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05/20/2024 04:49:00 EDT

Dealer, TSB's and Recalls
FromMessage
Jodie
Unregistered


4/11/2001
13:05:41

Subject: Rear Differential
IP: Logged

Message:
Okay so I was told this morning that this might be the cause of my grinding problems...so anyone want to enlighten me as to what this is??? If you need more info check out my older post...



Jason burr
Unregistered
 Email

4/23/2001
00:15:14

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
So you are getting a grinding sound? Is this when you shift gears or is it all of the time?
My rear differential is shot, but it is just making a bunch of noise. It makes a whining sound, especially on the highway. The differential is the gear in the back of the truck that transfers the drive to the wheels. I personally do not think that it would grind, only because if it was grinding, it should be locking up and if that was the case the truck would not even move. If the gears are torn up enough, then it may make some pretty gruelling sounds though. Personally, I would get a second opinion because it sounds as if your problem is more to the front of the drive train. I have a question for you though. Most drive trains have a factory warrenty up to 70,000 miles, my truck has only 64,300 on it. The differential is definately where the problem is coming from (loud whinning). This is very early for a differential to go bad, have you heard anything on a factory recall on this, because if there is one we may both be able to save a lot of money.



Jodie
Unregistered


4/24/2001
21:55:48

RE: Rear Differential
IP: Logged

Message:
Hey Jason-
turns out they changed the differential fluid or added an additive or something...no more grinding (when I made turns it sounded AWEFUL!) They also replaced the upper control arms and tightened the ball joints. Truck had about 47,500km on it...Truck does make a whine on the highway. A buddy of mine who was a mech apprentice at one time figures the differential could have been damaged all this time without the proper fluid?! Only have 10,500km left on the warrenty...ouch!!! Took me 10.5 months to convince the dealer (3 of them) that something was wrong...



walt_felix
GenI
 Email User Profile

4/27/2001
10:55:09

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
Do you have a limited slip differential? Sounds like someone forgot to include the LS additive last time the differential was serviced. I had the same thing happen on my RAM.

Walt-n-Ingrid's Dakota





Walt Felix
88½ Dakota Sport 4x4
http://WWW.Walt-n-Ingrid.COM

oliver kollmar
Dodge Dakota
 Email

5/24/2001
17:17:04

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
I had my rear differential replaced in Nov. of 2000. I had about 160,000km on my 5.2 97'. Since I have heard many others say that they had problems with their differential as well. I belive that I had a bad differential since about the 20,000 km mark and had the fluid changed. It seemed to help, but it made some brutal noises in hard cornering. Everything seems fine now after the repair, but I'm coming up to 180,000km, 20,000 after the repair, so I'm holding my breath to see what will happen.



George
Dodge Dakota
 Email

5/27/2001
21:15:21

RE: Rear Differential
IP: Logged

Message:
You must have a LS Diff. I had the same problem with my 2000 Q-cab 3.55 LS diff. turns out the dealer had the wrong gear lube in it. I had it changed and the inside wheel on a turn no longer broke loose.



Ken
Dodge Dakota
 Email

11/24/2001
21:34:13

RE: Rear Differential
IP: Logged

Message:
My 1997 5.2 Dakota had a similar problem.
There was a loud whining sound coming from the rear. It was a pinion bearing that was pitted from the factory. Cost me about $230.



magvic
Dodge Dakota
 Email

11/25/2001
18:13:42

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
I have a 99 dakota R/T.I purchased it used with 62,000 miles on it. I have the limited slip in mine. Also had a whining when turning corners.I had 65,000 on it . took it in and the dealer said that it looked like the service tag was never removed and that the fluid needed changed, and that it needs to be done every 20,000 miles.Have not had a problem since. This is my first dodge, and dispite a few small problems I LOVE MY R/T!



