Getting the front differential replaced

[Rlaf75]

I posted a few weeks ago that I was getting a bearing whine from the front of my 21 BTS. The noise wasn't coming from the wheel bearings and it wasnt a gear whine. It is a steady noise whether I was on the gas or not but it does get louder the faster I got. I called the dealer and found out its still covered under the factory power train warranty for another 9 or so months so I made an appointment to drop it off. The morning I dropped it off I had one of the tech come along for a ride so I could make sure he heard it which he acknowledged that he he did. I got in their loaner and went home. They called me several hours later and told me they cannot pin point where the noise was coming from while on the lift but the tech recommended that the wheel bearing on the right side be replaced. The wheel bearing wouldn't be covered under the factory warranty but my Mopar Maxcare extended warranty will cover it minus my $200 deductible. I told them I'm not authorizing the replacement because they were not sure where the noise was coming from and I would be out the $200 for parts that don't need to be replaced. I told them I've been a mechanic for 33 years (which I am) and that I diagnosed it before I brought into their dealership. Of course they didnt believe me. Tge next morning I ended up talking with the service manager face to face in his office and he agreed to letting me show their tech how I diagnosed it. He raised the truck up on the lift and I had him attach electronic chassis ears to the differential in a few places which they did not do originally. He lowered the truck and we took it for a ride. Low and behold, he heard exactly what I heard which was the right side axle bearing (circled in red in the picture below) in the front differential singing like a *****. With the electronic chassis ears hooked up in multiple places on the differential that bearing was the loudest of them all. We got back to the dealer and the tech informed the service writer and manager and they ordered a new differential which happens to be on backorder which should've been the first indicator. On my way out of the dealer, the service manager stopped me and apologized saying that "he (the tech) should've found it the first time". As a mechanic of 33 years I told him he probably should've but I get it, sometimes **** happens and that I put up a stink about it because I wasnt in the habit of wasting $200 on a deductible for parts that didnt need to be replaced. He agreed and we shook hands and I left. Anyway, the diff is ordered and im waiting. They will call me when it comes in and ill drop the truck off again.

 

[Rlaf75]

In case anyone is interested, these are the chassis ears I used. When used properly they are great for finding strange noises. I am not way affiliated with this product. I am simply showing you what i used to diagnose my problem https://a.co/d/3WmmyZr

 

[Rlaf75]

It took a few weeks but the front differential finally came in. I made the appointment to drop the truck off in a couple weeks because they need to give me a loaner to drive while they have it and that was the earliest they had.

 

[Wild one]

It took a few weeks but the front differential finally came in. I made the appointment to drop the truck off in a couple weeks because they need to give me a loaner to drive while they have it and that was the earliest they had.

My local dealer carries these kits in stock,and has been rebuilding that side of the diff,if you're paying the bill,under warrenty is another story though.

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Welcome to Rick Roods Transmission!For our first tutorial we've got the 2012 and up 1/2 dodge front axle repair and replacement as Bruce Rood shows in the vi...

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[Rlaf75]

My local dealer carries these kits in stock,and has been rebuilding that side of the diff,if you're paying the bill,under warrenty is another story though.

Dodge Front Axle Repair and Replacement, Rick Roods Transmission

Welcome to Rick Roods Transmission!For our first tutorial we've got the 2012 and up 1/2 dodge front axle repair and replacement as Bruce Rood shows in the vi...

www.youtube.com

My dealer told me that the front differentials are not serviceable so the entire thing would need to be replaced. It will be on Mopar's dime because the truck is still covered under the factory drive train warranty. I figured there had to be someone with a brain to come up with a fix without replacing the entire diff. Thanks for this video. I will be passing it along to a buddy because he has been hearing a clicking or cluncking because the axle and the shaft are rusted and have a bunch of play

 

[Wild one]

My dealer told me that the front differentials are not serviceable so the entire thing would need to be replaced. It will be on Mopar's dime because the truck is still covered under the factory drive train warranty. I figured there had to be someone with a brain to come up with a fix without replacing the entire diff. Thanks for this video. I will be passing it along to a buddy because he has been hearing a clicking or cluncking because the axle and the shaft are rusted and have a bunch of play

You should see if you can get your old diff back if you pay the core fee on it. Then stick an axle shaft in it and you'd have a spare diff for down the road. Quite often if you offer to pay the core fee on something you can get it back,even if it's a warrenty replacement part,all they can say is "no".

