metal pieces in the rear diff

[ARhine]

I changed the rear diff fluid this weekend to put in some amsoil. Some stinky black gear oil came out... .



On the magnet on the cover there were thin pieces of metal stuck to it. Almost looked like the shavings you get when drilling a large hole with a drill bit.



My best guess is pieces of side gear thrust washers? Anybody got a better one?



Everything was tight as far as the bearings go and the carrier still has preload on it, the spiders/sides show some tooth wear, the crosspin was tight in its holder, and the ring and pinion look great. Got around 204000 miles on it.

 

[dan brooks]

Any pics of the metal? Hopefully it doesn't look like mine did - here is a link to what my problem was:



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63759&highlight=ring+pinion+shims

 

[HRajagopal]

This same thing happened to me a while back. Took the covers off the diff (and I'm sure I'm the first to do so on this truck) and found the . 002" thick metal strips all torn up sitting on the bottom of the diff.



The pinion seal was leaking and the bearing was VERY loose.



Apparently, this is not just an "occassional" issue, but seems like EVERY dana 60 and 70 rear has had this issue.



Put a new bearing in ($22) and a new seal ($10), tightened everything up and all's fine so far.

 

[ARhine]

Well, my pieces look like those, just not as many. Guess I will be putting some plans for the offroading axles on hold to work on this one



I by no means have a trained eye, but the R&P did not look like they had any abnormal wear on them. I could not move the carrier side to side by hand or easily see it move with a bar. It did seem to have some excess backlash though.



One of the posts mentioned a leaking pinion seal and loose nut, my seal leaks but the yoke is not loose on the pinion any.



I am pulling the jeep down to southern OK do do some wheeling over the weekend, guess I will take a closer look when I get home. 500mi each way, the amsoil better work good! Who knows though, this thing could have been this way for the past 70K miles. . maybe I shouldn't mess with it.



Now I gotta find a shop in north eastern ks, or south eastern NE that can take a look at it.



Don't know if I should try some big truck service places or what. I know there are some members in this area, any tips?