2000 dak QC 3.9
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
 Email

9/05/2002
12:04:08

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
Thanks for the advice out there. had the nasty grinding noises in tight, slow turns in my LS axle. drained the fluid, added synthetic 85W140 w/4 oz of LS fluid. no more noise!
now my piece of advice, if you're running 255-65-15's, ditch the goodyears and get the Pirelli Scorpion Z's from tirerack.com.4 for $396 delivered.
more tire, less money, higher rated in all catagories.



Matt
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE


2/09/2003
23:45:34

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
Got a '89 Dakota Sport 4x4. I have already replaced my pinion/axles gears about 4 years ago! Today hit a bump on the highway and heard a big bang. Found out that I broke my screw/bolt for the left main cap, also broke the shaft (in the case between the drive axles) which in turn let the "C" clip fall out so my fricken wheel was sticking out more than usual.

For the mechanically inclined, if your rear differential is whirring, change them pinion and gears! Also, check your transfer case for fluid, the noise is similar to the rear differential(4x4 of course). It will whirl on you until you turn in a parking space and break, trust me, cuz it happened to me! While you are at it, chech for teeth wear and tolerances.
Owning a Dodge makes you a good mechanic, and right now I am thinking of Ford...



Sam
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
 Email

4/18/2003
20:28:26

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
I have a 1997 Dakota 5.2L w/limited slip differential - 108,000. I change the fluid about once a year on average following the service maintenance schedule. Today I opened the rear cover and got a surprise. Two large chunks of metal sitting in the bottom of the case. I think I have identified them as once being the "C-lock" from the inner end of the axleshaft. Has anyone ever encountered this? Looking for some advice on what should be done.



dave2317
Dodge Dakota
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7/25/2003
23:16:18

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
i just bought a 1997 5.2 4x4 with 75,000 miles. it sounded like the u joints were going out on the truck when i bought it. it would make a slight clunk and a jerk when i put it in gear, especially reverse. but i figured it would be no big deal since every time ive encountered that prob it was the u joints.. i got under it today and there was no play in the rear drive shaft/u joints. so i got on the phone and called some places thinking it might be the transfer case becasue there was play in the front drive shaft. anyway to make a long story short i heard everything from brakes to motor mounts to the tranny itself. finally i talked to a guy who told me to put it in nuetral and see if there was slop in the diff ... so i did and there is about a half inch of play. so i dropped the drive shaft and put in reverse and there was the normal click but no clunk. sounds like the diff to me, what do you guys think and how much longer until it completely goes out and how much will it cost ?? thanks guys, i could use the help!





Unhappy
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
 Email

9/20/2003
14:57:09

West Herr chrysler SUCKS !!!
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Message:
WEST HERR CHRYSLER OF ORCHARD PARK, NY SUCKS!!!
I was driving to work last week in my 1998 ram 4X4 quad cab, when I started to hear whining noise coming from the rear end.
I looked around under the truck and check the drive shaft for play (none) and checked the fluid level in the differential(perfect). The truck only has 43k miles on it.
On my way to the dealership the truck just came to a screeching halt, And the drive shaft was laying on the ground. I was nearly hit by a semi.
The entire rear end just locked up.
Just days out of a 3 month warranty the dealer wont pay for it (WEST HERR OF ORCHARD PARK, NY)
Do not buy from these scam artist.
$20,000.00 dollars spent NO TRUCK TO GET TO WORK!
I've had no truck for 10 days and no one wants to help me with the 3500.00 bill.
Can any one help me?



Differential
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE


10/01/2003
22:10:01

RE: Rear Differential
IP: Logged

Message:
The same thing happened to me today, I was driving my 98 4x4 Dakota on the fast lane on the freeway I downshifted to four gear to slow down, and suddenly my driveshaft fell off, my differential locked and so there was at the mercy of God and of course AAA.





Bagadonitz
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
 Email

10/07/2003
17:33:03

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
Bought my 2003 Dakota 4x4 LS in for fluid changes yesterday. They come back to tell me that something has let go in the rear differential and that it has chewed up the case as well as tore up the gears. 25000 km.



