My 08 is nearing 30k miles so I know I have some service work to get done. From what I've read, it seems changing the transmission fluid, front and rear diff's and the transfer case are the most important things to get done. Would you guys recommend anything different?
I had the Jeep in for an oil change last week at the local Chrysler dealer and asked the mechanic about their rates for doing the work. He quoted me about $50 for the transfer case after I told him I have the Hemi/SRT8 model.
I later spoke to the Jeep dealer where I bought the truck and he mentioned that the fluid used in the SRT8 is special and ran something like $50 per quart making the whole job around $200.
Therein lies my question; does the guy at the Chrysler shop know what he's talking about when he told me $50 or do I need to go the more expensive route? I certainly dont want to do anything that will damage the truck but at the same time I dont want to spend an extra $150 if I dont need to.
Don't worry about the axles, they are open, no cluthes to wear, just gears. Change them if you think they need it only, every 50-75k is probably fine.
The transmission I'd flush but wouldnt' worry too much if your truck is stock.
The transfer case is are garbage. Its a chain-drive with electro-mechanical clutch engagement mechanism (not viscous coupler, and not gear drive). That means that clutches are constantly pushing and rubbing against one another in there depending on how much the electric drive motor pushes them together. The clutch material is sub par at best, and turns the T/C into a sludge box. Change this fluid every 10K, and yes, it costs a ridiculous amount. Not only does it cost a lot, but the procedure also has to be done right, the tolerence between over-full and under-full is small.
Man the more I read this forum the more I get paranoid about the TC. I just bought an 08 with 24K miles and it's probably never been done. I get a howling noise at 50-60 MPH when the ESP is off. I better do this PDQ. Good thing is I have warranty until May 2011. I think I'll have this thing into the dealer before then just to cover my a$$.
wink - the guy who quoted me $50 for the job (parts and labor) was valley chrysler here in boulder. it was the go jeep dealer down on colfax who quoted me $200. do you have anyone in the denver/boulder area you like to use?
based on what you guys are telling me, it sounds like the more expensive route is the one i need to take.
Yeah I bought my Jeep from Pollard in Boulder, and go there for service as well. I've been very happy with them so far. Also yes, you need to go the expensive route. I've heard bad things about Go West.
wink - Pollard was $133 vs $200 for GO for the TC change. Thanks for the recommendation, just scheduled my appointment and Pollard confirmed that they use the NV146 fluid which seems to be the one we need.
That's a good deal. I just bought the fluid to do it myself and it cost me $162. $77 x 2. But I'm in Canada and we get overcharged for everything. At the steelership it's $300