Good gasket for diffs?

[DiazOsos]

So I ordered and received my Carli front diff guard and my PCP rear cover is on it’s way. I guess... ordered it about a week ago,card shows it’s on hold but no news from PCP. I really wish manufacturers would leave there advertising off of stuff and stuff shit didn’t have to have a theme like spiders, skulls and other silly shit. I like the steril clean and blacked out look. Like Chevy kinda did with the 454 SS.
I’ve come across several mentions of a silicone gasket. I’m assuming for a better seal and the ability to reuse it in a field expidiant repair etc. What is the preferred product?
I haven’t really done any mods to my truck other than buy some gear to go to Moab after I bought it. I thought it was best to take it out and play with it first. Diff guards are my first upgrade as of now. But the Dethloff tranny oil pan armor is next. Tires after that. Probably only 35’s because It’s my only truck now and I’m not that dedicated to off-road use only. This group has been a great resource. Thanks to all for the effort put into helping others in this almost niche market. I see see raptors all day long but only several PW’s and that’s with a 100 mile round trip commute everyday. Also what would be your next upgrades to your stock truck?

[DamageWagon]

Nice! For gaskets the Mopar one is best. The 14-present years have a reusable gasket.

If you don’t need to change your diff oil yet you could also not plan for a change when doing the covers, there’s usually little to no loss with those add-on style guards.

[DiazOsos]

Thanks, I’m at right under 10k and haven’t pulled anything other than av12’ at trailer. I’ll probably wait to change the fluid.

[DamageWagon]

I’d change the fluid for sure then

[DiazOsos]

Cheap insurance and easy enough. Anything besides the usual and clean magnets to look for? Or anything to add while I’m in it?

[DamageWagon]

I added FilterMag 101’s to both diffs inside. They pick up quite a lot of small steel fines each time I check. They help keep your lockers moving as the smaller locker magnets don’t tend to get much on them once you have the FilterMag.

[DiazOsos]

Just looked up the filtermag. Good advice and yet another upgrade I can add without getting the house dragon involved.

[TwinStick]

Stock gaskets are reusable, at least on the 3rd Gens.

[Colibri]

Second the filtermags! They’re the bees knees. I’d at least change the rear fluid if I was you

[Reloaderguy]

The OE diff cover gaskets are reusable. Unless your welded on a truss and torched your gasket you should be able to reuse the original for a long time. The diff bolts are only torqued to 20lbft so don't over tighten them and squish the gasket.

Get a filtermag and install it sooner rather than later. There have been people who reported contaminated diff fluid right off the rail car from the factory. I think a diff fluid change early in the vehicle's life is a good idea.

[Lazarus]

I've got 4K miles on my new truck. When do most people suggest changing the gear oil?

[PWJouster]

I've got 4K miles on my new truck. When do most people suggest changing the gear oil?

totally dependent on usage. do you offroad in muddy conditions? do you tow? do you daily highway?

they can tell you gear oil can go 100k miles, but when i spend time during the wet season in muddy conditions, the oil needs to go at least every 10k.
if im really spending time in the swamp, ill change the diff oil every trip.
always extend breather tubes in wet conditions

if you drive really hard, or tow often, your oil may start to shear within 10k miles. my 18 needed new oil around 10k because it started behaving funky and slipping.
If you drive like a Grandma and never tow or go over 65. then it all depends on where you live. some vehicles call for 40k-80k miles for dif oil intervals.

[PWJouster]

TBH i bet amsoil severe gear will go for x2 or x3 the factory fill effective use

[Lazarus]

I was moreso curious about the mileage everybody has changed the gear oil after buying their truck new. I've got 4K on mine and 500 of it has been towing horses in the mountains. A lot of my mileage is off road too. I'm sure it says something about break in time in my owners manual but I'm too lazy to look thru that right now. I would assume that changing it early is better just like with the first motor oil change.

[olyelr]

I was moreso curious about the mileage everybody has changed the gear oil after buying their truck new. I've got 4K on mine and 500 of it has been towing horses in the mountains. A lot of my mileage is off road too. I'm sure it says something about break in time in my owners manual but I'm too lazy to look thru that right now. I would assume that changing it early is better just like with the first motor oil change.

In my opinion, I dont think you can change it too early.

I have 23k on my truck now and all the fluid is original besides the engine. And I feel horrible about it. Everything will be getting changed here in the very near future... trans, transfercase, and diffs... with AMSOIL where possible.

Is it too early yet to flush the power steering fluid and engine coolant?

[DamageWagon]

I've got 4K miles on my new truck. When do most people suggest changing the gear oil?

At least twice by now. Probably 500, 1500 and 5000 are good intervals.

[KevinABQ]

I've got 4K miles on my new truck. When do most people suggest changing the gear oil?

At least twice by now. Probably 500, 1500 and 5000 are good intervals.

Really?

[Low_Sky]

Cheap insurance and easy enough. Anything besides the usual and clean magnets to look for? Or anything to add while I’m in it?

Not sure how wet your part of Texas is (probably not too bad), but check for water in the diffs. I found water in mine on the first gear oil change and decided to move all the breather's on the truck to higher ground. Lots of water up here in my neck of the woods.

[DiazOsos]

Not bad at all. I’m on the other side of the county in the hills. The creeks and tanks are full in the pasture. The mud is something else. I’ve only taken the 4 wheeler into the pasture. I hate cleaning mud off vehicles, age and old injuries are creeping up on me.

[DamageWagon]

I've got 4K miles on my new truck. When do most people suggest changing the gear oil?

At least twice by now. Probably 500, 1500 and 5000 are good intervals.

Really?

Almost all wear (not including water intrusion, dust intrusion, low oil or bad parts) comes from the very initial period of use. This is where most wear occurs and where the most impurities are created.

[TwinStick]

Once you do change it, disconnect the battery & GENTLY & CAREFULLY clean the magnets too. After that, if you tow anything remotely heavy on the regular, I would change fluid every year, 2 at the max. Fluid is cheap.....compared to a new rear end.

[PWJouster]

I've got 4K miles on my new truck. When do most people suggest changing the gear oil?

At least twice by now. Probably 500, 1500 and 5000 are good intervals.

your talking about the engine and not the diffs right?

[PWJouster]

I've got 4K miles on my new truck. When do most people suggest changing the gear oil?

At least twice by now. Probably 500, 1500 and 5000 are good intervals.

your talking about the engine and not the diffs right?

go ahead and change all your fluids in the first 1000 miles if you really want too.

at a minimum for great standards, engine oil every 5k and diff oil every 10k.
transfer case and transmission will go well beyond 10k or more, but why not evacuate the crap factory fills.

if you offroad and tow, 10k on diffs is ideal for longevity.
YES, engine oil could go 10k, YES Diff oil can go 100K...but self maintenance is cheaper then repair.

[Reloaderguy]

I changed all of my fluids at 5k or less. The manufacturer is only concerned with reaching the end of the warranty period with the least amount of claims. The diffs create most of the metal wear when they're new.

[OffroadTreks]

If you tow or offroad regularly, you should be changing those diffs regularly too. I change mine about twice a year because of the use.

Pretty sure someone in the manual it was suggested that towing/fleet/taxi/offroad use change every 15k which is about what I've been doing. I'm averaging around 24-28k miles a year. This year has been one of those years we've put close to 28k on the truck.