wantabee

Not much to report today...the service rep for this region is in Vegas for the new auto show. Tewchnician and Service manager have been in contact with engineers...they are attempting to move drive shaft to new alignment position to attempt and eliminate the drive shaft as a casue of the problem. Given Monday is the rememberance day meorial...I will not hear back from DC until Tuesday. In the mean time Dc has provided me with a rental Caravan with no snow tires...roads in these parts are very unpredictable....neither DC, the dealer or the rental company will provide the winter treads...just all season tires which provide no traction in snow. I was told by the delaer to park the rental in the driveway as Dc, the dealer or the rental company will not provide winter tires. <br><br>Received an information brochere in the mail today from DC on the 2003 Ram HD. The secound paragraph of the letter is as follows and is kind of ironic considering the situation which I currently find myself:<br><br>&quot;Here at DaimlerChrysler, our focus is on ensuring that from the moment of purchase, your vehicle experience, including any service ans maintenance needs, is a rewarding and satifying as possible.&quot; From what you have read to date on my experience...you be the judge. We paid down over $22,000. for a vehcile we do not have.....Dc is making resonable efforts to address the issue....but in the process my vehicle is being used as a guini pig. I have made a formal request for a vehicle exchange....the dealer as requested that we get our money back and start over. I am not stupid.....if I get my money back....I will never negociate a price that I paid for this vehicle.....give me a new '03 even trade...take the defective one for complete analysis to iron out the bugs to protect the integrity of the new 2500 Ram.<br><br>As a side note...last night I had a call from a local businessman who was very impressed with my new truck....but heard I was having some mechanical problems....this gentleman stated that he would wait until DC got to the bottom of the matter...but in the meantime....Dc should give me a newe vehicle. At the dealership today there was another unknown gentleman who appraoched me after hearing I was having problems with my differential and drivetrain.........I did not downgrade this product...just simply stated that I obviously got a defective unit.....but I do have faith that DC will come through in the end. This gentleman has also decided to wait to determine what Dc is goingt o do about the possible drivetrain problem. The delaer was with me for this conversation and agreed with the gentleman that there were some bugs to be worked out with the Americian Axles....and that the higher levels of DC were well aware of my name and what had occured to my drivetrain.....(I almost feel like we are the Osbournes- a score in the side of DC). The long and short of it is DC has to throughly examine my unit to determine what occurred to cause the failure and possible solutions to prevent this from happening again. If they do not do this....they will loose sales. I love these trucks and have no intention of changing to another brand...I have thought about it hard in the past 48hrs....but Cummins and the Ram are still number one in all respects......I just happened to get a defective unit....DC you owe it to all current owners and potentail future owners to fully investigate the problems with the drivetrain in my truck subsequent to the Americain Axle failure in my unit.

pwabbott

Wantasbee,I just recalled an incident that happened to my father-in-law in 1967. He purchased a new Plymouth V-8 with auto tranny, all the bells and whistles, a most beautiful car. Swept-wing styling with rear fender fins. The dealer gave him a voucher to fill the gas tank. He drove his pride and joy to the station. After filling with gas, he started it up and put it into drive, pressed on the go pedal, the engine reved up, and he just sat there.

He called the tow truck had they towed it back to the dealers. The dealer called a taxi and paid the fare sending sending him home without his new wheels. The following noon he got a phone call from the service manager. Seems as though in the tranny's valve body there was a missing rivit. The missing rivit was in the bottom of the tranny pan, unflared. Of course the valve body was damaged so they had to wait for one to be shipped. It took a week for repairs. He never had another problem with his Plymouth.

I guess you could say it was the luck of the draw. I for one would like for everyone else to be perfect. Cut me a little slack, I' not perfect. Humans make mistakes, you and I are only human.

