tranny 'loud'/ 1st gear when cold

[finlander]

I have had this 1998 Dakota 3.9L 6 for a month now. Changed alot on in already; tires, serp belt, plugs, wires, cap and rotor. The man I bought it from says he changed oil every 3K miles ( oh yes I changed that too ) but I have no proof. He did change air filter right before showing me the truck ( wow). As for the tranny or differential, I just don't know. The level is fine. Color looks good. But in the last few days, the tranny seems like its struggling to shift into 2nd. The tach doesn't go up that high, maybe 2100 or so. After it runs for awhile it is quieter and seems normal. Normally I have a cd in and don't hear the engine/tranny but this you can hear. Is this the start of some major breakdown about to happen or, because of the history of this truck, and little or no maintenance, that changing the filter and fluid, and the fluid in the differential, would make a difference? :help:

[B1G BLEU]

it's probably the fan clutch, you might not be cranking the radio as loud as usual and just noticed the noise. It should only do it for a block or 2 during startup. Note: if you startup and dont drive away or rev it, it'll do it for same distance

[finlander]

I forgot to mention tha this truck has 100K miles on it. Here's another question. If I remove the diff cover to drain the fluid, is there a gasket to buy to seal up the joint? Can I drain it thru the filler hole or might I leave some of the old behind?? Thanks, the rookie.