differential broke at 60,000 miles
 

I have a Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 for hauling my boat and other ranch items. With less than 60,000 miles it is now in the shop getting a new $2,000 differential for the rear. They tell me many of them blow out with so few miles. My boat is only 3500 lbs, but I live up an 1800 foot elevation change. Anybody have similar experience?

Tom

SORRY COULDN'T HELP IT-- Shoulda bought a CHEVY

I ran my Dodge for 188,000 miles. 1/2 ton 4x4 360 but a 3.92 gear. Never a problem.

Tom just replaced one in a customers truck. The pinion nut came loose and blew the pinion out the bottom of the diff. I have replaced about 2-3 a year.

Ratio is important high 3's or low 4's is good for 3000-7000lbs range

I'd expect you could hear gear whine if the pinion nut got loose..

Had a Dana44 in a Jeep CJ that got loose, and it drooled gear oil long before any problems... Always retorqued it every U-joint replacement (about 15,000 miles for a Ujoint - it was lifted a good bit).

A buddy of mine worked in the transmission plant for chrystler. He said there quality control is a joke. They are supposed to inspect the various parts before shipping, which didn't happen. There motto was ship it!!!! He had a chance to purchase a Dodge truck with the employee discount, but passed after what he had seen.

Chevy or GMC is the way to go, My Mom works for Chyrsler and I am eligbile for discount but pass on it.

That was my biggist problem with Chrysler products. Their quality control, or lack of, is the worst. Every one I owned had problems that just shouldn't happen. I'll never buy another.
It's a real shame too, they have some really nice looking vehicles.

I spent 8 years as a Quality Assurance Inspector. I took great pride in my work, I loved having the responsibility for how the product turned out.
What I couldn't understand was why the production managers spent so much time trying to bypass my inspections. They really worked hard at getting componnents installed before I could look at them. They just wanted to slap it together and get it out the door. I guess they didn't care if it worked right or not.
"Ship it, we'll fix it later" or "that's why it has a warrenty".
I hated that.

chrysler has had problems with the rear ends for a long time in their 4x4 trucks!! the soluition?? switch to GM!!!

Man if Ford or Chevy is the way to go I better put my truck up for sale:rolleyes:

I just love how people love to bash the Dodges. In all fairness I will admit thier gas motors are a little underpowered and the transmissions are supposedly weak but I've owned 3 and have had no problems with them. My last one had over 100k on it and was still like new. I now own a 2500/Cummins and even though it's loud I think it is the best truck out there for the money.

I broke one in a 1991 GMC but it had over 100k on it!!!and it as less than $500 to fix it!!!!

There is a TSB out there for late nineties Dodge Ram pinion bearings going out.

I lost mine at 45000 miles on a 2WD 1500 Quad cab with the 360 and a 3.55 rear gear ratio.

I did all the work myself.

I took it apart after driving the truck from Central Ohio to Florida and back. The noise from the rear sounded like I had big mudder tires out back. I also found the TSB once I got back from the trip.

Once apart, I inspected everything and found the pinion bearings to be badly pitted. I put all new bearings and races, etc.

This is a very labor intensive project.

$2000 is not a suprise.

Even though I have the tools and ability to fix it, my next truck is not a Dodge.

26 Scarab:

You are OK with your 2500 Cummins Dodge, those have the Dana rear axles.

Tom:
your 1500 has the Dodge built rear axle and that is why you have the problem.

The Dana's are in the Dodge 2500/3500 and if you look at them from behind they are diamond shaped and assymetrical (that tough to spell!).

The Dodge rear ends have an octaganol shape and are symmetrical.

Have them put Synthetic Diff Lube in your rebuilt unit it will run cooler.

