I just drained and filled the transfer case and drained the transmission on my '03 CTD. I am waiting for the silicone to cure on the PTO cover before filling the trans.

The oil that came out of the transfer case was dark, brown to black in color. In small quantities it had the red color, but if I had seen this oil in an automatic I would have said it was burnt. I had just dirven about 40 miles and it was stirred very well. The truck has 42k miles.

My question is, when I refilled it with 2 qts as per specs at Dodge, it requires 2 qts., I could barely reach the fluid through the fill hole. About 1 inch below. Is this the level it should be or is it low?

I have no other wheels and I will have to drive it to get more fluid. If it is low will a trip like this do any damage if I take it easy?

I removed the PTO cover on the driver side of the tranny. Found the magnet attached to the bottom on that side. Do not know if there is one on the passenger side, couldn't reach in that far. There was quite a bit of sludge and some steel particles attached. Other wise the tranny was clean.

 

I filled my xfer case to the hole; it took 2.6 quarts.

 

04 2500 4x4 with HO Cummins Specs.

Transfer Case (up to 5pts/3qts)
Mopar ATF+4 ATF or Amsoil Syn Universal ATF

Man. Trans. NV 5600 ( 6 Spd 9.5 pts/5 qts)
MOPAR Manual Fluid 4874464 or AMSOIL Series 3000 5w-30 HD Diesel Oil OR REDLINE MTL

 

The dealer did the first oil change for free, and when I did the second I also found that I could barely reach the oil level through the transfer case fill hole. I topped it off, which took like 3/4 quart.

I suppose sometime soon the dealer will notify me that the directions that came in my manual have been changed and it is supposed to be lower, like in the axle...

 

I checked mine and it was about 3/4" below the hole. I've seen posts that say that is the correct level. I asked my service manager about the correct level yesterday, and he said it's supposed to be 1/2-1" below the hole, but not more than an inch.

 

TT, where did the service manager say it's documented for the level to be .5-1" below the hole? Maybe I missed that part of the manual.

Ever since the earth's crust cooled, general eng practice has been to fill these things to the hole, and now it seems with the advent of the 3rd generation Dodge Truck, its all changed. It seems to be counter productive; unless the you're trying to economize the building cost of a truck by filling them with less lube oil.

 

I know where you're coming from Bulabula. (I've checked dif. levels before.) All I can say is that I had them check it a month ago to see if it needed topping off, as some came low from the factory, and they said it was ok. I checked it this week to take a look at color, etc. and it looked fine, except I had to dip my "pinky" down to get oil on it. I asked my brother about his '03 LO, and he said it was the same. I asked service manager (when I was in about "plugs VS tape") and he gave me that info. (PS Part# worked for the plugs and he's getting them in for me.) It also seems that I read a post on another thread about fluid-in-rear dif. level, and a guy who worked with gears for many years said that at that level, the gears are well covered, etc. I'm not claiming to be an expert at all, I can just pass on what I hear and observe.

 

Anyway Bulabula- started thinking about it some more, and I'm stopping in at another dealer today, and they will top it off for me!

 

Stopped at the Dodge dealership yesterday and had them check on the correct level. They could find nothing in writing on where the level on the transfer case should be. The head mechanic said 2.7 gts. I topped mine off with 2.6 gts. Maybe a little to much will not be a problem.

 

I really think the rear axel thing was a fluke case of re-engineering during the production run. My manual says 1/2" below the plug plus or minus 1/4" (in other words, between 3/4" to right up to the bottom of the fill plug) but the notice I got from the dealership (dated 03/08/04) says 3/4 to 1 1/4" below the fill plug.

I haven't seen anything that says anything about the level for the tranny or transfer case, so I would presume that they are to be close to or up to the fill hole...

 

I had mine filled up today. I checked the front dif. and it was a bit low so I topped that one up myself. On page 344 (I think) of my owners manual(under recommended fluids) it says for the 11.5 rearend- 1/4" from hole +/- 1/4". In other words anywhere from full to 1/2" below. (Not what the service rep told me.)For 10.5" rearend it is 1/2" below+/- 1/4". In other words from 1/4-3/4" below. For the front end it is the same fill level as the 11.5" rearend. Bottom line is mine was low from the beginning even though they said they checked it and it was ok. (Also bulabula- my brother checked his today and it was lower than mine at about 14000mi. He bought dif. fluid with additive for $26 a litre!!)

 

There was an extensive thread on rear axle oil level being changed...

The dealership provided me a copy of the notice they got. It says 10 1/5" rear level is 1/2" to 1" below the bottom of the fill plug.

11 1/2 is 3/4" to 1 1/4" below the bottom of the fill opening, and "DO NOT topp off the lubercant level to the bottom of the fill plug".

It also says to use Mopar SAE 75W-90 GL-5 synthetic 05102232aa, with no additive required for track rite limited slip differential.

My owners book says the same thing yours did, but people with later trucks apparently got an updated book, along with a fill level stamped into the rear end cover that mine doesn't have. I had filled mine, since that was what my manual listed as the highest acceptable level, and the dealer pumped it out 3/4" at no charge when they gave me the notice.

 

Has anyone ever used a siphon pump to empty the diffs? When I pulled the cover on the rear, there was no fine metal particles in the bottom of the housing. There was some on the magnitized drain plug.

I would like opinions on siphoning for a truck that only pulls a TT a couple of times a year and is used mostly for highway driving.

Thanks,

 

I don't see why you can't do that. I changed mine the second time at 30k and it was clean except for a little sludge on the magnet.

I will probably drop the cover just to check the inside. To easy not too.

 

"To easy not too."

You must be younger then me and have a rack to put it on.

CR