Wear particles in rear diff oil
Submitted: Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 17:48
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Keith B2
I have posted this on LCOOL so I apologise if your read it before. But this
forum seems to have all the wise old heads and I do value the advice.
I put my 2008 200 series in today with my regular mechanic for a 190,00km service and asked him to change the brake fluid plus diff and transfer case oils. I bought it second hand at 136,00 km and wasn't sure if this work had ever been done. ARB air lockers are fitted front and rear.
Anyhow when I picked it up he pointed out some wear particles that came from the rear diff oil. Most were very small. But there was one about 10mm long x 3mm x 1mm. Neither of us had any idea whether it had come from a gear tooth or a bearing cage or somewhere else. The diff has no noise coming out of it nor any excessive backlash.
Maybe the wear stuff came from a previous owner (the army) misusing the diff lock? I am looking at two options:
1. Get ARB to tear it down, inspect and repair and live with the bill.
2. Run for 20,000 km then have the oil tested for wear metals.
If the diff is trouble free for the next 20,000 kim Option Two will have been a good idea. If it destroys itself, it won't have been a good idea at all.
So I'd appreciate any advice.
Keith
Reply By: Malcom M - Friday, Mar 03, 2017 at 07:16
Friday, Mar 03, 2017 at 07:16
Bit of a 'no brainer' to me.
Chunks of metal in a gear assembly means strip it down quick before you do more damage.
10mm long x 3mm x 1mm sounds like its snapped off the side of a gear tooth.
Also look at fitting magnetic drain plugs. You really don't want chunks of metal that size floating around.
The crown gear in a 100 series is north of $900, can't remember the pinion price. If they are not stuffed yet then you don't want to be the cause of them becoming stuffed.
Not worth dicking around. You have an expensive truck so look after it.
AnswerID:
609105
Reply By: Athol W1 - Friday, Mar 03, 2017 at 08:37
Friday, Mar 03, 2017 at 08:37
Keith
It is nothing unusual to find fine metal particles, almost like a slurry, on the magnetic diff (or manual transmission) drain plugs. It is the finding of something that is sizeable that can be of some concern.
It is my opinion that the piece of metal that was found has come from some part of the locking arrangement. If it was from a bearing you would be getting noises already, and also if it was from the Crown and Pinion set you would be getting some regular pulse type noise.
In the absence of any noises I would be running it for a mid service type term of about 20k and drain the oil again to see if there are any further sizeable metal particles, and work from there. However I would not hesitate to delve further into it should any unusual noises develop.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Athol (Retired motor mechanic)
AnswerID:
609107
Follow Up By: Malcom M - Friday, Mar 03, 2017 at 10:41
Friday, Mar 03, 2017 at 10:41
You are forgetting there appears to be a magnetic plug that would hold the big chunk in place.
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Reply By: The Bantam - Sunday, Mar 05, 2017 at 11:44
Sunday, Mar 05, 2017 at 11:44
Lets be realistic ....... some people are sloppy when they work ..... how many people do you know that would wipe a diff housing clean, before they put it back together.
How little do you recon it would take to pick up a piece of trash off the less than sergically clean bench when putting a diff centre back in the housing ..... that is if it wasn't put on the floor.
If the diff is working perfectly and not making any noises, I would fill her up and see how it went .....
check for particles after a few thou .......you could be spending a lot of money for nuthing.
Worst ...... pull the diff and give it a visual inspection ...... but if you are paying someone to do this ..... that will cost you a few hundred on its own.
cheers
AnswerID:
609168