Vittorio

$325 every 15 K? I see now why y'all do it yourselves. Labor wasn't bad but the cost of those additives. Mercy.

wexman

I think the 15 K is a BIT excessive. I've owned a few trucks, and have NEVER seen an interval like this before.

Realistically, how many non-truck nuts (ie. NORMAL people ) do you know that have EVER changed their diff fluid, or even though about it?

I plan on doing it every 30 K, which for me is every 2-3 years.

Vittorio

I felt the same way too until they told me today the warranty is contingent upon following the 15K service interval. That policy pretty well lined me out.

My powerstrokes were 60 K!

RamDan03

Yeah i'm going to change mine every 60K or so. Unless of course my axles are submerged under water or i've been towing super heavy.

phox_mulder

Exactly the reason I did mine at 15K.

Previous truck I did at 60K (Tacoma), all other previous vehicles I never even thought about it.


phox

Vittorio

The story goes that DC's axle supplier set the 15K standard.

Sounds to me like someone is building in a lot maintenance insurance at the owners expense. The least they could do is make the service charge and fluids reasonable.

IMO, $325 every 15 K in a Heavy Duty Truck is customer unfriendly.

Amish hauler

Do they set or check for pinon alignment or bearing preloads when there in there?
You know like adjusting a auto trannys bands or something like that.

Vittorio

Nope.

All they did was covers off, spray a little geat cleaner on the drained gears, looked them over, buttoned er' up and refilled the fluids. 40 minutes and truck was out. $325 AFTER my discount.

Dave65

How many quarts does the 11.5 AAM take?

doitl8r

Gents,

Is there a proper way of removing the covers? I mean do you all just use a socket wrench and a pan under to catch the gear oil coming out?

Does anyone have a detailed info on this procedure?

I recently changed my fuel filter and that was easy....next oil change I think I will tackle myself as the first one was done by the dealer:

Oil change and tire rotation - $140 CND! I think thats nuts!


Thanks in advance.

bulabula

doitlater, you got it. Its not difficult, just spin off all the bolts and have a catch pan underneath. Its a good idea to remove the cover and wipe it off - but its not a requirement. The gasket is reusable.

My 11.5" AAM took about 3.75 quarts. Front took 2.75 qts.

Torque on fill hole plug is 24 ft lbs; diff cover bolts are 30 ft lbs. Don't be a muscle head on the bolts, a couple of folks have broken them off when tightening.

doitl8r

Bulabula,

Thank you sir.....now I just need to purchase a torque socket wrench.

Cheers

sawboywv1

I think when Mopar said were offering a 100k mile warranty..... AAM said not unless you specify 15k fluid changes! Anyway That's insane. 15k is way too frequent. 50-60k is more in line. I flushed mine after about the first 5k to get any nasties out, but with the magnetic plugs in there I'm going 50k next time. What the heck.

Hoss

Additives?? Unless they made changes in the 2004 then you got suckered my friend. There are no additives for a 2003 rear end. Just straight synthetic.

But you're right....that's why I do it myself. I think I spent $60 or something like that on the proper weight Mobil 1 Synthetic to do my truck.

MikeR

Sorry guys, but there is no law that says the dealership is the only place to do scheduled maintenance or your warranty is void. As a matter of fact, it says in the warranty booklet you can do it anywhere.
I worked for dealerships for years, and that's bull-puckey!