Diff fluid change? Rookie help.

Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 1:46 pm

What is the best way to get that little tab on the right off so that it is reusable? I'm doing my rear diff today. Thanks.

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Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 1:46 pm

What is the best way to get that little tab on the right off so that it is reusable? I'm doing my rear diff today. Thanks.

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YouTube · Post by **OffroadTreks** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 2:14 pm

Unscrew it.

Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 3:29 pm

MikeKey wrote:Unscrew it.

Oh really? Didn't think it would unscrew. I'll try it.

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YouTube · Post by **OffroadTreks** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 3:33 pm

Hammerballs wrote:
MikeKey wrote:Unscrew it.
Oh really? Didn't think it would unscrew. I'll try it.

Mine kind of did. I just pulled and twisted gently and it started backing off all the way. Then to reinstall I just pressed it on. It's metal so you can bend the little tabs if need be.

Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:15 pm

MikeKey wrote:Unscrew it.

So another question. Online I found the Ram AAM 11.5 spec to take 8.5 pints of oil. I only got 7 pints in before it started running out the fill port. Does it make sense our locker and the LSD hardware would take up 1.5 pints worth of volume? it's pretty full in the pumpkin?

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Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:16 pm

MikeKey wrote:Unscrew it.

So another question. Online I found the Ram AAM 11.5 spec to take 8.5 pints of oil. I only got 7 pints in before it started running out the fill port. Does it make sense our locker and the LSD hardware would take up 1.5 pints worth of volume? it's pretty full in the pumpkin?

Update: So I even jacked up the rear a little and put the axle on jack stands in case I was leaning a little to the rear. Really didn't get much more in before it was dribbling out the fill port again. In total I got almost 7.5 pints (3.75qts) in the rear. It was filled to the bottom of the fill port. Barring backing up my fairly steep driveway, I don't see anyway I'm getting another pint in there. Only thing I can think of is our locker and LSD take up significant volume and therefore we don't hold the AAM 11.5 spec of 8.5 pints I found online. That brings up the question of with less fluid how much does that effect our rear diffs under heavy load? Hmmm.

Colibri · Post by **Colibri** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 7:27 pm

It's not a big deal, if it's full it's full. Different axle housings and assemblies will take slightly different amounts of gear oil. When I filled my rear axle up after the gear and air locker swap my 11.5 aam took 9 freaking quarts lol. Ever since then it's been a normal amount drained and filled.

Also consider that your wheel hubs eat up some of that fluid. If you didn't drain your hubs then you didn't get all 8.5 pints out so there's no way to get 8.5 back in.

Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 7:31 pm

Colibri wrote:It's not a big deal, if it's full it's full. Different axle housings and assemblies will take slightly different amounts of gear oil. When I filled my rear axle up after the gear and air locker swap my 11.5 aam took 9 freaking quarts lol. Ever since then it's been a normal amount drained and filled.

Also consider that your wheel hubs eat up some of that fluid. If you didn't drain your hubs then you didn't get all 8.5 pints out so there's no way to get 8.5 back in.

Doh! How do you drain the hubs? I lifted each side of the axle to try and drain the axle housings.

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Colibri · Post by **Colibri** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 7:45 pm

if you jacked up to drain the hubs did you also jack up to fill them? How high did you lift? The bottom of the hub is lower than the bottom of the axle tube, so you have to get it pretty far up to drain fully.

Pics for reference. I think you're fine, probably just overthinking things a bit. Good work getting out there and tackling it yourself sir!

Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:08 pm

I guess I didn't drain them. I didn't lift the axles until I was trying to refill. Damn it! just bugs me when things don't go to spec. It's the OCD. Lol! I only have about 9500 miles on the truck total. The old oil was still pretty clean looking. There wasn't much of anything on the magnets. Definitely wiped some fi hine metal dust off the cover. I just don't want anything to go wrong because I fucked up. Will be towing a little 2000lb trailer through the mountains for 10 days starting Tuesday.

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Colibri · Post by **Colibri** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:26 pm

Hammerballs wrote:I guess I didn't drain them. I didn't lift the axles until I was trying to refill. Damn it! just bugs me when things don't go to spec. It's the OCD. Lol! I only have about 9500 miles on the truck total. The old oil was still pretty clean looking. There wasn't much of anything on the magnets. Definitely wiped some fi hine metal dust off the cover. I just don't want anything to go wrong because I fucked up. Will be towing a little 2000lb trailer through the mountains for 10 days starting Tuesday.

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You'll be fine, i understand being a perfectionist but I wouldn't call that a fuck up. Next time you're in there put a filtermag in the bottom of the diff housing to help keep the locker magnet clean and keep the gears/bearings happy. You could drag a 2000 pound trailer through the mountains without wheels lol your truck won't even break a sweat. Have a good trip hombre!

Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:35 pm

FilterMag was placed in there. Put Amzoil 75W-90 with a FilterMag in the front with a Carli diff guard and Amzoil 75W-110 with a FilterMag in the rear with a Purple Cranium diff guard. Went with the 75W-110 in the rear because of the heat we see here in AZ and because I climb up into the mountains a lot to escape the heat and go mountain biking and dirt biking. From what I read, the 75W-110 is just the upper half of what was the original 75W-90 viscosity spec. They just broke the spec in two and made two weights.

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Colibri · Post by **Colibri** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:45 pm

Nice! I saw the carli diff guard, I must have missed the magnets and purple cranium though. You're golden then.

TwinStick · Post by **TwinStick** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:27 pm

Very satisfying to do it yourself & save $500 or so. No one will take the care you will, while working on your truck-----except maybe another PW owner !

