Diff Fluid Change 2014

[mtofell]

So, for reasons I'll never understand, Ram omitted a drain plug on my front and rear diffs (2014, 2500 Hemi). I watched a great Youtube last night of a guy doing the rear and it seems simple enough but a lot bolts to remove (and potentially break).

Just thinking outside the box here - would I be a totally ****** mechanic by just loosening a few bolts along the bottom and letting the fluid drain out, tightening them back up (the gasket is advertised as reusable) and filling it back up? Alternately, has anyone used one of those "top sider" pumps to pull fluid out the drain hole? I used one once for an oil change on a Mercedes and it was pretty slick, albeit slow. I guess this is how oil is changed on boats when they are in the water - buy sucking it out. Not sure if it would even be possible to get the "sucking" hose past the gears to the bottom of the differentials?

I'm sure I could work through removing the cover but it sure is a tougher job than it needs to be. WTF is wrong with just putting a drain in the thing anyway? I mean, I could technically just use a bucket to empty the water out of my kitchen sink every evening but someone had a bright idea to put a drain at the bottom..... seems to work out pretty well.

 

[lpfm1990]

So, for reasons I'll never understand, Ram omitted a drain plug on my front and rear diffs (2014, 2500 Hemi). I watched a great Youtube last night of a guy doing the rear and it seems simple enough but a lot bolts to remove (and potentially break).

Just thinking outside the box here - would I be a totally ****** mechanic by just loosening a few bolts along the bottom and letting the fluid drain out, tightening them back up (the gasket is advertised as reusable) and filling it back up? Alternately, has anyone used one of those "top sider" pumps to pull fluid out the drain hole? I used one once for an oil change on a Mercedes and it was pretty slick, albeit slow. I guess this is how oil is changed on boats when they are in the water - buy sucking it out. Not sure if it would even be possible to get the "sucking" hose past the gears to the bottom of the differentials?

I'm sure I could work through removing the cover but it sure is a tougher job than it needs to be. WTF is wrong with just putting a drain in the thing anyway? I mean, I could technically just use a bucket to empty the water out of my kitchen sink every evening but someone had a bright idea to put a drain at the bottom..... seems to work out pretty well.

So that way you are pretty much forced to look inside the cases at the gears, easier to spot a shot ring gear or major wear issues, then the typical shop or guy that just drains into a bulk bin and doesn’t look at it, refills it, and then drives and blows up when it was easily avoidable.

Also, who doesn’t like looking at the insides of your truck [emoji2369]


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[Redheadhunter21]

Yep they want the tech to pull it all the way off and inspect. Shouldnt have a problem losening them up and popping the bottom to drain it, however if its the first time I would inspect it.

 

[GsRAM]

Needs to be removed all the way to do the job the right way. As said, inspect the gears for anything out of the ordinary and clean out the bottom of the diff and back side of the cover.

Its really not a big deal at all. I spend more time on the wire wheel cleaning the bolts than anything else. I use an air ratchet to go apart and back together and double check the bolts with a regular ratchet

 

[olyelr]

Needs to be removed all the way to do the job the right way. As said, inspect the gears for anything out of the ordinary and clean out the bottom of the diff and back side of the cover.

Its really not a big deal at all. I spend more time on the wire wheel cleaning the bolts than anything else. I use an air ratchet to go apart and back together and double check the bolts with a regular ratchet

This^^^^^^

Even if the cover had a drain port, I would still pull it simply to look everything over as well as clean all of the metal shavings out of there.

Put a filtermag back in while your at it too

 

[QwikKota]

You don't want to bend or damage any sealing surfaces, I would remove it completely and inspect the gasket for tears.

I am glad my 1500 has a drain plug. I have a lifetime warranty and don't need to inspect anything.

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[22hemi13]

I pulled mine. 2014 2500 5.7. Once you loosen it enough that it would drain you’re very likely to get gunk from the edge of gasket inside if you don’t remove it. Sand and crap.

 

[mtofell]

I have a lifetime warranty and don't need to inspect anything.

This is exactly where I'm at with it. I watched good Youtube and the guy got me a bit spooked about breaking a bolt - there also seems to be some debate about what to torque the bolts back to.

Thanks everyone.... I guess my "idea" isn't a good one. I'll likely just have the dealer do it at some point when they push hard enough. From what I remember, the manual is kind of vague and only gives a mileage spec when the truck is used as a taxi or police vehicle.

