Ummm... the gasket's reuseable

 

The gasket on there is suposed to be reusable, The dealer took mine off and inspected after I found it in the same state mentioned here, he also put on a white glove and wiped it over every surface he could inside to try and see where the metalic goo had come from and found nothing! guess the magnet works pretty good! he filled it back up with fluid that is as clear as water the stuff he drained looked kinda grey. The rear end still howls in my truck, its changing though. used to be at 30mph, then 25, now its at 20, be nice if it keeps this up! another couple weeks and it should be gone! or locked up!

 

 

Good to know about the gasket. thnx. I ordered it pretty late, so maybe he hasnt called it in. Ill leave him a message on his voice mail cnacelling it if it hasnt been called in yet.
Sucks about the howling. Mine isnt making any noise yet, so maybe i got lucky and caught it in time.

 

I have been buying my filters at one Cummins site. I buy enough to last me a year or more of changes. I buy them under my name and a computer record is available if I should ever need it.
I also keep my receipts. If you buy a case (12) they give a discount.

I will be changing the oil in the tranny and transfer case tomorrow. Had checked with Dodge to get a gasket for the PTO cover so that I can clean out the tranny. There is no gasket. Must use the MOPAR silicone sealer (seals in oil) that was used on the Dana axels diff. covers. Have some but thought that I would never use it again because of the reusable gaskets on the new AAM axels.

Change your own oil and save the bucks!!!

 

When I bought my truck...I had my two young kids with me. At the point of signing, I was chasing my kids around and my wife somehow signed us up for an extended warr that included 28 oil changes. I said, "Honey...why did the price of the truck just go up?"

Oh well...I guess it will be nice having 28 oil changes (pre paid in a sense).

 

well, i just did an oil change on my truck today. i've always done my own maintenence and i don't plan on changing that. rotella T in the sump and a fleetguard stratapore screwed on the side... that factory filter was on there tight

 

I bought the life time oil changes with my truck back in 02. After 20,000 mi. I wanted to change all my fluids over to Amsoil, which I have been useing for yrs in all my other vehicles inc Harley. They said no can do, voids your warrenty, bla bla bla. I marched right into the financial office & canceled my life time oil, & extended warrenty. Got a check for all but 20% I can live with that & Iam my own warrenty. Not to mention the few little upgrades they didn't like.

I guess I was just getting lazy after servicing my big rig for 29yrs.

 

You shouldn't need the gasket. The one they installed on the 03/04's reusable, that is unless you tear it when removing the rear cover

 

FWIW any tech worth his salt (or however that saying goes) will know if a vehicle is maintained or not. At Ford we didn't ask for maintenance receipts unless the vehicle looked beat, rusty oil filter on it etc. One thing I will say is that if you bring a vehicle in for repairs and the inside is nice and clean and the outside is washed it looks like the owner cares for the vehicle and will take care of the engine also. (whether this is true or not) If you have an engine problem it will be evident whether the maintenance was performed or not when it is torn down. Enjoy your truck.

 

I wonder how much dealer profit is generated when customers fall prey to the old "we have to change your oil and do all your maintenance to maintain your warranty" line?

 

Bought a Durango in December. Paid $300 for lifetime oil and filter change, 4 times per year. My last 4 rigs I have kept for an average of 15 years. Should work out OK. The diesel is $450 for lifetime oil change. I will probably do the tranny, transfer case, and differential changes myself and keep receipts.

 

I just ordered the 4/2/1 kit from Genos, buy Delvac 1300 at Wally world for $6.00 a gallon. My first oil change I took my own oil in and they charged me $20.00 for filter/labor/ disposal fee. Next time I'll have my own filter and oil should be able to get it down to $7.00. I think that's fair enough to keep me from busting my knuckles, cussing up a storm, and driving around trying to find somebody to take used oil. It would cost me more in fuel since I'm about 20 miles from everthing.

 

Sheesh! I never heard of an offer for lifetime oil changes for $450.00 that sounds cheap.In Vancouver,BC, oil change at dealership is a hundred dollars,and here in Sask. it's 75.00! I can do it my self for about $23.00,using Motomaster 15w40 diesel oil (20L pail for under $30.00) and a fleetguard filter.I hope the oil is good enough,it says it's Cummins approved( as well as many others) on the label.

 

from what i have heard, the motomaster diesel oils [10w30, 15w40, 30w, 40w] are all shell oils... and i know the 10w30 and 15w40 sure smell like rotella t...

the motomaster filters however, are rebadged frams...