Hey,
So here's the background: I've been getting a growl for a while, which I assumed was wheel bearing (about 2-3 months) because it had the exact same quality/noise as wheel bearing problems I've had in the past. I brought it in to a shop to have the wheel bearing replaced, and they checked it and said the wheel bearings were fine, the noise was coming from the front diff. It was apparently much worse when the car was in 4wd up on the rack.

So, today I decided to take off the front diff cover and have a look inside. To my untrained eye, the gears look alright, and I checked the fluid, and it seemed okay, there was definitely some metal sludge in the bottom of the diff case, but really no chunks that were large enough to be appreciable by tactile sensation. My question is, how much is normal, how much is too much, and what should be a cause for concern?

Furthermore, based on what I've told you, what suggestions do you have or ideas as far as what it could be, what I can check, and what I should do?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Also, if anyone can tell me how to upload images from a camera, I've got a few pictures I took to hopefully give you a better idea.

 

Drain all of your fluid.

clean it out really really good with brake cleaner and make sure it is spotless in your diff.

Then fill it back up with 75w-90 gear oil and find a dirt road, do about 20-30 miles in 4hi then hit the paved road(in 2hi) and do about 40-50 miles.

Pull the cover back off and inspect.

If you still have metal shavings then you need to look into where the wear is coming from, and if there is any pinion bearing movement.

It may be that there was a little metal shavings, and as those went around your diff they created more and more, but since you will clean all of them out. It should not give any metal shavings.

 

you will not find your problem till you pull your carrier. its either carrier bearings or pinion bearings. both are a pain to replace and a pain to reset your gears afterwards

 

When I reasembled my front diff I put a magnet in there to catch the loose metal. Thought that may help to reduce wear from stuff floating around.

 

when things are set up correctly you should not have any metal shavings in the differential. if you do that means something is off: pinion depth, backlash, etc. take measurements to see where its at and reset if necessary.