 

[QwikKota]

This is exactly where I'm at with it. I watched good Youtube and the guy got me a bit spooked about breaking a bolt - there also seems to be some debate about what to torque the bolts back to.

Thanks everyone.... I guess my "idea" isn't a good one. I'll likely just have the dealer do it at some point when they push hard enough. From what I remember, the manual is kind of vague and only gives a mileage spec when the truck is used as a taxi or police vehicle.

I have done it a couple of times on my Dakota and it's pretty straightforward. If you can get to the front side of the bolts, spray them with PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench the day before. If not, spraying them from the head side probably won't do anything. Just make sure to use a 6 point socket or wrench to remove and follow factory torque spec to re-install. 25 ft-lbs, etc. Make sure you can get the fill plug off before you do anything.

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[lpfm1990]

This is exactly where I'm at with it. I watched good Youtube and the guy got me a bit spooked about breaking a bolt - there also seems to be some debate about what to torque the bolts back to.

Thanks everyone.... I guess my "idea" isn't a good one. I'll likely just have the dealer do it at some point when they push hard enough. From what I remember, the manual is kind of vague and only gives a mileage spec when the truck is used as a taxi or police vehicle.

If you break a bolt, then your doing something seriously wrong, 25 ft/lbs isn’t much, and don’t push it too far, you’re only asking for problems once the oil breaks down too much as starts messing with the anti-spin/limited slip


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[68PowerWagon]

I never could figure out why they didn't make the covers aluminum. They are always looking for ways to cut weight, & there is the added benefit of keeping the gears cooler. Sure it would cost them a few dollars more, but whats an extra 40-50 bucks to pass along to the customer?

 

[GsRAM]

I never could figure out why they didn't make the covers aluminum. They are always looking for ways to cut weight, & there is the added benefit of keeping the gears cooler. Sure it would cost them a few dollars more, but whats an extra 40-50 bucks to pass along to the customer?

Exactly! Also these trucks should come standard with 4.10 gears for the $53 or whatever option it is on the window sticker. 4.30s or the 4.44s should be the optional

 

[GsRAM]

If you break a bolt, then your doing something seriously wrong, 25 ft/lbs isn’t much, and don’t push it too far, you’re only asking for problems once the oil breaks down too much as starts messing with the anti-spin/limited slip


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100% if you know what your doing you won't break any bolts. Use a torque wrench or if your experienced you'll know when they are tight enough without one..

 

[lpfm1990]

I never could figure out why they didn't make the covers aluminum. They are always looking for ways to cut weight, & there is the added benefit of keeping the gears cooler. Sure it would cost them a few dollars more, but whats an extra 40-50 bucks to pass along to the customer?

The benefit for ram is, cooked bearings for those who don’t care, and then those who like them, an extra $175 profit in the cover sale, and extra gasket, and the oil... why sell one part, when you can sell two?


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[lpfm1990]

100% if you know what your doing you won't break any bolts. Use a torque wrench or if your experienced you'll know when they are tight enough without one..

Yep, and don’t run the first bolt in to 25 ft/lbs, and expect nothing to break when you go to the other side and crank it down to 25 [emoji23]


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[QwikKota]

Why would anyone care about miniscule weight savings on a 7,000lb truck? Aluminum covers are mainly for lowering fluid temps.

Good point on the 2 step approach to tightening the cover bolts and try to do a criss cross pattern to avoid warping the cover flange.

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[Garyram250064]

On your 2500 what fluid did you use? How much? and did you need to add the limited slip additive?

 

[DodgeDude99]

I’ve broken cover bolts loosening them but never tightening them.

 

[QwikKota]

On your 2500 what fluid did you use? How much? and did you need to add the limited slip additive?

I believe the HD trucks use a gear type LSD and do not require the additive. That is primarily for clutch pack style LSD's such as on the 1500.

 

[68PowerWagon]

Why would anyone care about miniscule weight savings on a 7,000lb truck? Aluminum covers are mainly for lowering fluid temps.

FCA should, so they don't have the heaviest trucks out there. FCA should, so they can get mpg closer to the competitions. Guys that use their trucks commercially do. A couple diff. covers might seem miniscule, but you add those along with the oil pan, tranny pan & 100's of other parts that could or should be aluminum, & you are now looking at several 100 pounds. I love my Mopars, but why does every vehicle they make have to be 500-1,000 pounds heavier than the competition? And it is sure not from thicker body panels! I can sneeze on my truck & put a small ding in it.