Was I "taken" at the stealership???????????

[dcyamaha]

We have a 2004 Jeep liberty 3.7 4X4 (columbia edition) and had bought the DC service contract when we bought the car in 11/2003. Since then, we have had the car in for every service.

Yesterday, my wife takes the car in the for 30k mile service. She is informed that the front and rear diff fluid is "dirty" and it will need to be replaced. This is NOT in the 30k mile service, but the technician says its usually a part of the normal service anyway. She goes to leave and the bill is $305.00!!! :-k

is the front and rear diff fluid changed often? I've never heard of anybody doing this. Were we taken?? What is the definition of dirty? hell, its probably dirty after 1000 miles!

 

[hyde]

They call for diff svc every 12-16k miles, they caught me at 22 or something like that and did the work on rear..
I haven't been taking it in for much of a service other than oil change since then. It is at 30k now.

 

[dcyamaha]

$305 is horrible. 2 hrs of service for $140

parts are $165.

it says in the service manual that this fluid is only supposed to be changed if you have " prolonged vehicle operation with heavy loading, such as off-highway operation, trailer towing, snow plow etc"


our jeep is a city/hwy cruiser. It only sees 4x4 operation in the snow. (few times a year)

 

[hyde]

Mine is like yours, they said "it can explode if the oil wasn't changed and if there was no work done on it" 8-[ wtf?

mine was as following:

DIFFERENTIAL SERVICE
5 LUBE 80W140 = 63.20
1 82300234 SEALER = 9.35
1 CLEANER - THROTTLE BODY = 4.70
2 LUBERICANT = 17.00
NON MOTOR OIL DISPOSAL =1.75
LABOR = 100.00 ................................
TOTAL: 196.00

so yours is not THAT BAD!! since you got both front and rear, I assume it woould be double this amount for me ($400)

oh and the s/c should cover this? if not, then what does it cover!?! phew

 

[Dave]

The "schedule B" says to change every 12,000 miles - but with a footnote saying "off-highway operation, trailer towing etc, etc." So at 30,000 they did it so that's ok. They do charge $$$ for labor and the fluids are not cheep. To me that is a lot so I do it myself.

The next time they suggest something, ask for an estimate first. Then you could always say - ok, I'll have to reschedule it later after payday or something. Then you could either do it yourself or find a trusted mechanic at a local garage or even bring it back later when you're more prepared. Save all your receipts for everything done even if you're doing it yourself. Use the correct fluids. They can't deny a warrenty repair just because they didn't do the maintenance.

 

[Trodo]

I follow schedule B, to better safe than sorry, but around here it's around $200 for both axles.

 

[2003KJ]

I changed mine changed around 25K or so. I wasn't originally going to do it myself untill I contacted the stealer and got a price quote of $150 per axle out the door. So to answer your question of if you got jacked, yes and no. Yes that $300 is an INSANE ammount of money considering how easy the job is, but no in comparison with other dealers.

Did it myself for <$100

 

[hyde]

I don't think anyone follows the service manual to every dot..
Is there any pointers we can give owners as to follow which service jobs strictly and which ones to ignore (to an extend).. As for the "checks & inspections" those are totally waste, they check fluids & do x point inspection, well last time they missed that my washer fluid was low, and missed that my pass brake light was busted, so I would only pay them if they sent me a coupon for cheap oil change, or some really special deals..

So for a daily driver, what are the essential service jobs that we must follow? Schedule B to it's extend costs way too much per year.. we could have gotten a sedan BMW and pay for nothing, non of those jobs. DC has no right to scam people with the things that are not necessary to be performed. BMW/Benz doesn't even change the oil until it is over 10k and DC insists that we change it every 3k? phew!

 

[ogfalcon]

We have a 2004 Jeep liberty 3.7 4X4 (columbia edition) and had bought the DC service contract when we bought the car in 11/2003. Since then, we have had the car in for every service.

