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Large metal chunks in differential oil.

7K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  Lemotan 
#1 ·
Decided to change diff fluid at 22K (2018 JKU Sport)
Front ok.
On rear (D44LSD) magnet discovered 3 large chunks of metal ~1/2 inch
Doesn’t look like spider gears pieces more like iregular cast iron shavings, i could easily break them between the fingers.
I know the best would be to remove the cover and inspect the gears, I’m planning to do this asap and eventually visit the dealer.
However except for this "nuggets" no other symptoms, no clunks, no whine, no small shavings...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
 

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#4 ·
I will bet spider gears. common issue with LSD but maybe just cast slag.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, just FYI, I changed my diff fluid again within the last 1000 miles. I'm around 76,000 now. There were more chunks in the fluid and on the magnet. So, whatever has been happening that is causing the metallic chunks, is still happening. I've not actually removed the differential cover on the rear axle yet to inspect the differential.
 
#9 ·
The quality of parts the automakers are using today is shameful.
Last year, I sold one of my '72 K10 chevy pickups. 187000 miles on the vehicle, and the differentials never needed a part.
So sad
 
#11 ·
I build a lot of diffs for 4x4s and street/strip cars. What you see is all material left in the housing from the factory machining. Absolutely nothing was wrong with the parts I removed from this diff. Unfortunately, what you see here isn’t all that unusual.
 

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#12 ·
I had some shavings on my diff magnets when I changed out the stock covers before 10K miles, biggest were similar in size to yours @Lemotan, and they were very thin so I'd definitely call them shavings rather than chunks. I looked at the gears as close as I could with just the cover off and didn't see any flaws on them, and don't have any issues with it driving, so chalked it up to left over machining shavings as @RichL35 said above (I had searched around the forums at the time and found the same explanation). And mine is a Rubi with the D44 and locker, no LSD.
 
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#15 ·
A few small things that might help if doing it for the first time:
Overall it is not a difficult job, similar to an oil change.
To remove the diff cover I used a putty knife.
It is also very handy removing the red factory goo.
I didn’t sprayed/cleaned with brake cleaner the whole differential like you can see in many DIY videos.
I cleaned the mating surface only. I don’t see necessary fully degreasing the gears. (Wear eye protection while spraying solvents under vehicle).
I covered the gears with paper (towels) to prevent dust and any debris going into gears.
I used some fast drying RTV (Permatex 90 min) unless you want to wait 24h and Permatex thread sealant for the plugs.
For Oil transfer I would recommend a "gear lube pump" - makes the whole process cleaner and easy.
I took me roughly 4 hours with 2 hours rtv drying interval.



Optional:
Paint around the bolts got stripped during removal and to prevent future rust I would recommend spraying the cover with some semigloss paint.
 

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