REAR END PICS 90,000 MILES LATER. The oil I drained looked as good as what i put back in. Thanks Drew it took 20 minutes

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Looks like you got a great wear pattern there.

Man, those gears look a lot stouter than the gears in my '04 SD did. Even after I replaced them with a thick cut set.

For those that were wondering, that gear on theleft side on the ring gear (with the straight cuts) is the tone ring. That's what gives the reading to the speedo. A gear change does not effect your speedo, only a tire size change does because that gear reads in relation to your axle revolutions. Other types of speedo's that read off of the tranny or t-case are thrown off by everything, including gear changes.

Also, if you look at his diff, the LSD is setup just like a Detroit TrueTrac. Very good design using the gears instead of clutches.

 

I was kinda wondering what the heck those teeth were for.I must warn everyone to loosen the bolts slowly or you will be wearing the old lube all over yourself!!!!! I kinda found out the hard way[:@]My wife said I smelt like s%$#

 

Yeah, loosen all of them except the top 2.

Then loosen those and just crack the bottom with a flat head and it'll drain out nicely.

 

Drew set me up!!! I bet hes laughin hard. I will remember next time

 

Did you get it sealed up good?

Did you use a new gasket or just sealant?

I always used the grey high temp stuff. Always worked well.

 

The old gasket looked new, so I used a littlle sealant just to be safe.Im a check everything freak cause we work this baby every day HARD!!!! IL keep an eye on it, How you like the pic of the family LOL

 

Not sure if you've alreadyrefilledit or not, but it's also a good idea to let it sit, at least over night, before you fill it back up.

Just gives the sealant a chance to cure fully.

If it hasn't developed any leaks in the first few days, you're probably okay.

If it does, it's better to start from scratch and reseal it. Clean the whole cover and mounting surfaces and run an 1/8th inch bead around the inside of the bolt holes.

 

Are you familiar with the brakes on the 04 3500s. Im gonna put new pads front and rear today and Ive heard that you can mess the anti-lock sensors up if you squeeze the calipers. should I open the bleeder nut? This will be my first attempt on a four wheel anti-lock system.

 

Haven't changed the brakes on this. It's only got 9600 miles on it.

One of the few things that haven't been worked on by the dealer. [:@]

Biggest thing is don't let the caliper hang, that's when you screw up the lines. Tie it off to the springs if you need to hold it up. just use a zip tie.

As long as you open up the resevoir before you squeeze the piston back in, you'll be fine. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't overflow.

Start with the brake that is farthest away from the resevoir and work your way in.

Change the back brakes, drive it around the block, make sure everything is good to hook, then change the front brakes.

I always use a 4" clamp to just squeeze the calipers enough to get the new pads on the rotor. Don't fully compress it back into the caliper, that's when you'll tear up seals.

If they feel spongy, just go to any of the auto stores. They all rent brake bleeders. Free rental, just pay a deposit. make sure you get one of teh one handed bleeders or you'll need a second set of hands.

Ohhhh, almost forgot.....

After you change them. Take the truck to a big open parking lot where you have some room. Get the truck up to about 45 MPH and get on teh brakes HARD. DO NOT stop completely, just down to 5MPH or so and keep rolling. Do this abut 5 - 6 times and it will seat the brakes in well.

Key is not stopping and allowing the hot pads to make stopped contact wth the rotor.