Archived Dana 70 again

[tgrfan2]

I had the misfortune of having my left carrier bearing turn the race on my 98 12V at Christmas Now I have wiped down the fill plug magnet for the second time after around 6K miles and found a good film of particles on the magnet. Considering I had a new tube and all new parts installed except for the ring and pinion should I be taking it back to be checked? I figured to find a little debris after all that new against the old gears, but I don't want to have another failure. I would say the film appears to be much like the crud on the AT magnet when I service it. Could it be coming from the limited slip? I checked my Y2K work truck with 63K on it and the magnet was clean.

 

[Dieselnerd]

I'm assuming you have a Mag-Hytec since you wrote about the magnet on the fill plug. I spun the same bearing on mine several years ago. I installed a Mag-Hytec right after having both carrier bearings replaced and was amazed at all the junk that I was getting on the magnet. I wrote in to this website with the same question you have. The late Roy R, founder of Mag-Hytec, wrote me an email saying this was normal and would continue for many thousands of miles as the magnet "cleaned" all the debris out of the rear axle. He was right. The debris gradually became less and less. You will always get some debris from normal wear on the magnet every time you check it but if it's like a black sludge with no large chips, that's normal. I also thought it might be from the limited slip but it wasn't. Roy said that magnet sits right behind the ring gear and actually filters most of the wear particles from the gears as it occurs. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it unless you are getting actual chips on the magnet. I even got those the first 6000 miles or so after my bearings were replaced but it gradually changed to the black sludge which is all I get now.

 

[tgrfan2]

Thanks for the info. I am a little nervous after my experience. I have to decide now whether to get this truck ready for a fifth wheel or buy a 2003 and keep my camper.