JoeFWB1980
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
 Email

10/14/2003
02:15:55

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
my reverse also makes a loud "IRK" sound when shifting from park, but it's done it since i rolled it off the lot brand new.

my big problem has been in the last 3 months, slow sharp corners makes a rubbing/grinding sound in the rear end. i've checked for rub marks since i have wider tires, but none. diff fluid was right up to the hole. i'm thinkin it may be my brake drums now, just a hunch. gotta take it to a mechanic soon cuz Lee Chrysler wouldnt look at it with 36,197 miles on it without charging me at least $60 just to look.

Joe Guillory
Ft. Walton Bch., FL



William
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
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10/27/2003
20:25:52

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
I have a 2001 Dakota Quad Cab 2 wheel drive with 20,000 miles on it....I am hearing a rubbing or grinding noise when going slow speed backward and forward. After two visits, they say it needs maintenance of the differential. Is this right??? My warranty runs out on Thursday the 30... Please advise...





Bob Lemke
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
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12/10/2003
19:38:16

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
At 53,000 miles my rear differential locked up without warning -- no noise, no grinding, no vibration. The pinion shaft broke and the whole drive shaft fell out of the truck. I had it towed to the dealer & was informed that it would cost me $1400 to fix. No explanation as to why this happened, but I have a suspicion that they've seen it before...
This is a 2000 Quad Cab 2WD with a V6! It's never even had a ball hitch on the bumper -- never pulled anything.
The DC 1-800 customer service person could not have cared less -- it was out of warranty -- too bad, so sad, take a hike. I raised enough stink with the dealer that they finally agreed to pay parts which was about $700. I now have a truck that I'm still making payments on that I'm afraid to drive (and can't, in good conscience, sell). If this would have happened at 60 mph, there would have been a terrible wreck. I'm still pissed about having to shell out $700 for something that should have never, ever failed, but what really frosts me is that DC doesn't seem to care about the safety issue.
It's my thinking that rear differentials are something that were perfected about 50 years ago. Why is DC having so many problems in this area??
Right now, I don't know what to do with this truck. I sure won't be taking it out on the Interstate, and I damn sure won't ever tow anything with it.
DaimlerChrysler has lost me as a customer for all time as well as about 250 people I work with who now are very familiar with what happened. What confounds me is how little they care...



Jack Lobdell
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
 Email

1/08/2004
19:01:51

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
I have a '99 Dodge Durango 4x4 and the chassis are basically similar to dakotas, so about 4 months ago, I had some leakage with the transfer case, the dealership fixed it for about $400. Now, I hear a "winding up" sound every time I accelerate and a "winding down" sound whenever the car slows down. I took it to the same dealership and they tell me that there is some very serious problem with my rear differential, that will cost me over $1000. Is that right? Or is the dealership screwing me?



Bob Lemke
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
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1/10/2004
09:02:18

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
Jack; I also own a '93 Jeep Grand Cherokee that's a 4x4 and that type of noise came from front CV joints that were really bad, but it was also accompanied by a crunching noise while turning sharply.
The information I'm hearing is that the differentials supplied by Dana for Dodge trucks are very poorly designed & manufactured and prone to failure. You could get a 2nd opinion, but I wouldn't go too fast or pull anything until you found out what that noise really is.
And now we have the ball joint thing to think about.
By the way, I've written to the NHTSA about my incident with the rear diff. I would like to see a recall on ball joints and differentials this year -- that would be nice! Don't buy any DaimlerChrysler stock...




RYAN
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE


4/09/2004
21:27:57

RE: Rear Differential
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Message:
My truck seems to be in shambles right now. My rear end is winding which I think could be the wheel bearing, because it goes away when I sway to the right. But I also have a shake while going slow, taking curves and stopping. There is barely any winding at high speeds. I have replaced the rotors and front brakes about 20,000 miles ago. When my emergency brake cable snapped. I have fluid in my rear end, but never changed it. I was told not to. But recently was told to change the fluid annually. I have 140,000 miles on it right now. Any advice would be appreciated.



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