Yesterday, my wife takes the car in the for 30k mile service. She is informed that the front and rear diff fluid is "dirty" and it will need to be replaced. This is NOT in the 30k mile service, but the technician says its usually a part of the normal service anyway. She goes to leave and the bill is $305.00!!! :-k

is the front and rear diff fluid changed often? I've never heard of anybody doing this. Were we taken?? What is the definition of dirty? hell, its probably dirty after 1000 miles!

We had the dealership change the fluids in both diffs, the transfer case, and the ****** for only 230-bucks.

 

[2003KJ]

Tune up somewhere in the area of 25-30K along with differential fluid changes are what I can recommend right now.

I have not done the ****** yet, but I would like to shortly. I may do the t-case here before to long.

 

[grogiefrog]

My neighbor has an older Grand Cherokee with 120k on it. He bought it used at 20k. He does the usual maintenance (oil, brakes, etc.) by himself, and has never changed the differential fluid! In fact he just recently changed the transmission fluid. Jeep runs just fine too! Sometimes I wonder if all the maintenance by the book is really required? :-k

 

[dcyamaha]

My neighbor has an older Grand Cherokee with 120k on it. He bought it used at 20k. He does the usual maintenance (oil, brakes, etc.) by himself, and has never changed the differential fluid! In fact he just recently changed the transmission fluid. Jeep runs just fine too! Sometimes I wonder if all the maintenance by the book is really required? :-k

exactly! i'm thinking if i didn't ever change the diff fluid, that i'd most likely be ok for the 5 or 6 years I own the vehicle.

 

[MoladoGuy]

Damn I need to change my Diff fluid. Haven't done it and I'm at 67K. I don't have any problems or grinding or drive shaft issues. I am going to go get it done but I'm afraid I will cause a problem.

All that **** and junk found its home in different areas, stirring it up may not be a good idea. However, I'm afraid it may eventually destroy my stuff. So I will have it done soon.

 

[JeepJeepster]

I bought 5 gallons of Castrol 75w-140SYN for $60.. Bought some gaskets for the 8.25 for $4.. Im good to go for awhile.. O

 

[Corwyyn]

I bought 5 gallons of Castrol 75w-140SYN

Gallons (Aeh) SHOCKED.gif I don't think you'll need to buy anymore for the rest of the life of your KJ, and the next Jeep, and the next...

 

[MoladoGuy]

I bought 5 gallons of Castrol 75w-140SYN for $60.. Bought some gaskets for the 8.25 for $4.. Im good to go for awhile.. O

Is that a common lube and gasket? I was thinking of going out to do it all as well. I bought the RockLizard Diff cover for the rear and when I go to install it I would first like to change all of my fluid.

 

[2003KJ]

I bought 5 gallons of Castrol 75w-140SYN for $60.. Bought some gaskets for the 8.25 for $4.. Im good to go for awhile.. O

Is that a common lube and gasket? I was thinking of going out to do it all as well. I bought the RockLizard Diff cover for the rear and when I go to install it I would first like to change all of my fluid.

When I did mine, the book called for 75W90 in the rear (add the special additive if you have a LSD) and 75W140 Synthetic for the front. Why synthetic in the front and not the back I dont know, but I ended up doing synthetic in both, and have had zero issues.

 

[Dave]

Jeepjeepster......If you're listening, where did you get a rear diff gasket for the 8.25???

 

[chetos]

I got mine changed by the dealer the other day. BOTH came to $105.00 total. I feel I have a pretty good relationship with this dealer. They've seen me in buying lots of MOPAR stuff from them. I think the LOST stickers on the back lets them know that I am informed (somewhat anyway :-$ ).

 

[KJ04]

Do it yourself! Yes your hands will get dirty but, you'll save 90-95% of that $300.00. Just get a plastic hand pump from the auto parts store that screws on the top of the gallon gear oil jug. You can even use regular dino gear oil from Walmart for $6.99 a gal. and save even more.