i have an 04 dodge dakota and i do alot of towing. the dealer recommends that you change the differential gear oil out to a 75w-140w synthetic. after finding out that dodge wanted to charge me 130$ to do this service i decided to do it myself. i want to use royal purple. also the truck has a plug in the differential. how do i get the plug out without damaging it? and do you think the royal purple synthetic gear oil will make any difference or am i just wasting my money. please advise!!
2007-03-11 15:55:55 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Royal Purple is the best I've ever seen. I worked in a power plant where we swapped out all our lubricants to Royal Purple lubes and machinery lube related problems dropped dramatically.
You can do that fluid change yourself w/o warranty problems. Save your receipt for the oil and document date you did it right there in the maintenance section of your manual.
2007-03-11 21:20:54 · answer #1 · answered by Jmmy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my opinion, Royal Purple is the best oils you can buy. It is well worth the money. I'm making the switch to 5W20 Synthetic from Royal Purple, when I get my 5L installed in my Ranger. I'm jsut using conventional oil at this time as this engine has alwasy be run with it, and I'm only needing it to last until i get the 5L installed.
Just make sure you are useing the right socket, I believe that the drain plug is either a 10mm hex or a 3/8 drive, I can't remember with dodge, they have a habbit of changing the bolt style so often. When the plug is out, check the seal on it, if damaged replace. The most important thing is, before you drain the drifferential oil, take the fill plug out. Do this for 2 reasons, 1) you know that the plug isn't damaged, and you can get it out, if its damaged and won't come out then theres no reason to drain the differential if you can't fill it, and 2) the air flow will allow the fluid to drain smoother and quicker. Just follow the manufacture specifications, and make sure you add the RIGHT oil additive, for the differential. When changing the differential oil you ALWAYS have to add an oil additive. Fill the differential with the correct amount of oil and the correct additive.
But as for Warranty issues, I would suggest bringing the vehicle into the dealer and have them do the work, as you doing the work yourself may have warranty issues if anything were to go wrong. Its not a hard job to do, but differentials are very important and a dealer will look for any issue to void any warranty. Have them do it for the warranty issues.
2007-03-11 16:06:51 · answer #2 · answered by gregthomasparke 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The rubber plug just pops out. Use a small screw driver to get between the cover and the plug to pop it out. Fill the rear end to about 1/2 in bellow the plug hole. I would recomend Removing the cover to drain all the fluid out. Reseal the cover with RTV. I use black RTV called the "right stuff" works excelent.
As far as fuid goes. I do not have any exp with royal purple. Ay good syn gear lube out do fine. You also may need a friction modifier added to the fluid. If you have a locking diff. I usualy use Equa-torque.
2007-03-11 16:09:00 · answer #3 · answered by akicestorm 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i own a repair shop,and royal purple isn't any better than any of the rest of it is,let the dealer do it for now,and you will have proof that it was done just in case it ever does give problems from the differentials,and then the dealer cant say it was your fault,after the warranty is out,you can do what ever you want to with it,good luck,i hope this helps.
2007-03-11 16:04:35 · answer #4 · answered by dodge man 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
wasting your money. just use the stuff thats recomended. and if you are still under factory warranty get the job done at the dealer so you can prove it was done with a reciept. the $130 should include both differentials and the transfer case if its a 4wd.
2007-03-11 16:00:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
go to the dealer if you want..........but that,s not necessary.......go to a shop that has certified mechanic,s........use any lube that meet,s the requirement,s of the manufacture......listed by specification,s set by the a.p.i. [American petroleum institute]........if you have "positraction" or more commonly known as limited slip differential.....a special additive may be required......get a receipt to show the service was done.......the dealer cannot force you to have the work done there......as long as the service tech,s are certified by a.s.e. [ automotive service excellence]...they haven't a leg to stand on..........hope this help,s you......good luck!
2007-03-11 16:45:37 · answer #6 · answered by slipstream 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my chevy you can tap just a 3/8" extension with no socket on & get it out.. never used royal purple myself...
2007-03-11 16:00:59 · answer #7 · answered by slashisgodgnfrf 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
diff plug is a just a piece of rubber, just slowly pop it out. its also pops back in
2007-03-11 16:57:45 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