Interesting, I looked at some u-tube video on changing the seal on a silverado and they did emphasize to mark the position of the nut. Guess I will just bad the fluid change and go back.

 

I want a new truck, usually traded them every 2 years but have had the Ram since Feb 2009 since no other truck interested me since this new Ecoboost. But, not sure what I will get yet..

 

the PROPER way is to NOT mark where the nut was other than as a starting point. There is a tool that is used to pull down on the nut to check and adjust 'preload' Many mark the nut,and some screw things up doing it that way. Such as your finding out. Many are done daily like that BUT now and then tech screws up and bingo. WHINE or ROAR. Nothing wrong with sucking the fliud out. The times I've done it you can move the end of the tube inserted and just about vacuuming everything out. You can pull the cover and use a rag to wipe the bottom of the housing out. I don't like spraying all the innards with carb or brake clean as it can leave bearings and ring gear teeth total dry. Old type wheel bearings same deal. Don't wash them spotless. Just wipe old grease off and squeeze new grease in.

 

good info - thanks. and ya, I agree, nothing wrong with siphon method, especially if you change it at 30k intervals, do not tow, and only pull the cover every other changing.

 

Hey Hounddog, you and others, have been very helpful to me on another thread. I agree with you about the pinion pre-load. I also have been a firm believer in slick-50, especially for engines. But next time I see it for differentials i'm buying some. I also like the idea of that Mag Hytech Diff Cover Thiggins told about. Only stands to reason the added capacity has to be a good idea. I KNOW my dealer wouldn't change the gears, they'd rather see it blow and kill me. LOL Oh well, there are other Dealers and with you guys helping, I can't lose.

 

To kddsram. Sounds like you maybe need a change. I owned Fords all my life, which is a lot longer than I want to admit. They are very good trucks. Last one was an 08F-250 super Duty with the 4.6 Dual Turbo.With hypertech programer. In stage 3 it had close to 800 lbs torque. 73,000 miles only changed batteries. In fact thats all I ever changed in any Ford since my first new one in 95. I honestly always said there no way I'd ever buy a Dodge, yuk!!! One month ago just for fun we sat in a 2012 Ram, Longhorn, 5.7. We drove it and we both said this is the most comfortable truck we have ever been in. Never hat the best model Ford, they were xlt, but the Longhorn isn't the best either. The dealer also gave me a GREAT deal, far better than Ford offered. And the Ford dealer has sole us 10 vehicles, 7 new in 12 yrs! So far I like the RAM better than any Ford I ever owned. The Super Duty was a work horse but I got tired of the horrible mileage. (Best tank in 73,000 miles was barely 15, on a trip) and Diesel being .50 a gallon more I'm very happy. Now dealers are dealers. The one I bought it from HAS to be the worse dealer in the nation, but I can use another for service. But then again, sometimes we need a change, I'm glad I did, maybe its your time. Good luck

 

Slick 50 is snake oil. It has been in class action lawsuits and forced to refund thousands of dollars to customers. Use a quality lube and don't ruin the formula by adding some thing to it. My 2003 Dodge Quad Cab dually with Cummins has needed nothing and HAS THE ORIGNAL BATTERYS !! Now watch one of them go bad. Wife is leaving today pulling three horses in a three horse tailer with 10 foot living Quarters. Trailer and its load will be around 14,000 lbs and it will get around 11mpg at 68/70 mgh.

 

you got a good one...

ya, I am going to get something new, it's that time again, just not made up my mind yet. The new 8 speed Ram would be nice but like I said, if they are locking us out of tuning, then I will probably jump ship. I really like my Ram though, runs it's a$$ off for a truck with my current setup and has that 09 lifetime powertrain warranty with no deductable, so I will get it fixed next Tuesday ( already called a friend at dealer and have appt setup and I get a loaner. ). Have 1 more year of payments but not upside down at all on it so I would easily get some trade towards another, not sure what an 09 with 70k is worth yet but will start researching when I decide on what I want. It's my daily driver so I put on about 23k per year on it.

I had Fords before this 09 Ram, I always liked the looks of the Rams, but passed up an 04 Ram Sport for an 04 FX4 because the interior was way nicer and had leather buckets with a center console shifter. Had an 04 FX4, 05 Lariat and an 06 FX4, all three were dyno tuned by Mike Troyer at Troyer Performance so I have been hooked on the tuning thing for a while now. But all my Fords had issues, the 04 had to be ripped apart with less than 10k for a bad cam phaser, 05 with the steering column clicking, clutch pack and a stupid vibration problem since new, etc...., so when I saw this 4th gen Ram in mid 08 and my 06 started being unreliable with stuck injectors ( three separate times went into limp mode ), I started looking and bailed on the Fords. Now my bro has bought an FX4 with an Eco and we have been to the mountains a few times in it and just put a superchips 93 tune on it, I have been starting to notice the FX4's again. Only thing is the rear locker is for 4 wd mode only and it is an open diff in 2wd so you nail it from a dead stop and you could roast the back right tire off it right to the rim with no problem.

 

Dealer fixed today, only took a couple hours to replace all pinion and carrier bearings, new spacer/crush sleeve, setup gears, another pinion seal, reseal cover and road test. All quiet now on the ride home, no more whining during acceleration or coast down as well as the howling between 50-70 mph gone. Gotta like this lifetime powertrain warranty...

 

kddsRam: Make sure you take it easy for a while and follow a break-in procedure.