I will relay my gear lube story to you and you might find it interesting. I have an 03 HO six speed that now has 115,000 km on it. Starting at about 10,000km I would get an occational noise that sounded like it was coming from my transmission. The noice was only 1-2 seconds in duration and the frequency was unpredicatable sometimes on a trip it would be doing it with regularity other times not at all. I had it into the dealer twice each time the Shop forman and I would go for a ride and it would not happen. It only happened in 6th gear at speeds over 50kmph. I had all the boxes changed the first time by the dealer at a cost of $450. The second time I deceided to do it myself for that money. That needed to be done this fall in Sept(96,000KM) but we had a trip planned to Utah Colorado and Arizona and unfortuantely or not I never go to it before we left. On the trip down I had my normal experience with the noise. Happened now and again but that had been going on for some time. Dealer had said we just have to wait till it breaks. However when we got into south western Colorado the noise was getting longer in duration and much more frequent. I didn't have much of a load we only had our 3500 lb camper on board but I was starting to wonder if I might be looking for a dealer somewhere. It seemed to slack off after we moved away from the mountains and some of the longer pulls, but it was still there and much more pronounced and I thought good because when I get home I can surely get this heard by someone at the dealership. WhenI got back I did just that. It took a 125km ride with the shop forman but he got to hear it very well. But that did not do much good as he had no idea and a search of the tech service bulletons turned nothing up. Right after that I started making my plans to change all the boxes out and after much looking for an alternative oil for the 6 speed tranny deceided to go with the AMSOIL Series 3000 engine oil which is what AMSOIL recommends. I did the whole trick with AMSOIL products. The guy I signed up[ thru gave me the increase MPG pitch but I know that achieving kind of result can be very subjective. Any way I did the change and the results are this. From the moment I changed all the boxes over, both front and rear axel, transmission and transfer case I have not heard that noise once. I now have gone 15,000 km since then. Right away without even doing an actual measurement my readings on the overhead computer dropped my liters per 100 km from 12-14 to 9-12 for US folks this would be an increase in miles per gallon readings. I have measered my on highway mileage on a road I travel all the time and estimate I am getting at least 1- 1.5 miles per gallon improvement since AMSOILS. I just changed the engine over last weekend and we have had a cold snap here the past week and what a difference that made. I am using the Series 3000 5-30. I keep pretty close track of my mileage and MPG readings on every tank just a habit. I know rom the readings on the overhead and the distance I can now go on a tank I have a noticable improvement. The best thing however was the fact that the noise and I believe it was in the transission and I think it was the sycromesh rings chattering, has completly disappeared. Chyrslers 6 speed tranny oil sells for $16.00 per US qt over the counter. I could have bought it for $11.00 it is a special formulation that both Pennzoil and Texeco have products to match but they are not easily available in Edmonton. A company called Wagon Masters supplies this special tranny fuild to the dealers hear in Edmonton and their price is even higher that $16.00 per US qt. I am please with the AMSOIL solution. I have since changed over my wifes Dodge Caravan auto tranny and 3.0 litre engine and the differnce for that engine is that it is noticeably quieter. It has 165,000 km doesn't use any oil and I put Series 3000 5-30 in it. During the cold snap last week she was walking out to the parking lot with a coworker late afer a meeting. The van had been there for 16 hours not plugged in the temps were in the -30C range. The coworked joked that her van wouldn't be starting as his vehicle if left unpluged in that weather would not be starting. She hit the remote starter and that puppy fired up without a hesitation.

 

Sorry but I have to agree, most Gear Lubes do stink, however AMSOIL as added a minty smell to theirs.
As far which one I run it's AMSOIL all the way. I have seen where the AMSOIL has actually saved a guys truck from major damage, had he been run the other stuff his truc would have been toast.
Yes every one has their opinion just like we all have a$$ holes.
It's just like which truck you drive, those of us here picked DC, some pick Ferds & some pick Chubbies
I pick AMSOIL and RAM Tough CTDs

 

The ONLY complaint I've read is one on the Amsoil causing a grind noise.There may be more but I have not seen them.I have the series 2000 80w90 waiting in the box for my 15k first diff fliud change.I will use it shortly.I called Amsoil tech line and discussed this grinding thing.It was a new one on them.No one is loged into their date base with this complaint and they have no clue to why it would on a AAM axel.I also asked about thir new severe DUTY gear oil thats out and was told it wasn't THAT much differant then the series 2000 and use what I have.I also asked about 80w90 compared to the 80w140.was told eaither will be fine it was more personal preferance and maybe in real HIGH out side temp conditions to use the 140 if someone wanted etc. As far as fuel mileage I don't know if it will increase on the diesel truck but I'm fixing to also go to the Amsoil 15w40 in it at the same time.I do know that in the wifes Mercury Marque(2000 with 4.6)I changed the diff to series 2000 gear oil,flushed the trans and went with Amsoil trans fliud and engine to Amsoil 10w30.She saw a instant soild 1 plus mpg gain.At 70 cruise set (she drives a 100 miles a day round trip to and from work) it TRYS to hit 25 mpg.Always in the 24.5/24.9/24.0 range were before IT never hit that.Was close but never that good.She checks almost EVERY tank by hand)

 

Lightman.....what leads you to think mobil is better? Just curious....I have no affliation with AMSOIL, I just use it because it leads all others in testing including Mobil.

If you have solid information on this, please share because I will switch back to Mobil in a heartbeat. I think Mobil is great however, it does not have better test results over AMSOIL and that is the reason I switched.

Suggestion.....I noticed you stated you're using 75W-80 in your text above....perhaps this is the reason you're experiencing noise.....Dodge Repair Manual states: 75W-90 for the AAM 11.5.

