always add them to the 2x4 diff very easily. I haven't ever rubbed my old bump stops and I've got into some pretty hairy stuff. The 2x4 diff will work in a 4x4 perfectly so long as you match the gear ratio to your front axle's ratio. Likewise a 4x4 diff works in a 2x4 config as well, just has extra hardware...the bump stops.
What they don't tell you is that 2nd gen ram (94-01) differentials will work also (leaf springs must mount on top of diff not inside), so long as you change the driveshaft yoke to the 3rd gen style and swap your disk brake mounts over to 2nd gen diff to replace drums (very easy to do), its a very easy thing to do and saves you $500-600 in the used market as 2nd gen diffs can be had all day for $200-$300 bucks & readily available, meanwhile 3rd gen rear ends are $800+ and hard to find. If you go this route and swap yokes, put a mark on the diff yoke nut and count the turns to remove it, then place 3rd gen yoke on and tighten nut to exact number of turns as it took to remove it. I changed my pinion seal and have had no problems with this method in 30,000 miles since.
So in closing, you have a lot of options for a rear diff ranging from 94-08, especially cheaper to do if you save your old rearend hardware like yoke and disk brake mounts as you will need them to convert a 2nd gen rearend to 3rd gen spec. Its all about whats available to you in your area and whats easiest, I had limited options in my area and the 2x4 3.55 rearend from a V6 ram fit the bill for me, I paid $400 for it and got a hood thrown in for my car by the junkyard as per the deal. They wanted $700 when they found out what I was using it for, but then I told them I'm one of the few who knows that info and not many guys with a V6 2x4 will be looking for a rearend so if they wanted my business this was the deal...they agreed and gave me the diff at a good price, which amounted to $350, since they threw the hood in for my car at a $50 value.
Here's the kind of abuse a V6 rearend can take haha
https://youtu.be/WMZ3z6mok3Y
Wow, thanks for all of the great info.
Found a 3.23 from a reputable junk yard locally. It's from same year 1500 as mine (03). So since mine is RWD and I don't care about it being geared the same, I can use that one right?
Check out the thread I posted yesterday, way more info.
Last edited by alth3655; Dec 27, 2016 at 07:59 AM.
Captain
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 561
Likes: 3
Wow, thanks for all of the great info.
Found a 3.23 from a reputable junk yard locally. It's from same year 1500 as mine (03). So since mine is RWD and I don't care about it being geared the same, I can use that one right?
Check out the thread I posted yesterday, way more info.
Found a 3.23 from a reputable junk yard locally. It's from same year 1500 as mine (03). So since mine is RWD and I don't care about it being geared the same, I can use that one right?
Check out the thread I posted yesterday, way more info.
3.23s are highway gears but a Hemi still does great with them, you'll gain some gas mileage but slightly less acceleration when compared to a 3.55. If you're not worried about every tenth of a second in a race 3.23s will do just fine. I personally like 3.55s for all around driving, its a great ratio.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Ok I'm an absolute moron.. I CANNOT figure out how to post. So sorry if I'm hijacking this thread. I have an 05, 1500, 5.7 Hemi with the 4.25. I am having vibes that I'm spent a buttload on trying to fix. Long story short I traced it to the rear diff. Brand new driveshaft AND u-joints. It is at it's worst between 45-60mph, but if you floor it from a stop it will do it at 25-30 then stop. The pinion had a very slight amount of play, not a whole lot. I know that isn't right.. but could that in itself cause said vibration? Has new wheel bearings too. It's doesn't do it while turning, it doesn't keep getting worse and worse the higher the speed. So I'm thinking pinion bearings are just shot? I've already spent $1100 and will be $1500 if I rebuild the rear end bearings.. PLEASE advise if anyone has any experience with this.. Thanks. Oh from the old driveshaft to the completely rebuilt one there was ZERO CHANGE in the speed at which it vibrates, or the intensity. Thanks in advance!
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 387
Likes: 5
From: Bel Air, MD
My 2005 has been paid off since 2007 (yay, personal injury insurance money!). It's now over ten years old and just this year I sank a bunch of money into it to replace most of the front end suspension parts before they really failed (I probably could have gone longer on some of it, too). For about two new car payments I've got a brand new front end that should last the life of the vehicle from here on out. I've replaced the EGR valve a few times over the last ten years, had a tensioner pulley grenade on the highway which shredded the serpentine belt a few years back, and had the LBJs go bad a few years ago, too. I just replaced brake pads for the second time in 88K miles, and the rotors will need replacing here soon, too (second time). Other than that, I can't complain. Spending a few hundred here or a thousand there every few years is still way cheaper than outright replacing it with a new vehicle that will either have regular payments or need regular repairs, as well.
After seeing what my buddy just paid for a new 2018 Silverado 4x4 (a "great" deal just under $40K), I decided to drop some coin on major repairs and PM. Just finished up everything yesterday except for treating the Dodgeitis over the wheel well and installing fender flares (ordered those on Amazon yesterday). I had the rear end totally rebuilt out to the rear wheel bearings and seals; new rear pad and shoes (front calipers, pads and brake lines already replaced), left front wheel hub (right already replaced), timing chain cover gasket, water pump and all coolant hoses changed (coolant system flushed); harmonic balancer replaced; Y-pipe and right cat converter replaced (pipe was cracked); all U-joints replaced; and had my burned out dash lights relamped.
All-in-all over $4K in parts and labor, but it runs and drives like a dream now. It will never look like a brand-new truck, and it will never have built-in Bluetooth, nav system and fancy display screen on the dash. But I love the way it looks compared to the styling on late-model trucks, and $4K ain't squat compared to buying even a used truck.
I am getting it detailed, though!
Last edited by bdhuntr; Apr 1, 2018 at 08:09 AM.
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 387
Likes: 5
From: Bel Air, MD
Ok I'm an absolute moron.. I CANNOT figure out how to post. So sorry if I'm hijacking this thread. I have an 05, 1500, 5.7 Hemi with the 4.25. I am having vibes that I'm spent a buttload on trying to fix. Long story short I traced it to the rear diff. Brand new driveshaft AND u-joints. It is at it's worst between 45-60mph, but if you floor it from a stop it will do it at 25-30 then stop. The pinion had a very slight amount of play, not a whole lot. I know that isn't right.. but could that in itself cause said vibration? Has new wheel bearings too. It's doesn't do it while turning, it doesn't keep getting worse and worse the higher the speed. So I'm thinking pinion bearings are just shot? I've already spent $1100 and will be $1500 if I rebuild the rear end bearings.. PLEASE advise if anyone has any experience with this.. Thanks. Oh from the old driveshaft to the completely rebuilt one there was ZERO CHANGE in the speed at which it vibrates, or the intensity. Thanks in advance!
