Dealership Says No Lubricating Front Driveshaft

[turkeybird56]

TY ty, was wondeing because 4 X 4. Have seen no sticker except for Carb and AC stickers on MY 19

 

[PaulTGarrett]

My truck was used when I bought it and the front drive shaft was pretty sloppy. $tealer wanted $1100 to R&R the front shaft, I pulled it out myself and took it to a local drive shaft shop. $380 later, I had a totally rebuilt and balanced driveshaft, with fully grease-able Spicer components. The rear shaft is going to get the same treatment when it comes time to do any work on it.

If you use your truck like a truck, I highly recommend replacing the crosses with Spicer's instead of taking it to the dealer and having the same 'ol disposable crap installed...

 

[Redheadhunter21]

My dealership didn't try to say it wasn't there. However they know I'm mechanically inclined, so after the lube tech spent 30 minutes looking for the grease point and even went to get help from other mechanics. I helped him out and found it for him, then they didn't have the grease needle. Which was the only reason I went to the dealer, so they told me I can wait while they source the part. So I waited and they were able to get it done, that lube tech is now the only one their that knows how to find it.

 

[GsRAM]

As has been said, yes it's there my 2017 has one and I greased it. Your dealer and there's techs must be a bunch of idiots. Anybody that knows how to hold a wrench can turn the drive shaft and find the hole. I found mine in less than five minutes of looking the first time . That's pretty telling about your dealership. Maybe time to find someone else to go to LOL

Or maybe, it's their way of printing their own money lol. Maybe they figure, just let it go and once the joints wiped out we can sell him a new one for $300 with a 50% markup on it LOL. Just another of many examples of why I try to do all the work I can myself.

 

[sandawilliams]

I think we need to alert Ram and their site monitor here about this issue. When it plainly states under the hood to lub this at oil changes and we cant find a competent dealer that will do it the manufacturer needs to know. Anyone agree?

 

[SETEX 6.4]

FCA doesn't give a damn!

2014 Ram 2500 Mega Cab 6.4 Hemi 4:10 Gears Ram Boxes 35x12.50R18 on Factory Wheels
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[sandawilliams]

FCA doesn't give a damn!

2014 Ram 2500 Mega Cab 6.4 Hemi 4:10 Gears Ram Boxes 35x12.50R18 on Factory Wheels
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Probably not.

 

[dexter]

My understanding is that the front axle is only engaged when in 4x4. So, if you don't 4x4 much, you don't have to lube it much.

 

[GsRAM]

Yes but grease dries out over time. There's a reason the spec in the owners manual says every oil change. But who knows?

 

[Hootbro]

I think we need to alert Ram and their site monitor here about this issue. When it plainly states under the hood to lub this at oil changes and we cant find a competent dealer that will do it the manufacturer needs to know. Anyone agree?

If the dealership sells a lot of FCA product, FCA corporate does not care about minutia details of incompetence in a particular dealership service department. FCA makes money on units sold and moved, dealerships make money on service and parts.

 

[KrisK]

I actually did a chat session with Mopar customer service and saved the chat record. Based on their response, it sounds like it's not just the dealerships that are misinformed, but also their customer service. Here's a portion of the chat transcript:

Alexander (10/25/2018, 2:08:31 PM): As it turns out the front drive shafts have not been made with a grease nipple since the early 2000s, you happened to find a left over bit of detail and it doesnt apply to your vehicle and should be edited out in future copies

Me (10/25/2018, 2:12:34 PM): Ok. While researching the issue online, I found multiple comments where the 2017 Rams don't have a grease nipple, but are supposed to be greased with a special grease needle.

Alexander (10/25/2018, 2:13:37 PM): The feedback here is that is not required and is a left over from earlier vehicles

Me (10/25/2018, 2:15:14 PM): So they even placed a prominent sticker under the hood that says to grease the front driveshaft at every oil change, but that is an error?

