I agree with hunter green, and all who are affected have been advised, so if you do take it to joe smo oil luber you have the duty to advise them of the issue with the level of lubricant and where it should be, maybe dodge should send a tech form to those affected in regards to the service required and how and where it needs to be so all those non mechanically inclined could parlee this info. more easily, as far as you putting junk on your truck from an older model, why is it junk? Just b/c it was removed from a wrecked vehicle doesn't make it less of a part, it's a cover, not a working part (really?), clean it, paint it done or get a oem replacement on ebay, and I would doubt dodge would void you warranty, and if I had this issue I would just use it as a reason to buy one of those nice PML or magtec covers with all the bells and whistles and extra fluid capacity, problem solved for good and dodge won't say a dam word about it!

 

wowwwwwwwww
Junkyard piece...??? Sorry, but as i`ve said in thread #40 in the second paragraph, replacing the 2011 cover with the 2010 rubber fill plug style cover is a wise choice just like what "OLDJEEP" is saying here too. Now second of all, replacing the cover with the 2010 style is NOT going to void your warrantee, as dodge would have to prove it was the cause of past or future damage. Thirdly, do you really think the dealership monkies are really gonna report you for doing so...??? I think you are over reacting and paranoid. I would much rather install the 2010 cover and KNOW that i have the proper fluid level, and KNOW that the next monkey that refills your differential will have the correct lube level set. When they go to refill the diff, they`ll see the plug in the cover and wont even know the other plug in front of the case even exist`s. And even if they DO happen to see both plugs, the monkies are much happier to use the rubber plug access to refill it. Putting lube in the front style case plugged ones are a big pain in the azz to install lube, done it for over 35yrs, i`d MUCH rather fill it at the cover. Oh, and one more thing, removing the pre2011 diff cover so that you can drain the old lube gets you inside to look at the gears, so thats another HUGE plus in favor of the 2010 cover having to be removed to be drained, unlike the newer 2011 models that have easy access drain plugs now. Yes, you can pull the cover from the newer 2011 as well, but what dealer is going to do that unless you pay extra to do so.

Most of all, ther are options here...
you can spend the big bucks an install a higher capacity cover and run extra fluid, or go get one out of a salvage yard, paint it up, install it, now running proper level of diff lube, even if the monkies do it for you, is piece of mind.

 

Sorry but I disagree...it is not the responsibility (duty) of the owner to inform joe smo about the issue or temporary fix. And think about the rest of the 80% of Ram owners who are not on these forums that are not aware of this RRT or ill informed. And last, I wouldn't put it past Chrysler to put the blame on you if you open the inspection plate or change it yourself not to mention there are bearing (weaker Chinese) issues here as well so the cover or fill hole alone is not the fix.

 

....and later on down the road when people start buying a used 2011, are THEY going to know about the ill effected rear diff`s...?
Probably not, and then the rearend goes out on them, blame dodge again for being junk, and never buy another dodge. Dodge NEEDS to be replacing these effected rear diff`s and stop using band-aids as a permanate fix.

 

Good call 1954Radio,
i didnt even think about the chinese bearings they now use...! Excellent point..!
I guess i`ll step it up a notch and buy the mag-tec cover and add extra lube for cooling to help the ***** bearings

 

It would have been nice if Chrysler would have explained the RRT and their plans to solve it a bit more in detail. There's another tie rod issue that was just posted where the dealer is refusing to fix it under warranty so it's possible the same could happen with these rearends if we were to touch it. I know and most of the rest of us know better, but it doesn't change the fact that they may try and blame us if the bearings freeze up and claim that we didn't put enough fluid in after changing the cover. And all this warranty stuff has got me thinking...when a warranty is considered void, does it void the entire warranty of the truck or just the issue in question? It won't affect me because I'm about to void mine myself with a complete makeover nor do I have any issues with it. I'm just thinking about the rest of the poor souls out there.

 

Well until dodge takes action you could (a) put your head in the sand and hope all is well and wait for Dodge to do the right thing (which ford, chevy and Toyota do the same thing, save as much $$ as they can by putting things off) or (b) be pro active to protect you investment the best way you can and if at a minimum that means to stay informed and provide info to joe shmo than that is what you do, if you want a 2010 cover than do it, if you want to hold hands and sing cume by ya , than have at it, just MHO, I always found that those that take care of their stuff the best they can have less problems, I strive to keep my vehicles out of the Service dept. as much as I can by doing as much as I can on my own = less that they can f%$k with it, Good luck with that rearend and honestly I hope and I am sure you will get that fix. Uhhh maybe!



And as far as the masses that are uninformed, doubt it, if they bought the product one way or another they will get the RRT and if after finding out, they don't inform themselve more by searching the net or questioning the dealer than well you can't save them all, we call it triage in my business

 

Just brought my truck back from a hunting trip to alabama over 1600 miles, took it to the dealer for a pinion seal leak I found during the trip and the A/C flash issue, informed them that I just replaced the fluid my self 4,000 miles prior and had the doors on the a/c start making noises last Nov. and that I couldn't get the truck in cause at the time I was on a trip and that opened the center console of the truck to access door motors for the a/c, removed and then put back in place and problem went away and had no issue since with them. They not only fixed the pinion seal and refilled and let me inspect rearend before closing it up, they also found that one of the door motors were broken and went and replaced both, with no questions or concerns of my actions on my truck, and yes when I found the leak I checked and fluid was only 1/16" down from the 5/8" down from fill hole checked it 1500 miles later and it was only down another 1/16" so I put more fluid in that I bought while on my trip, I use a wire gauge I made to act as a dip stick to know where 5/8" is below the fill hole, believe me dodge is no out there to F98k anyone, my 4th truck in over 10 years have nothing but good experience with my vehicles.

 

Do you have some sort of reference for that. Where did you come by that understanding?

I don't get all the debate and emotion here. If it was a bearing failure, it has probably been attributed to low fluid levels. If that's the case, then why would adding fluid not be viewed as an adequate response?

 

This is a good idea, but since they just topped me off, I'll probably wait until it's due to be changed and swap it than. Maybe getting a Mag-Hytec cover would be an option too. Anybody install one on these 9.25 rear ends? Any clearance issues with the cover and sway bar?