The good thing is that you are still under warranty, the bad this is Chrysler is not owning up to this rearend issue whether they repair them or not. You and everyone else will still be stuck with a rearend that's evidently not holding up in these trucks. And since it looks to be the open differentials only...unless I'm wrong, have them change it out to and LSD with a 3.92 or even better, a 4.10. I'm not trying to make light of this but if you can afford it (more money than brains), that would permanately solve your problem. You should just have to pay for the price difference of the LSD upgrade. But wait till they say the rearend is bad and are willing to repair it so it won't cost you so much. And if you have the time, bring it somewhere that has a lift and check your pinion slack. You should only have about a 1/4 inch of play when you turn it left to right. If there's close to an an inch or so, it's coming loose and it's going to get worse. Take your findings to the dealership with you to back up the need for an imediate fix. Having a proffessional inspect it will not void your warranty. Inspections are part of your maintenance in your manual, I saw it myself today in mine. I wouldn't wait for it to break sending peices of gears and bearings all through my axle bearings which they probably won't change. Not to mention, you'll turn your truck into a true beast and you will love the newly found power. IMO, all of these Hemi trucks should have a mandatory 3.92 LSD to handle the torque and perform better all accross the threshold anyway. good luck!

 

These differentials are made by ZF. They did build Fords big manual transmissions until Ford did away with manuals. They are also working on the auto 8 speed thats coming down the pipeline. They are in Gainesville Ga. I'm surprised there is much issues with these. ZF is known for being quality control conscience. Several months ago I was talking to a gal checking out at Walmart in Gainesville. She worked for ZF. Said they were running three shifts and building about 9000 differentials a month.

 

Ther`s where the problem is with the quality...!!!! Trying to keep up with demand, making SLOPPY mistakes along the way. (typical)
Dodge better step up the quality control, or their customers will be shopping for another brand that dosent break down as often.
Sure wish ther were a good rearend shop around here, so i`ll have to take my chances at the stealership.
Smart thing to do is get it fixed and send it down the highway. I dont really NEED a truck anyway.

 

I called the stealership this morning, the only way they`ll give me a 392, is in a brand new 392 powered challenger.
Maybe thats not a bad idea huhhhh...!!! (lol)

 

I know who ZF is but I didn't know they were the ones building theses rearends. So are these the yahoos who drilled the drain plugs in the wrong place as well? If so, that doesn't say much for the new ZF 8HP though it's hard to imagine that it was them who did that. I'll tell you what worrys me...the word is, ZF can't keep up with the supply and demand for the gear boxes. So Chrysler plans to build their own plant to build the units themselves. That being said, who is Chrysler going to get to make their parts...same people who make the parts that aren't holding up in these trucks??? I have always thought that is was Chrysler plant workers who drilled the drain plug hole in the wrong place at their rearend assembly plant, now I'm confused. In the long run, I beleive Chrysler will screw this up like they did with Jeep and everything else they first take over. Like what Dell did to Allienware when they bought them out and now use third party venders instead of quality high end parts for the motherboards and memory to say the least. I'm not going to be buying another new truck with these 8 speeds anyway, I have other plans to waist my money, lol! In the old days, anything Chrysler had close to 400hp had a Dana 60 in it, that's what should be in these trucks now. I'd hate to think what Chrysler will do to the ZF tranny when they get their hands on a plant to produce them....geezem!

 

Dana got to be a real headache. Thats why they are not used any longer. AAM which is used in the 2500 and 3500 has been a lot less troublesome. ZF I was told is not near full production. Sales in general are still poor compared to a few years back.

 

You may be right, but I would perfer Dana 60's for 1500 and Dana 70's for the 2500 and so on. I'm not familar with the name AAM but I know their ring gears are larger than Dana 60's which is a 9 and 3/4" and they are over 10" ring gears in todays 2500. But there are also Dana 80's that are 11 and 1/4 for severe duty. I'd take a Dana 60 in my truck over anything and I beleive they are in the SRT10's but not sure. If so, that's proof in itself as to how strong they are. I beleive they quit using Dana's to go the cheapest route knowing Chrysler but that's just a hunch. Regardless, if there were Dana 60's in our trucks you definately wouldn't be hearing about them falling appart. Dana 60 and Ford 9" are of the strongest rearends on the market with Dana having a slight edge but Fords 9" being much lighter (I'd love to have one of these to). I don't know much about the rearends in todays HD Rams but I do know they are huge and probably well suited for the task but I'm old school, lol!

 

Danas quality went downhill. Mainly in the Jeeps but all across the board. American Axel manufacturing got the contract for 2003 model year. They also build the axels for G.M. The 1500 and Durangos got a in house Chrysler unit. That same design is now being built by ZF.

 

Didn't know that and I take your word for it, but the jeeps use Dana 40's which are no comparison to Dana 60's. Are there any SRT10's out there with any Dana 60 issues?

 

Back then Chrysler dropped DANA 100%. I handled literally 100s of differential repairs or replacements over a 2 year period. Sometimes I had 3 to 5 being worked on a day. Gran Cherokees and 2500/3500 trucks. It was a mess for Dana,Chrysler and customers. Techs and I made lots of $ off them. Some of Danas reman units only made a test drive and had to write another warranty ticket to replace the one just replaced. Lots of $ for dealer,me and techs. Tons of warranty diffs,tons of goodwill out of warranty diffs. Tons of customer pay diffs. With AAM our money went to much of nothing over time. Darn. LOL What has been posted about differential issues in these 1500 is nothing compared to what I saw in 1998 to 2001 or thereabouts.