Thread: Metal in your oil, how much is too much?

Is it chrome?
If it is a bearing is dieing.
If you have new rotating parts i would expect some bedding in and some very fine deposits.
Drip or poor the oil on some kitchen paper towel this will show you what the metal is more clearly.

Or is the metal on your magnetic plug? if you have them.
These things are great when you look at what they stop circulating around in the diff oil.

If its only a small amount of metal not chrome on the magnet i wouldnt be too concerned. Drop the oil again in 500-1000k and see whats there.

Your diff gears come in and out of mesh an exxo amount of times per minute so metal paste is normal,metal pieces or lumps are what you need to worry about. Pat

Just going thru this issue with my grader,all new tandems/drives fitted less than 400 hours ago.There was a LOT of iron on the drain magnet on the side that failed.May have been a poor housing clean out by an apprentice.
They have been back and checked bearings for tightness and freeplay,an all day job,everything seems AOK.Oil sampling ever 50 hours for a while just to make sure all is OK.If the original oil sample comes back as high in chromium they will dismantle.
Andrew

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Just going thru this issue with my grader,all new tandems/drives fitted less than 400 hours ago.There was a LOT of iron on the drain magnet on the side that failed.May have been a poor housing clean out by an apprentice.
They have been back and checked bearings for tightness and freeplay,an all day job,everything seems AOK.Oil sampling ever 50 hours for a while just to make sure all is OK.If the original oil sample comes back as high in chromium they will dismantle.
Andrew

Brand new assemblies make metal like crazy as the parts wear in,oil sampling can be deceiving in that way.Graders and Dozers create more metal in thier oil because both do as much work in reverse as forward so both sides of drive teeth wear,dozer final drives make paste you can scrape up in your hands. Pat