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Author:
bassarama
Date:
Jul 11, 2007
Subject:
Towing vehicle rear end maintenance
Message:
This is not a boat repair post but it's related to boats, so here it goes: Coming back from a fishing trip last Sat. my Dodge pickup truck started making “read end noises” :oops: :oops: No no, not those noises from the rear end you're thinking :D Well… let me explain, the rear end of my truck has been troublesome for a while now, after a big bill repair it never came back the same, so the mechanic repaired one thing and 700 bucks later I inherited a high pitch noise for free, literally (got my dough back) . For two years now I’ve been dealing with this noise, with the rear end’s life expectancy very low I’ve been maintaining it a bit better changing the oil every 4th motor oil change, +- 15k miles. So, last Sat. I though I lost the darn thing for good, while pulling the V up the driveway it grinded so bad that I didn’t run it since. I had a couple of days to browse around and actually found a 56k mile used rear end for 850 bucks. Curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to open her up before picking up the newer axle and to take some graphic mechanical pictures, after all I expected gear pieces all over in the housing. The good news is this, no additional damage.WTF! :? :? [img:aefc884d74]http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/bassarama/Dodgerearendat80kmiles.jpg[/img:aefc884d74] Notice how few particles were on the bottom? [img:aefc884d74]http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/bassarama/Dodgerearend2.jpg[/img:aefc884d74] Yeeeehaaaa :o I just save 850 bucks minus the oil change and a Sam Addams Light to celebrate! :D :D A couple of quarts of synthetic 75w-90 and 7 oz of limited slip oil, she’s ready to go again. I talked to a pro mechanic who happens to be a friend and he advised me to change the rear end oil and additive more often, especially when towing long distances ( like me) whether the axle is noisy or not. From now on, I’ll do mine every 10k miles, it takes me approx. an hour including a Sam Addams break :wink: To me it's cheap insurance. Joe
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