Wannabe

Ive got a friend who works at a dodge dealership....all he does is rear end work. Says the Dana 44 axles arer strong but since they are built from aluminum they are junk when they go bad....you cant rebuild them or they will go bad again and sooner. The standing order at their dealership is to replace the whole thing and not even bother rebuilding!!
If you like the truck...try and find a heavy duty Dana 60 rear :D

Best desiel for now= Ford power stroke
Best gas=chevy vortec

I'll stick with my 2 door Tahoe Z71

Remember: "Bow tie or Die"

God I can't believe I compliment a Ford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has been an interesting thread. Buy a Chevy???? Yea, maybe the rearend won't let go, but the steering shaft (new Silverado's) will, throttle bodies wallow out allowing the gas pedal to stick, gas engines sound like a cold cummins when starting up. Lots of good reasons to buy a Chevy! Mine is only 18 months old and has had more parts "wear out" than my previous 6 year old Ford (not saying Ford's are any better). Latest is the steering mid shaft - dealer said they are seeing alot of them coming in with binding problems. I asked if the "new" part was a better design. The mechanic just laughed and said your going to get the same part, just a new one! Also, take a look on www.pickuptruck.com in the GM trucks forum if you want to see what the latest from GM is for those with 6.0L Vortech "documented knockers" - a silent (meaning not proactively telling those with the problem, not meaning a "silent engine") engine replacement plan is supposedly just beginning. Buy a Chevy??? :confused: :confused:

Tom,
Your truck wasn't a '98 was it?? My friend works at the Chrysler factory here (where 90% of Dodge's drive trains are built). He also said the quality control is a complete joke. '98 was supposed to be the worst. And the workers wonder why they are all getting laid off??

Mine is a 95, but based on this thread I guess my next one will be another brand.

my 99 jeep grand cherokee---differential, transmision and rear end have all been replaced after 45,000 miles...total joke...no towing all hwy miles

98 dodge ram - 4x4

62,000 miles I heard a whining coming from the rear end............had the carrier bearings & pinion bearing replaced. It cost about 5-600 bucks.

I now have 96,000 miles, and had one U-joint that was replaced. 2 weeks ago.

That's been the list of problems for my truck

I don't think I saw it in any of your posts. What year is the truck and is it still under warrenty. Driveline parts generally have a longer warrenty. Just a thought.

Gernerally, if you're doing a lot of towing it's a good idea to change the gear oil frequently and put a diff cover on that dissipates heat better. There's plenty of aftermarket stuff that will work well. GM recommends a different diff fluid for heavy towing. Sorrry, I don't know what it is.

Otherwise, that really sucks it broke on the highway. I break them, but it's because I do rock crawling in the east coast mountains (or should I say hills):p

Take er easy!

Tom,
Sorry to hear about your diff. problems.
If it were a Dana I would send you the parts!
Daimler-Chrysler gave Dana the boot this year (m/y 2003) and
gave the heavy rear axle buisness to American Axle Corp..

American is apparently charging less for their axles...............so be aware.

Ernie @
Dana Light Axle Div.:cool:

:D :D

buy a ford.. 3.73

somebody posted that the unit was an aluminum-case Dana 44. Is this correct? In a 5500 pound 260 horsepower 360 V8 4x4?

You gotta be kidding me! My little 100 horsepower 3.4L inline 6, 2700 pound CJ5 had a cast-iron Dana 44 and I still twisted three axle shafts apart in it. I can't imagine somebody actually specc'ing a soft ALUMINUM version of the same marginal unit in a fullsize 4x4...

Tell me it's not true...

mcollinstn-
The 1500 Dodge Ram comes with the 9.25" out back and a Dana 44 up front.

2500 Ram's come with the Dana 60, 70, or 80 out back, depending on the motor/trans package, etc. 2500's and 3500's have the Dana 60 up front.


You guys just wait until your Dodge starts pinging/detonating.

I had a 1994 ram 360 4x4 with 3.55 gears. Sold with 177,000 miles looked and ran great when I sold last year only had 1 problem TRans.. I put AMSOIL in it 3000 miles later ...DONE other than that great truck. But had to get a GMC.

Pinging
 

- - - - Pinging - - - -

I thought this was a normal occurrence with these - lol. Mines been doing it for the longest time. I took it in when it was new (in 98) and they told me this was normal......C'mon, a little ping is usually followed by a big bang ! So I always ran midgrade. If I ran normal gas, it sounded like someone was dumping gravel into a pie pan !!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess when it hitws about 100k, I'll change the plugs & most likely go to ngks, and maybe a couple of steps colder

Brian - what did you do about the pinging (if anything) ??????????