Alexander (10/25/2018, 2:15:45 PM): I have no problem double checking but that was the feedback I was given. Hold tight and I will be back in a few more minutes

Me (10/25/2018, 2:17:40 PM): Thank you. I have no problem with it not being done if it really isn't necessary, but that notice under the hood really has me questioning. On multiple Mopar forums there are people with 2017 Ram 2500s who have posted photos of the grease fitting (not a standard zerk fitting) and the needle that is used to grease it. Again, I just want to be sure I'm not overlooking a part of maintenance that needs to be done.

Me (10/25/2018, 2:18:36 PM): Here is a link to one of the posts. The third post down has the photo of the fitting on a 2017 Ram 2500. https://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/...on/2398106-how-many-grease-fitting-truck.html

Alexander (10/25/2018, 2:22:52 PM): Ok, that is odd, though not unheard of. We recommend bringing the vehicle into the dealer and showing them that information. Everything here says its not necessary and at best a blurb that needs editing for future vehicles

 

[Fliehigh]

I have a powerwagon and I experienced the exact same thing as the OP. I made them take my truck back in 3 times and finally showed them the "nipple", needle fitting. New techs do not know how to grease anything without a regular fitting.

In the beginning they also tried to tell me that it was not needed and that RAM should stop putting the stickers in the HD trucks. When I showed the fitting of course I did not get an apology, so I now don't go to that dealership.

 

[Fliehigh]

1500 does not, different type of joint on the front driveshaft.

1500's do not have a CARDON joint at the front driveshaft.

 

[Fliehigh]

I think @ramcares should read through this thread. It is very frustrating when you to the dealer and/or call customer service and they are telling something this wrong.

 

[Jackfate]

In the time it took to play all theses games with the FCA& stealerships you could have found , marked for future reference & lubed the joint many many times. And had the knowledge that it was in fact lubed. With a pistol grip grease gun with flex hose and a long 5”-6” needle grease tip it’s not hard to do . You do need to pay close attention to the orientation as to the direction that you look for it though . Carefully watch the u tube videos

Good luck

 

[dexter]

In the time it took to play all theses games with the FCA& stealerships you could have found , marked for future reference & lubed the joint many many times. And had the knowledge that it was in fact lubed. With a pistol grip grease gun with flex hose and a long 5”-6” needle grease tip it’s not hard to do . You do need to pay close attention to the orientation as to the direction that you look for it though . Carefully watch the u tube videos

Good luck

Orientation is the key ... I have to have my head pointing towards the driver side and rotating the axle towards the driver's side also. It doesn't work the other way for me.

 

[KrisK]

In the time it took to play all theses games with the FCA& stealerships you could have found , marked for future reference & lubed the joint many many times. And had the knowledge that it was in fact lubed. With a pistol grip grease gun with flex hose and a long 5”-6” needle grease tip it’s not hard to do . You do need to pay close attention to the orientation as to the direction that you look for it though . Carefully watch the u tube videos

Good luck

I agree with you. I could have done it multiple times myself rather than inquire of the dealership and FCA, and that may be the route I end up taking, although it sure would be nice for the dealership and FCA to perform the correct maintenance for all of the other people out there who rely on the dealership to give them correct information and perform the correct maintenance. Those people who are not knowledgeable enough to research it further should not suffer potential damage simply because the dealership has incorrect information.

 

[Fliehigh]

and to add to what @KrisK stated, if you are paying the dealer to do an oil change and lube they should not only know how to do it but not turn and tell you that they do not need it.

 

[mhud59]

They are playing "Whose to Blame". If the Dealership admits it's there and it fails, they will have to eat it because Ram says it doesn't exists. If Ram admits it then they will have ALL those front drive shafts to fix. So they boot it back and forth hoping you will just go away. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING that the dealer and that RAM tells you so that when it fails you can prove you were not neglegent in your maintainance.

 

[Ratket]

Retired crippled old man spends 50k plus for his truck and can’t climb underneath, The least he could expect is the dealer to do their damn job. Not everyone has the luxury of doing it themselves.