 

[Rlaf75]

You should see if you can get your old diff back if you pay the core fee on it. Then stick an axle shaft in it and you'd have a spare diff for down the road. Quite often if you offer to pay the core fee on something you can get it back,even if it's a warrenty replacement part,all they can say is "no".

I might actually inquire about that. I'd have to call that Roods Transmission shop to verify if their kit is for the 4th or 5th gen rams as their website says it fits 2012 to 2021 which to me would indicate its for the 4th gen models. I have a 5th gen. I dont know if the differentials are the same or not

 

[Wild one]

I might actually inquire about that. I'd have to call that Roods Transmission shop to verify if their kit is for the 4th or 5th gen rams as their website says it fits 2012 to 2021 which to me would indicate its for the 4th gen models. I have a 5th gen. I dont know if the differentials are the same or not

I can't see the front diffs being much differant in regards to the axle shaft and passenger side housing,but then again i've never actually compared a 4th and 5th gen front diff side by side. You could check part numbers and see if they interchange.
If the picture you posted is of a 5th gen diff,it sure looks the same as the (2) 4th gen diffs sitting in my shed

 

[DILLIGAF]

My dealer told me that the front differentials are not serviceable

Bunch of moron part changers

Only dodge engineers can take the Gen 3 front diff and literally make it worse....

Thats why I put a Gen 3 diff in my Gen 4

 

[DanAR]

My dealer told me that the front differentials are not serviceable so the entire thing would need to be replaced. It will be on Mopar's dime because the truck is still covered under the factory drive train warranty. I figured there had to be someone with a brain to come up with a fix without replacing the entire diff. Thanks for this video. I will be passing it along to a buddy because he has been hearing a clicking or cluncking because the axle and the shaft are rusted and have a bunch of play

It doesn’t seem like anything is serviceable at a dealership any more - just assembly changers. My neighbor is the service manager for a Honda dealer and one day I told him I was planning to pull and rebuild the torqueflite in my 67 GTX. I asked him if they had anyone locally who they used for random transmission parts. He paused a minute and then said we don’t rebuild anything, we just swap assemblies and units. So much for that.

 

[Wild one]

It doesn’t seem like anything is serviceable at a dealership any more - just assembly changers. My neighbor is the service manager for a Honda dealer and one day I told him I was planning to pull and rebuild the torqueflite in my 67 GTX. I asked him if they had anyone locally who they used for random transmission parts. He paused a minute and then said we don’t rebuild anything, we just swap assemblies and units. So much for that.

The days of buying kits to rebuild starters/alternators etc seem to be going by the way side.
My buddy sheared an axle off in his 2016 Challenger and took out the side gear at the same time,and you can not buy any parts to service or rebuild the ZF diffs in the later model cars.
They have to be one of the easiest diffs i've ever taken apart,and would be very easy to rebuild if you could get parts for them,but no the only way to get parts is to buy a complete diff assembly,that at this point in time is on back order,with no ETA of when one will show up,as he has the semi rare 3.90 geared diff,that's only available in the 6 speed 5.7 and 6.4 Challengers.
We found him a low milege used diff that had a couple broken case fins,and a stripped out mounting bolt hole for a third the cost of the unavailable new diff,and i made him 1 good diff out of 2,by swapping his rear case 1/2 onto the used diff,which bypassed the broken cooling fins and stripped mounting bolt hole the used one had.I then decided to dig into his case,and that's when i discovered how easy it would be to rebuild the ZF diffs "if" you could get parts,as it's far easier to work on then a 9" Ford / a 12 bolt GM or an older Dodge 9.75" by a long shot. The clutch posi unit is easy to get at to rebuild . That's one of the cars ZF diffs weak links is the clutch plates warp and the frictions then cook themselves to death,and you end up having a 1 wheel peeler,but it could be easily rebuilt if there were parts available to rebuild it

 

[bgfish2002]

I just went thru same thing, wheel bearing noise right side, replaced , noise still there . Same part for both sides so put right on we took off and put on left. Noise still there. So ordered differential and put that in , noise still there . Really noticable between 35 to 50 and when you put a load on it makeing ritght turn gets a little louder. even had tires rotated , noise still there....Whats next?????????????????????????????????

 

[Rlaf75]

I just went thru same thing, wheel bearing noise right side, replaced , noise still there . Same part for both sides so put right on we took off and put on left. Noise still there. So ordered differential and put that in , noise still there . Really noticable between 35 to 50 and when you put a load on it makeing ritght turn gets a little louder. even had tires rotated , noise still there....Whats next?????????????????????????????????

The only thing left is the rear differential. Pick up a set of chassis ears and start from the front to the back of the truck