serviced rear diff today little surprised

racefan92307 · 03-19-2006, 01:48 PM

after reading all the post rear diff failures, decided to service it. was a little surprised at the condition of the fluid,was dark, dark gray. the drain plug had about a 1/4 of fuzzy metal debris on it. little dissapointed to have spent the kind of money on this truck and have to service the diff at 5000 miles.is it just the way it's built by dana? poor quality control? or is it a cheap diff. bought this truck to tow my deck boat. better not start having issues or will condiser replacing it with a different truck, maybe go back to a chevy.

Mr. B · 03-19-2006, 01:54 PM

Sounds to me like yours was 10x cleaner than mine....I had to remove my rear cover and chisel the lube out with an ice-pick.

Burly · 03-19-2006, 02:21 PM

Any rear new rear diff will have metal pieces in it, that is part of the break in policy. Just because many rear diffs have failed, does not mean yours will. Go back to a Chevy and service the rear diff in that one and you will find the same thing.

Toxman · 03-19-2006, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racefan92307

after reading all the post rear diff failures, decided to service it. was a little surprised at the condition of the fluid,was dark, dark gray. the drain plug had about a 1/4 of metal debris on it. little dissapointed to have spent the kind of money on this truck and have to service the diff at 5000 miles.is it just the way it's built by dana? poor quality control? or is it a cheap diff. bought this truck to tow my deck boat. better not start having issues or will condiser replacing it with a different truck, maybe go back to a chevy

I think this may be normal break-in. Mine was gray also at around 7000 miles. It is probably gray due to the metalic particles in oil. I had lube and metal particles on the plug also. I changed over to Mobil 1 75W-140 and have checked it numerous times since (up to 8000 miles now) and it looks as good as the day I added it.

Bear Hunter · 03-19-2006, 03:15 PM

Ok... lets clear some things up here...because people are gonna be confused when they read this unless it is clearly defined.

Metal Shavings & Metal Pieces are NOT normal

Normal wear will look like "fuzzy metal debris" it will be very very fine in consistency and will collect on the magnet.

"fuzzy" metallic particles on the magnetic drain plug is normal wear. If you notice any larger chips of metal on the magnetic portion of the plug, such as "shavings" or metal "pieces" you need to drop the pan and have a qualified individual fully inspect the internals.

racefan92307 · 03-19-2006, 03:36 PM

revised my post with fuzzy metal debris on the drain plug. thanks bear hunter that was a valid point. i didn't mean to suggest there were chunks of metal on the drain plug.

**bbomar** · 03-19-2006, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxman

I think this may be normal break-in. Mine was gray also at around 7000 miles. It is probably gray due to the metalic particles in oil. I had lube and metal particles on the plug also. I changed over to Mobil 1 75W-140 and have checked it numerous times since (up to 8000 miles now) and it looks as good as the day I added it.

How much 75w-140 does the diff hold? 2 quarts I have heard but would like a difinate. Thanks for any help.

racefan92307 · 03-19-2006, 03:55 PM

i used about 2 1/4 qts of mobil 1 75w-140. going to do the front diff next weekend any idea on how much it takes? going to put mobil one in the front also

Burly · 03-19-2006, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bear Hunter

Ok... lets clear some things up here...because people are gonna be confused when they read this unless it is clearly defined.

Metal Shavings & Metal Pieces are NOT normal

Normal wear will look like "fuzzy metal debris" it will be very very fine in consistency and will collect on the magnet.

"fuzzy" metallic particles on the magnetic drain plug is normal wear. If you notice any larger chips of metal on the magnetic portion of the plug, such as "shavings" or metal "pieces" you need to drop the pan and have a qualified individual fully inspect the internals.

Your exactly right. I should have included that small crucial part in my post.

steve83 · 03-19-2006, 04:48 PM

I got 22K miles on my diff(04), with the factory oil still in it. I figure if the diff is gonna blow, its gonna blow. IMO a diff is gonna blow because it is a POS, not because of the diff oil(assuming proper level).

*mach1* · 03-20-2006, 02:47 AM

why are you doing this at 5K miles? thats a waste of money. especially in the front where there are no problems.

racefan92307 · 03-20-2006, 07:37 AM

want to go to 85w90 mobil1 synthetic. just to check for fuzzy debris, make sure its full. just to make me feel better

*mach1* · 03-20-2006, 09:00 AM

If you want to see if its full, pull the fill plug and stick your finger in it. hell, you might as well change the tranny fulid while your at it going by your logic.

cynic05 · 03-21-2006, 08:48 AM

Well if you ask me it makes sense to change it, I did. Just to be sure you have synthetic in it and the correct weight oil! I'm sorry but I don't trust Nissan to have put the correct weight/type fluid in during all the changes and problems their having. My fluid was very dark and metallic as well and not to mention it was very thin. The 75/140 I put in was way thicker at the same temp!

*mach1* · 03-21-2006, 09:23 AM

You have an 06? And u had the wrong oil in it from the factory fill? Interesting. Doubtful, but interesting. If thats the case, we can all sue Nissan and get this taken care of. I guess youll never be able to prove it though.