The pic shows 75/140w gear oil. Do you have a laser point & shoot thermometer ? If you do & think of it, get a reading when you pull over & stop, while towing your trailer please. I am just curious. Thanks.

Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:48 pm

TwinStick wrote:Very satisfying to do it yourself & save $500 or so. No one will take the care you will, while working on your truck-----except maybe another PW owner !

The pic shows 75/140w gear oil. Do you have a laser point & shoot thermometer ? If you do & think of it, get a reading when you pull over & stop, while towing your trailer please. I am just curious. Thanks.

What pic? The pic a couple posts up is Colibri's truck with the 75W-140. I definitely knew I didn't need that.

Unfortunately I don't have a laser thermometer. Would have been interesting to get before and after temps. I'm kind of a data dork like that. It's the enginerd in me. Also where the perfectionism comes from. Lol!

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Colibri · Post by **Colibri** » Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:58 pm

Yep I did 140 out back because of my 5.13's and leadfooted ways, I wanted the extra film strength. My diff temps are low relatively speaking because I had the gears REM isotropically super finished. They're literally smoother than glass. I can drive on the highway at 75 for an hour and still put my hand on the diff cover. Not sure what the actual temp is though. I'll have to get an IR temp gun so I can tell you

yellowranger1 · Post by **yellowranger1** » Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:14 pm

Might have missed it in skimming the posts, does it not matter if the gear oil says w/ or w/o LSD? I'm ordering mine today, just want to make sure I get the right stuff. Never had a truck with fancy electronic gizmos in the diffs, just Detroits and spools, all of which I've ran super heavy SWEPCO 203.

I'm looking at the Amsoil severe gear 110 for the PW.

YouTube · Post by **OffroadTreks** » Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:56 pm

yellowranger1 wrote:Might have missed it in skimming the posts, does it not matter if the gear oil says w/ or w/o LSD? I'm ordering mine today, just want to make sure I get the right stuff. Never had a truck with fancy electronic gizmos in the diffs, just Detroits and spools, all of which I've ran super heavy SWEPCO 203.

I'm looking at the Amsoil severe gear 110 for the PW.

We don't need the modifier.

Amsoil Severe Gear 110 for the rear will be fine. Don't go over 90 in the front.

Hammerballs · Post by **Hammerballs** » Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:58 pm

yellowranger1 wrote:Might have missed it in skimming the posts, does it not matter if the gear oil says w/ or w/o LSD? I'm ordering mine today, just want to make sure I get the right stuff. Never had a truck with fancy electronic gizmos in the diffs, just Detroits and spools, all of which I've ran super heavy SWEPCO 203.

I'm looking at the Amsoil severe gear 110 for the PW.

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Spec for our axles is no LSD additive needed. I used 75W-90 in the front and 75W-110 in the rear. Bought 3 quarts for the front and 5 quarts for the rear. Only got a little over 3.5 quarts in the rear.

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yellowranger1 · Post by **yellowranger1** » Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:20 pm

Perfect thanks guys. Hoping to knock out engine and gear oil this weekend.

TwinStick · Post by **TwinStick** » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:47 pm

Hammerballs wrote:
TwinStick wrote:Very satisfying to do it yourself & save $500 or so. No one will take the care you will, while working on your truck-----except maybe another PW owner !

The pic shows 75/140w gear oil. Do you have a laser point & shoot thermometer ? If you do & think of it, get a reading when you pull over & stop, while towing your trailer please. I am just curious. Thanks.
What pic? The pic a couple posts up is Colibri's truck with the 75W-140. I definitely knew I didn't need that.

Unfortunately I don't have a laser thermometer. Would have been interesting to get before and after temps. I'm kind of a data dork like that. It's the enginerd in me. Also where the perfectionism comes from. Lol!

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My bad. Guess I was skimming through the posts too fast. That coating that Colibri had done to his gearset sounds promising. If you could hold your hand on my diff cover after towing the camper, you are one hell of a man. Seems to be right at 170*+ most of the time.

With the Mopar factory full synthetic fluid & towing our last camper (10,500 lb Toy Hauler), I have recorded temps as high as 315*.

Juday · Post by **Juday** » Thu Aug 03, 2017 8:24 am

jlilnc14 wrote:
Hammerballs wrote:First mod in the books. Only got the front done because I'm still waiting for my Purple Cranium rear guard and it started raining anyway.

Biggest issue: I thought I might make things easier on myself and sprung for the gear oil pump from AMSOIL to just pump the new oil in out of the bottles. Was working great....until the hose blew off the pump mid pump and I squirted myself in the face with half a pump of gear oil! Lol! WTF! Then I realized I didn't even need the hose. The fill hole was a perfect height just to stick the nozzle end of the pump in the hole and start pumping. No hose necessary. Should have considering my options before I started.

It says on Carli's website that "Power Wagons may require modification to the Diff Guard or Lower Diff Housing" Was modification required for you?

This modification was necessary for mine when I installed it on there. I had to take an angle grinder and remove some of the differential housing material on the bottom to get the Carli guard to fit. The extra casting material (protection) on the Power Wagon's front diff is why that's necessary. Maybe they don't have the extra material on the 4.5 gens?

Lockedup · Post by **Lockedup** » Thu Nov 01, 2018 3:41 pm

I've got a 17 PW and am new to this as well. Let me get this straight, the PW has the LSD but doesn't need the LSD additive in the AMSOIL diff fluid?

Rodeoflyer · Post by **Rodeoflyer** » Thu Nov 01, 2018 3:43 pm

It’s an LSD but a helical style, not clutchpack style so the additive isn’t necessary.

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