Hi Tony
If you ask this question of the service writer at your friendly 5-star
Dodge dealer he will tell you that your manual transmission must (should)
have its lubricant replaced based either or both upon the miles you've now
driven and the time that has lapsed since the truck was first sold.
I've always found it interesting that dealer maintenance
"recommendations" with few exceptions, in my experience anyway, exceed those
of the manufacturer, that same manufacturer who must shell out the cash to
honor his warranty, never the dealer, when something goes wrong under said
warranty.
The position of the manufacturer has tended to be in recent years that
manual transmission lube and differential lube in both automatic and manual
transmission vehicles need never be replaced except under certain specific
driving conditions. These include where the differential is concerned,
backing your truck into fresh or salt water to launch or retreve a boat, and
for both transmission and rear end, doing 50% or more of your driving on
dusty unpaved roads, with 4 wh dr models doing off-road driving, using your
truck for local delivery purposes where 30% or more of the miles are
stop-start, or driving very little, less than 7,500mi annually, carrying
maximum cargo loads your truck is rated for regularly, or pulling a loaded
trailer regularly. If none of these applies then don't sweat it.
When I first started driving, most vehicles had manual transmissions.
Working in a gas station as a teenager I discovered that most of them leaked
and every 1,000mi which was the normal oil change/lube job interval in the
50's, the typical transmission drank a pint or even more 90 or 140 weight
gear oil. Models with torque tube drive just had the transmission lube run
down into the rear end so the transmission was lo and the rear end was
overflowing, every thousand miles.
Today's manual transmissions have much better lubricants which, if not
contaminated, and it is contamination that is the criteria as to whether or
not you need to replace it, contrary to what anxiety your dealer's service
writer may try to instill in your mind, the lube does not "wear out," then
you needn't be concerned. The factory that made it isn't so why should you
be? Same for the rear end.
Automatic transmissions also benefit from greatly improved lubricants
these days however they, by their normal useage, tend to contaminate their
lubricant and they do need periodic service, based again on how you drive and
how much you drive.
So, read your owner's manual and see what the Chrysler folks are
telling you. They have a tremendous vested interest in ensuring you are
satisfied with what you bought from them which includes not expecting you to
throw your money away doing service and maintenance that is unnecessary.
Paul Sahlin
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