:

phox_mulder

I don't want to sift through all 4 pages of this thread, but.<br><br>Another user on here, I believe it was Rattle-Rattle, had major problems with his 2002, I think DC got everything fixed ok, he seems happy now.<br><br>I got unlucky and drew a bad VP44 from the get go.<br>Had it replaced at 4,000 miles.<br><br>It's not only people that are required to be perfect, but machines as well. <br><br>If you figure how many of these trucks have gone out to the customers, and how many problems we've heard of, that's not a bad ratio.<br><br>I hope you get a fair resolution to the problem, and this doesn't end up being a major recall issue.<br><br>Some of us are just unluckier than others.<br><br>phox

pwabbott

I agree with you, phox_mulder. If you think of all the individual parts moving and electronic which together make up one vehicle, compounding is the numerous humans involved in making and assembling these parts. One wonders how anyone could expect zero tollerance for failures.<br><br>I read an article in Consumer Reports that normal failure rate of 3% or less for any major component such as tranny, rear axle, brakes, etc. is considered acceptable, excessive if greater than 3%. That failure rate would not include insufficient or improper lubricants since perfectly good components will fail under those circumstances. <br><br>Consider one bearing assembly with only one roller having a surface flaw being installed on a drive pinion gear. As it wears ithe defect grows and scores the bearing race, which in turns starts to grind the other rollers. The small grindings are carried to other bearings by migrating lubricant. Eventially one of the bearings in the axle will fail. It might take 20,000 miles or 50,000 miles but given enough miles there will be a failure of the assembly.<br><br>That D-C is so concerned with Wantabee's problem is a good sign. You can be sure that mucho corrective action will be taken internally, action that none of us will hear about. Since American Axle is a new supplier for D-C you can be sure that their engineering division is also concerned as well.<br><br> ???

wantabee

Thanks for the support guys...I would like to apologize for my last post...it was a work in progess....I left the room and my kid hit the post button...as a result there were many spelling errors etc. :-[<br><br>As I state in my last post my faith in these vehicles has not diminshed...I just hit a defective unit....which is very frustrating.....I am sure Dc will do the right thing once all avenues have been explored to find the problem at the local level...hopefully in the next few days!! Ity is good to here that DC does look after its customers....I guess I am a bit leary since I got the royal shaft at GM 13 years ago....once bitten, twice shy!!!!!!!!<br><br>Take care<br><br>Wantabee<br><br>'03 2500 Quad Laramie, 4X2 Auto fully loaded except heated seats. Atlantic Blue, gray slate interior <br><br><br>

alabat

Well I went to change my rear end lube today. But before I did I made a dipstick out of coat hanger wire. The 1/4&quot; and the 1/2' came up with no oil. I then made one 2-1/2&quot; long, I finally hit oil but only a 1/4&quot;. This means that I am down 2&quot; of oil in the rear end with 2700 miles on it. <br>I did not change the oil and will be at the dealer tomorrow to find out WHY the PDI did not catch this and as said here before have it put in my service record for future reference. I am also going to pull a oil sample before they fill it up and have the low oil sample sent to the lab for analysis.<br>I am also going to ask them to pull the cover for a visual inspection and cleaning and change it to synethic.<br><br>This seems to be a problem that is growing and should be reported to NHTSA for a possible recall. I am dead serious, none of us spent the kind of money for this truck for this kind of nonsense.

pwabbott

Sorry to learn about your underfill condition, Byuram.

This is from PDI check sheet.

B. Under Vehicle
1. Visually Inspect For Loose Attachments, Proper Keying, Leakage, Clearance &amp; Routing
Engine
Oil Cooler
Cooling System
Transmission
Driveshaft
Differential
Transmission Cooler
Brake System
Fuel System
Exhaust System
Steering and Suspension Comopnents

There is only the one listing of differential on this check sheet and that is to visually inspect for leaks.


This would indicate that D-C is saying differential fluid level is not the responsibility of the Dealer.

Only fluid levels to be checked under PDI are:

A. Under Hood
2. Fluid Levels (Check For Proper Level And Top Off As Required)
Engine Oil
Automatic Transmission
Clutch Master Cylinder
Brake Master Cylinder
Power Steering
Windshield Washer
Rear Washer
Cooling System


I still want to know if AAM is supposed to fill axle assembly with lubricant. This must be completed before it is driven.

