2016 Ram 1500 Rear Differential Oil Change

[TheJLowe]

Hey Guys,

I just had an oil change done on my 2016 Ram 1500 and the dealership said that my rear differential oil needs changing soon as it is getting dark. I looked online and saw that there appears to be a drain plug in a guy's video. The dealership says only the 2500/3500 have them and that I'd have to take the differential cover off but I clearly see one. I'd rather use the drain plug so I don't have to worry about putting back on RTV/silicon. If I did have to remove it, I'd rather replace it with a gasket opposed to RTV anyways.

My question is, does it do any harm to just use the drain plug? If there were metal shavings or anything in there..I'd presume I'd see them coming out through the drain plug too.
Also, I do need to the additive limited slip. I see some bottles of oil already has it included it says. Can I just use those and not add the limited slip separately? Or do I still need to add it on top of the oil?

 

[GRB60]

I'd wonder how he knew it was getting dark. The only way to know that is to drain it out. Unless you have high mileage or tow often I'd consult and follow the manual's schedule. I don't know off hand what the recommended interval is.

 

[TheJLowe]

That was kind of my thought. It has 16.6k miles on it. I do have it lifted with 35s on it. I believe you could check it if you take off the fill cap and dip your finger in there, but I don't recall seeing them do that when they were working on it.

 

[69GWC]

Sounds like they were trying to up sell you.

 

[TheJLowe]

How annoying. Maintenance schedule says to inspect at 30k miles. I'll do that and inspect for leaks. So when I do change it I still have the questions I originally posted.

 

[69GWC]

Honesty I would pull the cover and get it all put, unless the plug is right on the bottom ( have not looked) other wise any metal will still be in there.

 

[MarshRam]

How annoying. Maintenance schedule says to inspect at 30k miles. I'll do that and inspect for leaks. So when I do change it I still have the questions I originally posted.

Wouldn't hurt to pull the drain cap off and check it yourself to see if it in fact already needs replacing. Better safe than sorry! I believe you can also purchase some kind of swab with a magnet on it to remove any metal shavings. Personally, Id rather pull the cover off and clean it out real good.

 

[TheJLowe]

I see. The drain plug is to the lower left of it so you're probably right that the shavings would indeed stay in there. Is it common to have metal shavings in there? Is it difficult to reapply the RTV? I was hoping to find a gasket in place of it.

 

[DannyMK2]

there is a magnet inside the diff. its impossible to clean the metal shavings without removing the cover and cleaning the magnet. fine metal shavings are normal, chunks or bits of metal are not. your much better off with rtv over a cheap aftermarket gasket. less chance of it leaking as long as its applied correctly.

 

[Pull Ya]

From what I have read you can get a gasket from a parts store or you can use the RTV whichever you prefer. Once you clean the surface either will do the job, but I agree I think the RTV is the better way to go. When I installed my Mag-Hytec Rear Differential Cover I used the rubber gasket they supplied. Some of the fluid has the additive included and you can use that, but I would buy a bottle just in case you had to add it if the rear end started to make noise. I also cleaned out the differential really well when I had the cover off just to make sure there was not any metal shavings or any other crap in there before putting the cover back on. Also, take the fill plug out or at least loosen it before you take the cover off just to make sure you can get it off.
Jay

 

[TheJLowe]

Got it, thanks guys! How often do you guys usually change yours out? I'm at 16.6k and looks like it says every 30k miles.

 

[tfeni52355]

My "stealership" tried to tell me I needed it changed at 13k miles on my 2014. For the tidy sum of $169. What a bunch of crooks. I didn't fall for it and went home and read my manual for recommended service intervals. Honestly I thought if I had a truck that needed differential oil changes every 13k miles I would be switching brands.


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[R.L.K.]

Got it, thanks guys! How often do you guys usually change yours out? I'm at 16.6k and looks like it says every 30k miles.

When the differential is cool to the touch pop off the black rubber servicing plug , stick your finger in and wipe it off on a white paper towel .
If the oil is still transparent and doest smell burnt then your good .
If you tow or haule a lot then check before 30k like now at 16k .


Hope this helps !

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[R.L.K.]

Fwiw , here's an old link when I changed my differential oil on my rear end .
There's a lot of good discussion there .

http://www.ramforum.com/showthread.php?p=1276334

Hope this helps!

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