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Rear Differential Fluid Change

snj1013

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I just changed the differential fluid in my 2019 Ram 1500 with 3.21 gears last night. It should be a fairly easy process but make sure that you do have an 8mm and 14mm hex socket before attempting. There are plenty of videos out there, but I did run into a small issue. I have some 3/8" drive hex impact sockets and figured a 3/8" ratchet (maybe 12" long) would be enough to break loose the fill and drain plugs. The fill plug didn't take much effort but the drain plug was tight. I just purchased one of the new Milwaukee 3/8" drive Subcompact impact wrenches so I thought I would give it a go. It wouldn't break the drain plug loose even though it is supposed to have 225 ft-lbs of breakaway torque. I also have a Dewalt 20 volt atomic impact wrench which has 450 ft-lbs of breakaway torque. The Dewalt broke it free. The drain plug does have some sort of red loctite or thread sealant, so I guess that is what I was fighting, but thought I would share my experience so others getting ready to perform this maintenance aren't caught off guard. I used the Valvoline gear lube that comes in a bag for the refill. The bag type does make filling the differential easier and I would highly recommend this route. The drain and fill took the expected 3 quarts for me.
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