I have noticed an aggravating trend on the last couple of GM/Chevrolet vehicles I have bought. The owners manual may list a fluid qty for replacement and maybe a service interval, but they no longer list what fluid to use in differentials and transfer cases. The manual simply says "see dealer" which scares me because the typical person in service at the local dealers knows significantly less about lubricants than I do. I shouldnt have to put that much effort into determining fluid requirements for normal maintenance items. I have someone who works at GM that I can ultimately get the info from but I dont think I should need to.
Lack of information on new vehicles
- Thread starter 64bawagon
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I'd like part numbers personally.
It gives the impression that it's so special, I should go to the dealer for service.
My Ram takes some special Mopar spec rear diff fluid, MS-A0160. Google that spec and you can't find anything about it, Amsoil doesn't have a recommendation, etc. And then I was quoted $92/qt over the phone yesterday from a Chrysler dealer.
It gives the impression that it's so special, I should go to the dealer for service.
My Ram takes some special Mopar spec rear diff fluid, MS-A0160. Google that spec and you can't find anything about it, Amsoil doesn't have a recommendation, etc. And then I was quoted $92/qt over the phone yesterday from a Chrysler dealer.
Today the average vehicle owner rarely checks the oil never mind servicing their own vehicle. So manuals are written for those customers.
We BITOG'ers are a minority now. The lack of readily available info aggravates me also.
We BITOG'ers are a minority now. The lack of readily available info aggravates me also.
Ask someone in the parts department.
$92 a quart for gear oil??????????
Yeah, I don't believe it because the same dealer has quoted me $400 to do all three gear boxes.
I think he was annoyed with me
When was the last time you heard about a differential failure?
BTW Dealers don't need to now more or less than you about lubricants. They just need to have adequate reading comprehension and follow what the GM is telling them to use.
I think it's reasonable to suspect they may be trying to drive traffic to the dealerships in the interest of profit. Also, it may have to do with maintaining their ability to revise specifications. Ford's change from orange to yellow coolant comes to mind. If one read the printed manual, they wouldn't know about the change.
They wanted like $80 for the oil filter element for my friend's GC turbo diesel.
pay the 1 day pass for service information. they owe you nothing
c'mon guys, there are now shoes you have to pay subscription for to buy and use... 
automakers want you to be dependant on them for vehicle service
That's a bargain. The Ford dealer here is $250.00 an hour......
That will be a sub 32 degree day in Hell.
When I was still working we inherited 5 2009 2wd Police pkg.Tahoe's that were originally placed in service as police vehicles. They were only in service in that capacity for around a year. After that they were used as staff vehicles for the Fire dept. When we got them they were 3 yrs old and averaged less than 50k on them. 3 of the 5 required the differentials to be replaced and none were under warranty since they were just over the bumper to bumper.
BTW, its spelled "know"
We were in the local Hyundai Stealership yesterday and they charge $225 per hour. And don't know what they're doing! They wanted to charge my OL $540 to replace one hose and claimed that it was two hours of HARD work to replace it. I did it in my driveway this morning in less than 10 minutes.
One of the local indy shops charges $130 per hour and they're GOOD! But they only were on certain types of British cars. The local PepBoys charges $150 per hour and they're reasonably good.
First police vehicles fall under severe use so it's not a valid comparison. Second I'm fairly certain those rears have a limited-slip differential and a rebuild is not uncommon for the clutch packs at 50k miles. That's just the way it is on clutch-type LSD.
My truck specifies the same MS-A0160 unicorn juice (pg 31 of the catalog):
However, when you search by VIN in the catalog and in the service library, it returns the generic 68218655AC.
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