Rear axle gear lube, info concerning my experience

[OutpostRam]

My experience on rear axle 1500 Rams. I had my 2014 Ram 1500 4x4 in the dealership for a recall in about 2016. The technician checked the rear axle lube and said it looked a little dark after 25,000 miles. My truck has the 3.92 gears and limited slip differential. I changed it at home with the required 75w-140 full synthetic lube and the additive. I have changed it since then at around every 25,000 miles. Truck now has over 140,000 miles and still running well. No rear axle howling. My friend had a 2012 Ram 1500 4x4 with the 3.21 OPEN rear differential. We changed his at 60,000 miles and the drain-out still was golden in color. The limited slip has clutch plates that wear and throw clutch material powder into the lubricant. Folks worry about changing engine oil, but how many think about the axles/Tcase?

 

[Rob2gen]

I think the main reason gear boxes are less of a concern is because the gear boxes are sealed and have much longer service intervals... vs engine oil which has fuel dilution, additive package breakdown issues and oil filters that cause engine oil change intervals to become very important.

 

[Daw14]

My experience on rear axle 1500 Rams. I had my 2014 Ram 1500 4x4 in the dealership for a recall in about 2016. The technician checked the rear axle lube and said it looked a little dark after 25,000 miles. My truck has the 3.92 gears and limited slip differential. I changed it at home with the required 75w-140 full synthetic lube and the additive. I have changed it since then at around every 25,000 miles. Truck now has over 140,000 miles and still running well. No rear axle howling. My friend had a 2012 Ram 1500 4x4 with the 3.21 OPEN rear differential. We changed his at 60,000 miles and the drain-out still was golden in color. The limited slip has clutch plates that wear and throw clutch material powder into the lubricant. Folks worry about changing engine oil, but how many think about the axles/Tcase?

People have become so ignorant of vehicles operations ,that lots of manufacturers have now eliminated the oil dipstick.
They came to the conclusion that most do not have a clue as to what a dipstick does , or even what oil is for , besides cooking.
Many have no idea that cars need regular service, they don’t have that on video games , do they ?
I bet the majority have never heard about differential assemblies.

 

[Burla]

It should be in the owners manual, it certainly used to be. if people ignore the service intervals in the owners manual, that's on them. Diff's have breather tubes and should be replaced on a lower interval imo, and transfer cases break down fluid much factor then a transmission. Both items should be serviced twice for everytime you service the transmission once. Of course these days because of "climate change" "they" don't think you should service your transmission at all. Don't forget about that brake fluid either, that too is on a lower interval then most items.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Gear boxes are not sealed.

They have breather tubes to allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the oil and the air inside the box. Atmospheric moisture builds up in the oil over time, causing the oil to get milky, lose lubricity, and cause rust. Therefore, gear oil changes are based on BOTH usage and calendar time.

After a lifetime in this biz, I change no longer than 4 years or 50,000 miles.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Kind of ashamed to admit it, but I have 120k miles on Walmart fully synthetic lube (front & rear) in a grand cherokee. The car has 255k mi on it, and runs great. Yeah, I DO need to change that fluid. It's on the list. I put walmart fully synthetic lube in everything ...have for probably close to 30 yrs. Never had a diff issue yet and run my vehicles up over 200k. I don't do any real trailer towing. One Jeep GC I ran up to 335k miles (that one I did replace the wally world rear diff fluid periodically). That Jeep never did die, but we replaced it.

40k - 50k... somewhere in that neighborhood ought to do. See what the manual says ....and shorten the interval if you don't feel comfortable with the recommendation. Yer not talking a whole lot of $$ to change it.

 

[Gero]

Gear boxes are not sealed.

They have breather tubes to allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the oil and the air inside the box. Atmospheric moisture builds up in the oil over time, causing the oil to get milky, lose lubricity, and cause rust. Therefore, gear oil changes are based on BOTH usage and calendar time.

After a lifetime in this biz, I change no longer than 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Totally agree. And if you're off roading and driving across creeks or water, id change it even more often.

 

[Rob2gen]

Gear boxes are not sealed.

They have breather tubes to allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the oil and the air inside the box. Atmospheric moisture builds up in the oil over time, causing the oil to get milky, lose lubricity, and cause rust. Therefore, gear oil changes are based on BOTH usage and calendar time.

After a lifetime in this biz, I change no longer than 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Yes, your right. Gear boxes are not sealed... modern axles and transfer cases are often described as "sealed," they are better characterized as vented-to-atmosphere rather than hermetically sealed.

