Piece of metal in diff oil

[Ben_W]

Hey guys,

I replaced all my oils yesterday including both diffs. Did the rear diff first. Removed the filler plug & stuck my finger in; the oil at the top looked fine. When I removed the drain plug there was a gush of dark, thick looking oil then it ran clear (this was cold). When I looked at the magnet on the drain plug I found this piece of metal. I haven't noticed any noise from the diff, it's not leaking oil and it feels alright (bugger all play in the tail shaft). I'm inclined to leave it for the time being- maybe drain the oil again in a month or two and see if it's still clean.
What do you guys reckon? Any ideas what that shrapnel might be from? Am I looking at rebuilding or replacing the diff in the near future?
2005 D22. This is the second time I've changed the gear & diff oils; did it not long after I bought the vehicle (which would make it a bit less than 2 years ago & probably about 30,000 kms). I've been running Castrol Axle Limited Slip 85W-140 in the rear diff.

Cheers,

Ben

 

[ShortyNavros]

Should change it hot or warm after a drive like engine oil. If it ain't broke don't fix it

 

[Ben_W]

Should change it hot or warm after a drive like engine oil. If it ain't broke don't fix it

Fair enough, that was my thinking too.

Cheers

 

[vicszd30]

Yup- another genius in the making ! FUkc I hate that saying !
It's a diff- something spinning at a million miles an hour that if it does go "Bang" and locks up the diff you now have what ? A serious f'n handbrake @ lets say 100k's -hmmmm yeah ! if it's not broken don't fix it ! Absolute genius in the making! And really -I shouldn't even have to "vent" about this as those ADMINISTRATORS should be right on top of advice like that and delete it ! IF YOU CANT THINK ABOUT YOUR OWN LIFE AT LEAST THINK OF THE OTHER LIVES THAT ARE ON THE ROAD ! ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DRIVE LINE, BREAKS ETC SHOULD NEVER BE LEFT TO CHANCE! And that advice was from a senior member ffs !

 

[vicszd30]

Ben that's huge ! Stop and fix ffs

 

[Old.Tony]

A single damaged tooth in a diff could be cause for alarm - it's quite a large chunk - but the magnet did its job, and held it out of the way.

Shorty's advice is good: if it's not broke, don't fix it. However, with a chunk like that missing, it's very obviously broken - time to fix it, or at the very least have a diff specialist check it out.

Technically, on standard tyres for a D40 (255/65R17) the wheels are doing 695.89rpm at 100km/h. With a diff ratio (standard for the 140kW D40) of 3.538:1, the input shaft (rear prop shaft) is turning over at 2462rpm. Other vehicles will vary, I've plugged these figures into a spreadsheet and I'm seeing prop shaft RPM ranges from 2177 (V9X) to 2853rpm (D40 with a 4.1:1 diff).

Could that be a handbrake? Hell yeah!

Please let us know how it goes.

 

[vicszd30]

hahaha oh Tony you have far to much time on your hands!

If you have seen "smoky and the bandit" that hand brake was at 80ks- it looked like a spinning top !