 

Neil58, first of all thanks for pointing out the 80, that was a typo! It's the standard mobil 1 75w90 gear lube that you see at most auto parts stores. My mistake.

As for tests, I'd really like to see some test results that are NOT generated by some amsoil affiliated lab, or put up on some amsoil dealer's website. Now I like and DO use some of Amsoil's products, but I'm not like some folks who just swear by Amsoil up and down. I don't have any empirical data to suggest the Mobil is better than the Amsoil. I simply ran the Amsoil for 15k in both of my diffs, and experienced some chattering/noise around turns sometimes, and this was eliminated when I switched to Mobil. There are quite a few folks that have the same results when switching away from the amsoil. That being said, there are several who run the Amsoil with no problems at all.

One thing I'm interested to see at 45k is how clean/dirty the pumpkin is this time after the mobil. It was filthy with the Amsoil, and it took a lot of towels/carb cleaner to clean it up. Just seeing that alone was reason enough for me NOT to buy the PML/MAG diff cover and simply drain the oil with the drain plug and refill. I liked cleaning all that crap out.

 

At 5K, I changed the pumkins to Amsoil 75w/90. The OEM stuff was foamy and green/black with deposits on the covers. The rear was worse than the front. I too like to clean out all the deposits, so these new reusable gaskets are great. I haven't changed the lube again yet, so I don't know what the Amsoil looks like now. I did have a '96 Ram with LSD, and it chattered a bit with the Amsoil. The manual called for LSD additive with a fluid change, but Amsoil said it wasn't necessary. I think it could have used a little. Regardless, I don't think LSD chatter is an indication of how good or bad a fluid is. Maybe Mobil 1 and Valvoline have some LSD additive in their fluids.

If you tow a lot, then 75w/140 or 80w/140 for the rear is recommended.

I also changed the transfer case to Amsoil ATF since it's always spinning at 75mph (generates a lot of heat).

I did not notice any change in MPG with this gear lube. If anything it went down slightly. But you can pick up 1 mpg with Rain-X

 

I wonder if I rain x my head if I'll be more efficient and sleek as well .

I agree, the reusable gasket is really nice.

 

Lightman,

Thanks for the feedback. It wasn't just the AMSOIL comparison results that pushed me over to their product, it was various other comparisons from unbiased sources.....I never make decisions without having some solid facts to go on.....that being said, I don't believe everything I read either......however, multiple sources seem to make me a believer. I will remove my PML cover and see how things are going....if it looks cruddy, I'm back to Mobile or perhaps another product that may wear and look better after 12,000 miles or so. Once I find one, the PML stays on and draining becomes much easier and quicker.

 

To clarify, it wasn't totally full of 'crud' by any means, just a dark/dirty film over everything that wasn't that easy to get off. In about 6k miles I'll know how the mobil does in comparison. I just know I don't have the noise.

I went down and looked at the mobil bottle. It says right on the back. "helps eliminate chattering and noise in limited slip differentials." Wow, something that does what it says it will!

 

It will help you cut through all the crap for sure!

 

Those sound like words spoken from a man with first hand experience Thanks for the tip.

 

I used Amsoil Series2000 75w90 in my truck from 2,500 miles until 15,000 miles and my rearend definetly chattered with it. At 15,000 miles I switched over to Valvoline Syntech 75w90 and instantly my rearend chatter was history.

In my engine I have chosen Delvac1 5w40 for one simple reason, It's API certified. I'm sure Amsoil makes a good engine oil. However, they won't pony up the funds to get more than one grade of oil certified. Are they hiding something?

Furthermore, while at a recent boat show, an Amsoil dealer was set up and had all the different products on hand. For the hell of it I told him about my gear oil problem. He quickly grabbed a bottle of LSD additive and explained how I should of used it. When I told him that the 3rd gen Dodge Ram with the AAM 10.5 or 11.5 axle did not require an additive he just gave me a stupid look. He then asked what I ran in my engine. I replied with "Mobil Delvac1." He frowned and tried to tell me that D1 is not a true synthetic. I said "well actually D1 is a group 4 synthetic just like your Amsoil." He swore it wasn't a genuine synthetic and I was wrong. At that point I decided to call it quits because I was there to look at boats, not have an oil war. I guess the bottom line is I will not be using Amsoil products anytime soon.

Flame retardent clothing donned and charged hoseline in place .

 

Delvac 1 rules

 

Getting the striker going here...hate to break the news, but neither Delvac 1 nor Mobile 1 Truck & SUV is actually API certified. I have yet to find any 15w/40, 5w/40, or 5w/30 diesel oil that is actually API "CERTIFIED." The only oils I've found with the "API CERTIFIED" starburst symbol are gasser some 0w/30s, 5w/20's and most 5w/30s and 10w/30s. When you have time, take a look at the oil bottles at wally world. It's really quite surprising. It looks like when an oil manufacturer says it meets the API spec, we have to take their word for it..."API CERTIFIED" gets tossed about rather loosely.

 

No flaming here, but Amsoil feels they can make a better oil without the restrictions API certification would put on their oil chemistry. API says you can only have certain levels of certain chemicals to meet certification standards. Amsoil feels that they can make a better oil that lasts longer and gives the extended drain intervals they tout by "ignoring" the API and doing their own thing. So as formulated now, most of their oils wouldn't meet the API standard anyway. That's why they offer that X-7500 that is API certified, but is only approved for 7,500 mile drain intervals. That's it in a nutshell. Email Amsoil's customer relations/service and you'll get a rather lengthy and more in-depth explanation than what I just gave, but at least you see the big picture.