I'll bet your CJ had the straight front alxe (leaf sprung, non-independant). If so, that's why it's cast iron.
My '97 F-250 4X4, with IFS, has an aluminum front differential, as do the Chevy's with IFS.

Re: Pinging
 

Ratchet~

A couple of things-
1. Open the hood in the dark with the engine running in the dark. The factory plug wires are junk.

2. THIS IS THE BIG ONE. The 3.9 V6, 5.2, and the 5.9 all suffer from an intake plenum gasket leak. This leak is internal. When it leaks you may notice oil consumption. What happens is; The gasket on the bottom of the plenum leaks, vacuum from the intake pulls oil into the cylinders adding oil to the mixture. It also makes carbon build up on the pistons at a fast rate. So, more compression, less octane= pinging/detonation.

To check=Remove the air cleaner assembly from the throttle body. Open the butterfly's on the throttle body. With a flashlight look to the bottom of the plenum. If it is wet, you have a leak. There is another test you can do with the pcv valve, I can post that later, but first check this way.

You'll have others that will probably post here and tell you to run higher octane, install a lower temp thermostat, get a computer update, etc, etc, etc.....
Don't do any of this until you check for the leak.

If you have a leak, get the gasket and bolt kit from the dealer. You cannot reuse the plenum bolts.

The pinion gear bearing failed in my previous (1996) Dodge Ram truck. Some of the rollers within the bearing assembly fragmented. The rear end never completely failed but the noise got progressivly loaded. Repair cost was high due to labor. The bearings Chrysler used are Timken made in the USA.

I just traided my 01 Dodge 1500 Quad cab with 45000 miles for an 03 Ford F350 Crew Cad with a 7.3. I didnt have any problems with my Dodge at all. I but a 3in lift on it also with 33" tires.
My friend had a 2000 with a trans problem. They fixed it without any problem. I hear people all the time complaining about their dodges....my Dad has 165000 on his and just last week he had to replace his fuel pump actuator....and a couple of sets of bearing in the rear end. He towes a Fifth wheel camper that weighs around 17000lbs so I understand the rear end needing a little atten. He is very pleased with his.
I got rid of mine because the value was dropping fast. It lost $13000 in just over a year.

Nobody is saying that all Dodges are junk. Just some of them.
Some Chevy's are junk and some Ford's are junk too.

Go to http://www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html to look at TSB's and recalls for your specific vehicle. You'll see they all have their problems.
My father has a 1996 Chevy HD 3/4 ton with over 150K of hard towing that has had minimal problems compared to my Dodge with half the miles, (towing lesser weight and distance), and two years newer.

Anyway, just sharing my experience to try and help others before they blow their motor's.

This is my third Chrysler product since 1995, I had some pretty nasty problems with all of them. From transfer cases, rear ends, intake plenum leaks, exhaust manifolds cracking, etc, etc....

Even after all of the troubles, I would own another one. They all have their issues.

Thanks Brian.........when I get a moment this week, I'll take a look.

A guy I work with had his rebuilt 3 times under warrenty, the fourth time they replaced the housing because they found the shaft bores were missaligned.
High quality **** there. :rolleyes: I shouldn't talk, my daily driver is a 96 Intrepid ES and has been a great car.

My 96 diesel either has a worn out limited slip or has a open diff. Do you have a source for a new limited slip? Desperatly seeking traction...

belly gasket, underside of intake manifold leaking /
lots of pinging and where is all the oil going/i'll be taking my intake off this weekend &my rear end whines i'll be looking into that too i've heard that the special mopar gearlube is garbage.differential$250 gears$200 install kit$150 labor4hours hardly$2000

My cousins brothers girlfreinds sister who went out with a guy from callamazoo had a dodge once and said it was junk ..
PLEASE ..Ive had several dodge trucks over the years and if you drive em into the ground ..(like I do 180K on present truck).. Nothin beats a dodge .
Can you say HEMI ?

sorry chevy guys you have aam , and your ifs is worse than a dana alll alum all 2003 dodge heavy duty have aam soldnaxles . i hope they hold up . but ill drage your gm eay time you wount to hook up 2003 dodge qc 2500 ctd