It seems quite a few people are concerned about the rear differentials locking up on some 2009 and 2010 Rams...its happened enough that the NHTSA and Transport Canada have launched an investigation. Unfortunately, these investigations can take a long time and many of them don't result in a recall. I did whatever research I could online into reports of problems and at least in a number of cases the problem appeared to be caused by the pinion nut coming loose. I took my truck (2009 Hemi) to a very good local driveline shop (owner has a 2010 Ram). I have 102,000 km on the truck (about 65,000 miles) with no sign of any problem but I wanted to get it checked--I asked to have the pinion nut checked, and I also replaced the differential fluid with Quaker State 75w/140 full synthetic. The shop said everything looked good, and the pinon nut was tight but as a precaution they Loctited it and "peened" it. I'm not sure if this will prevent a problem with the rear differential locking up, but the shop only charged $95.00 to change the fluid (I provided the fluid) and check & Loctite the pinion nut. I figured it couldn't hurt...

 

Sorry BT, but its gonna hurt, and likely soon....

Not a wise thing to do with loosening the pinion nut and retightening it. (crush sleeve will now become an issue by retightening it)
Hope you dont hear your differential start whining soon... if it does, nowwww, then you`ll know why you dont loosen an retighten them. If they were a good differential shop, they would not have touched that pinion nut...thats a no no.

 

Also, early build 2009 trucks not seeing the issue with loose pinion nuts.
Mid year 09 onward are. Whats your build date(?)

 

Luc229 I respect your opinion, but I looked into the issue of reusing the crush washer before making my decision. Lots of opinions on the Internet...some say it's a problem, others say it's not a problem. The driveline shop I used has been in business 25 years with the same owner. Great reputation. He worked on my BMW 7 series tranny when the dealer wouldn't touch it. A friend of mine tows trailers for a living, is on his 4th Ram Cummins, and has used this shop for over 15 years. The owner of the shop brought up the issue of the crush washer when I first talked to him. He said it's not a problem if you mark the position of the nut on the pinion prior to removal, then realign the marks when you reinstall the pinion nut (after applying Loctite), and tighten it up just a fraction past the aligned marks.

It's a busy shop with 4 bays and is immaculate. The owner checked my diff personally (as I mentioned he has a 2010 Ram). His total charge to change the fluid and redo the pinion nut was $95.00 so it's not like he's getting rich doing unnecessary or questionable work. He could have made a lot more money disassembling everything and installing a new crush washer. He said that was an option, but felt it was a waste of money.

When I read your post about your issues with your 2010 truck you mentioned that your rear differential is "howling like crazy" and you're just waiting for it to blow. I guess that's one approach. LIke I said, there is a lot of opinions regarding reusing crush washers on the Internet but at the end of the day I decided to trust the opinion of a local driveline specialist who has been in business 25 years.

 

Yeesh I can't believe that a driveline shop would be dumb enough to reuse a crush sleeve. They cost less than $10 - just sloppy and lazy. I hope you havn't got an 09 with a lifetime powertrain, because what they did is enough to void the warrenty on that rear end.

 

add another truck to the rear end issues

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/4th-gen...ml#post2873298

 

If you had read my post, you would realize it's not the cost of the part that is the concern. It's the amount of dissassembly and reassembly to replace the crush sleeve. The driveline shop could have made a lot more money by replacing the crush sleeve, but felt it was unnecessary.

It's interesting that you pass judgement on the drivetrain shop as being "sloppy and lazy". I've dealt with them for years, and had them work on my BMW 740iL. The shop is immaculate, and they have a great reputation. They haven't been in buisness for 25 years - same owner - by being sloppy and lazy.

I've explained the process the shop used when they reinstalled the pinion nut, to prevent any problem with the crush sleeve. They mark the exact position of the nut on the pinion before removal, and then when they reinstall it after applying Loctite they realign the two marks...and torque it just past that. If you search on the Internet, you'll find plenty of people who use the same method and have had no problems. If it was really necessary to install a new crush sleeve, I'm sure the shop would have been happy to charge me for all the extra labor required to do so.

Perhaps you can explain why their method of reusing the pinion nut and crush sleeve is going to cause a problem.

 

Because crush sleeves set pinion preload properly and once you remove the pinion nut you no longer have the correct preload and require a new crush sleeve and the correct torque to crush it. Marking the position and then cranking it more is not the proper way to do it - regardless of what you saw on the internet.

Once again, good luck and you just voided any warranty that axle might have left.

 

Sorry BullyT, i have to agree with the "ole coot" (old jeep) here, he`s right on the money.
His explanation is EXACTLY spot on, and IS correct...!

Just because someone has a shop for 25yrs and owns a toolbox full of tools, dosent always meen they know what they`re doin.
I know quite a few guys here that have been in the business more than 25yrs, and i wouldnt let them work on a lawnmower.
I`m glad you have confidence in them, but after reading what you wrote, they wouldnt be touchin my truck.

 

"Old Jeep" and "LU229" you are certainly entitled to your opinion(s) and my intention here wasn't to start an argument. It was to let people know that with just over 100,000 km on my 2009 that when the rear end was inspected everything looked fine and the pinion nut was tight. After doing my own research, and for piece of mind, I felt the added precaution of Loctiting the pinion nut made sense. For those that are concerned about the pinion nut coming loose, I wanted to mention what I had done.

Reinstalling the pinion nut with a new crush spacer is one way to do the job, and in your opinion the only way. I drive a lot - will be putting on over 2,500 km this coming week alone - so if there is a problem I will find out pretty quick and I will be the first to post here and admit I made a mistake. In Canada, where I live, there is no lifetime warranty on powertrain so voiding warranty is not a concern.

What I do know is that quite a few rear diffs are locking up...as they come assembled from the factory presumably with "proper" preload on the crush spacer...and the pinion nut has come loose. What I also know is that the owner of the shop mentioned the crush spacer and that installing a new one required quite a bit more disassembly and reassembly and in his experience it was unnecessary. By marking the exact position of the nut on the pinion and re-installing to that position (just slightly past the scribe mark) my understanding is that the same (correct) torque has been applied to the crush spacer. With Loctite and the nut peened, it's not coming off and the preload on the pinion should be exactly as before since the nut is in the same place.

This driveline shop was recommended to me years ago by a good friend who is now on his fourth Ram Cummins. He's been dealing with them for over 15 years...after he gave up on dealerships. I've had good experience with them in the past, and based on his local reputation I'm very confident that he knows what he's doing. As I said, if I develop a problem I'll be the first to post here and let people know. I'll be putting on over 50,000 km on my Ram this year and I'll post updates. We may disagree on this, but I appreciate the input from you two "old coots".