Thread: Front and rear diffs - oil full of metal flake

Originally Posted by DazzaTD5

*Not really any proof there, your pudding sample is 1.
*The average Land Rover mech prolly has a sample of at least 100 D3 / D4, most are like the OP found.
*And nothing to say the diff/s hadnt had a warranty change.
*As hypoid oils separate out quite readily from crud, when checking levels it always looks clean, drain the fluid, I bet its not clear.

My diff had the same on the plug. So? Every diff I’ve ever changed has? There is a reason they put a magnet on them! My diffs are going fine.
Yes of course Mechanics see failures. That’s the nature of the job. For the 100 they’ve seen, that’s a percentage of how many built?

I guess my point is there seems to be an unfounded view that oil changes need to follow the change intervals of the crude mineral oil days, yet the oil quality is far improved. At least the commercial fleet has seen the light and also run extended intervals. Saves them a fortune. And yes, when their mining diesels fail it’s a huge expense, so they’re making these decisions to run extended based on empirical data.

Unquestionably it won’t hurt to change every oil every 10000km, but required??????? There’s a lot of indi scaremongering going on to drum up consistent work IMHO. After all, it’s not like unnecessary oil changes will result in a failure - quite the opposite, however I’m not convinced some of the km intervals mentioned are in the customer’s best back pocket interests.

I finally should add, if you’re not doing school runs and instead beating up the bush or towing then you should follow the arduous service schedule unquestionably!

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Looks like that car was a "Manufacturer Executive Vehicle" Ie had done a dozen press tests or the Paris =Dakar.
Regards Philip A

One middle-aged lady owner. City-dweller in affluent area. No arduous use. No towing, no off-road. I doubt it's even been driven through a puddle. Full dealer service history and all maintenance/repair done by dealer to schedule using factory parts. I have the full history of this vehicle and some serious coin has been spent by the original owner. What most would call 'fastidiously maintained' and 'gentle use'. Vehicle is very well presented and looks really neat and tidy. Came from a 'Land Rover family' and hubby works for them in a senior white-collar role.

What lurks underneath that shiny exterior however.... I fully expected the oils to be tired after this extended period but I'm quite shocked by how degraded the diff and auto fluids are though. Hopefully caught in time. Auto engages and shifts beautifully and faultlessly so goes to show how good the adaptations are in masking the oil degradation. Transfer case is the only fluid so far that's looked halfway decent. Engine was serviced a few thousand kms ago and was pretty manky, so it'll get a follow-up service again probably before the big trip.

I've just ordered a 20ltr drum of LG6 and a metal/rubber gasket. Bit the bullet as I just don't have the time to do these jobs thrice.... Will refill, run, drain, assess, repeat if required. Then I'll swap the sump pan and filter once. From there I should be able to just do oil changes for a while as the filter should be good for a bit but I'll assess that based on what comes out. Blocked filters aren't a great idea.