In contrast to engines, they do not deal with combustion byproducts, which significantly changes their maintenance profiles.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Yes, your right. Gear boxes are not sealed... modern axles and transfer cases are often described as "sealed," they are better characterized as vented-to-atmosphere rather than hermetically sealed.

In contrast to engines, they do not deal with combustion byproducts, which significantly changes their maintenance profiles.

Of course. The point is there is no such thing as "lubed for life". Gearboxes not subject to dirt work have oil changes like I said app. 4 yrs / 50,000 miles. The CAT dirt shovers change way before that.

 

[BenchTest]

Kind of ashamed to admit it, but I have 120k miles on Walmart fully synthetic lube (front & rear) in a grand cherokee. The car has 255k mi on it, and runs great. Yeah, I DO need to change that fluid. It's on the list. I put walmart fully synthetic lube in everything ...have for probably close to 30 yrs. Never had a diff issue yet and run my vehicles up over 200k. I don't do any real trailer towing. One Jeep GC I ran up to 335k miles (that one I did replace the wally world rear diff fluid periodically). That Jeep never did die, but we replaced it.

40k - 50k... somewhere in that neighborhood ought to do. See what the manual says ....and shorten the interval if you don't feel comfortable with the recommendation. Yer not talking a whole lot of $$ to change it.

No shame in Walmart synthetics. It's not like the monkeys at Walmart are making that oil and bottling it themselves

 

[Pull Ya]

Many people learn the importance of routine maintenance right after they pay for a very expensive repair because of lack of periodic maintenance. Kinda like some wives believe that the only person that can put fuel in the car is their husband, no matter how low the tank is---LOL
Jay

 

[Grams]

Mfr’s have learned to create frequent “mandatory” service intervals to prompt owners to come into dealerships …and see this years models on the sales-floor….. Whether or Not the service interval is necessary or not.

Since the 1930’s differentials only rarely “need” the gear oil changed. IIRC, It wasn’t until the ‘90s that 30K mile gear oil chgs were suddenly “mandatory” in Chrylser products. Then all of a sudden every mfr’r Requires regular OCI’s in diffs and txfr cases.

If you don’t tow frequently, or off-road across streams frequently, etc…. it’s probably safe to ignore diff OCIs. Personally, I keep a 100K mile OCI on my own diffs, txfr cases, and transmissions on vehicles that don’t tow.
On my tow-vehicles I do the transmission only at 50K intervals., and the diffs/txfr-cases I keep a 100K OCI. I’ve had Zero failures of those items across 7 such vehicles all of which have exceeded 220K, 3 have gone past 300K…. before they have all been wrecked. (The ‘12 Ram 1500 wrecked last Sept had just undergone it’s 200K service of diffs, txfr, and trans…. plus I’d replaced all rear axles/bearings and U-joints, front axles and front drive-shaft, entire ignition system (wires/plugs/etc)….and the following week that $2500 went down the drain when it was wrecked. So-much for preventive mx…LOL)

YMMV. My point is that cars/trucks under ordinary street use and 100K changes is plenty conservative, IMO.

(Of course, I don’t have to fix your stuff….. only my own….but that’s what works for rme.)

 

[Different Drummer]

I think I am at around 96,000 miles on my 2017 with clutch style LSD. Lube has been changed twice with cover removal and flush both times.Truck was tilted side to side to drain the axle tubes each time. ( yeah, I am **** ). Did this in part for what OP states in their post #1. Also did a transmission service at 48,000 miles and getting prepared for another soon.
To OP: Yeah, there are some of us who do think about maintenance of the entire vehicle.

 

[Jeepwalker]

No shame in Walmart synthetics. ...It's not like the monkeys at Walmart are making that oil and bottling it themselves

Are you sure about that?

 

[DILLIGAF]

Totally agree. And if you're off roading and driving across creeks or water, id change it even more often.

If your dumb enough not to extend your breather tubes on everything including the trans. yes .

But as someone who does water crossings, it dosent affect anything at all. Never once did I get any water in my Ram or JK ( Well this one time I had the entire interior wet from a river crossing , water half way up my doors )

I still change my oils ever couple of years since I like to look inside my diffs due to the constats beating they get and check backlash and gear patterns due to said beating. and not once did it show sings of water contamination.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Dry regions may not absorb much moisture from the breather, but they can get dust. 4 years is plenty long enough to start to contaminate gear oil. Only a UOA can show it, not visual inspection.