???

wantabee

Seirra:<br><br>Thanks for posting the PDI requirements for a dealer on these new HD rams. This only illustrates that DC is not to blame for these differentials with improper fluid levels...the differentials come as a completed unit ready for assembly from the supplier Americian Axle...as such...any costs associated with the failures of these differentials should be directly billed back to Americian Axle. I would encourage all members to take their trucks to their dealer for a check of their differentials...if they are low on fluid...I would demand the back plate be removed for a visual inspection of the components and filings in the lubricant which would indicate premature wear.<br><br>Best of luck.<br><br>Wantabee

pwabbott

Wantabee, You can be sure that D-C is currently discussing this with American Axle. Manufacturers have reimbursement clauses in their contracts with sub-contractors. Since American Axle is &quot;the new kid on the block&quot; with D-C. They will undoubtedly settle up with D-C without a whimper.

What amazes me is that our fellow Ram owners on this forum seem to have the attitude that it will happen to someone else never themselves. I put out the Alert re: low fluid level on this Forum on November 1st. Since that time there have been a number that have checked their differential and reported what they found. True the model year is new, however, three or four reports have indicated fluid over 1&quot; inch below the fill hole, one over two inches, too low to lubricate the axle bearings properly.

Is it two much to suggest that a Ram owner should protect their investment by taking five minutes of their time to check their differential.

Some may call me an old fossil with outdated values. I was raised in a family where we had to work hard for every cent we got. My father never owned a new car, the newest was two years old when he bought. I worked a full-time job to put myself through university, then graduate school.

I learned to take care of what I owned and do the necessary preventive maintenance on my property. To me taking 5 minutes, getting my hands dirty to check my differential for insufficient lubricant is the least I can do.

I know that I am more concerned about taking proper care of my new Ram than any 5 Star D-C Dealer or any of their employees.

Sharing helpful information with other owners is the least I can do to help.

I hope everything works out for you soon. It may be that your unfortunate experience will result in corrective action by D-C and in doing so will prevent mor catastrophic accidents from happening. At least D-C knows that someone was lax in doing their job.

Today is the 4th consecutive day we have had rain. The drought is not over but the 5 inches of rain at our elevation and the 48&quot; of wet snow at the 7000&quot;' level sure put a dent in it.

pwabbott

Isn't it about time for an update?

Hunter

Wannabee seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.<br><br>Hopefully he did not go ballistic and is in DC's chambers now!<br><br>Hunter

pwabbott

Wonder where wantabee went? Don't supose he got a new truck ands seein if it will blow in 500miles? Oh where, Oh Where, has our wantabee gone, Oh where, Oh Where, can he be? Supose he is prowlin the TDR forum? ??? ???

pwabbott

Been lookin everywhere for wantabee aka proudrammer. Seems he last posted on TDR forum on Nov 10 over there. I received a couple of direct messages on Nov 13. Wonder if someone &quot;silenced him&quot;, seemed to just drop out of sight without a trace.<br><br>Here was the last message I received:<br><br>Sierra;<br><br>How did you make out today? Dc called me and are considering taking my truck back for a complete strip down of powertrain to determine what happened to the tranny and axle....what failed first!! I am considering getting a 4X4 in place of my 4X2...but wondering how the front end is on these new '03 as the earlier models seemed to have some limited troubles in these parts with ball joints.<br><br>It would be nice to hear the conclusion to his story. ??? ??? ???

alabat

End of my story<br>As you may recall I found my axle down two inches on oil.<br>I had the dealer remove the cover for inspection and to change the oil. There was only two quarts of oil in the axle. But the gears looked good. I saved the old oil and sent it to the lab to find any wear metals. The lab reported that the oil was in very good shape, it is synethic and there was very little wear metal.<br>Interesting note is that the axle gasket is a reusable one. So be caeful if you take yours off.<br>I now have it on the dealers record that it was low on oil and I now have a full four quarts of Mobil 1 synethic oil in the rear end.<br><br>This was done when the truck had 2800 miles on it, mostly city driving. But the first 250 miles were on the interstate at 70 mph.<br><br>End of my story

cowboy Mark

Byuram:<br>Did you happen to notice the weight of oil the dealer put in your axle? My dealer says that the owners manual is wrong and that the GL-5 75-90W synthetic should be GL-5 80-140W synthetic? This kind of relates back to the &quot;service bulletins&quot; where the proper fill level was 3/4 - 1&quot; below the plug....frankly @ this point I'm not sure WHO has the right info, but feel that as long as I'm doing what the owners manual says I'm not in violation of any warranty &quot;rules&quot;