Changed my rear diff gear oil today - thoughts on gear wear?

[1rider]

22 JTR new to me 2 months ago that just turned 40K. I have proof of regular oil changes and tire rotations but some of the other maintenance was not documented so I wanted to get my transfer case and gear oils changed.
Well, I only got the rear diff done due to heavy rain that I didn’t expect. Below is a picture of the gear, I could not really detect any metal on the fill plug magnet and haven’t had a chance to inspect the drained oil yet.
Does the wear in the photo seem “normal”? I am pretty zoomed in with the photo for context.

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[Maximus Gladius]

Not seeing much fillings on the drain plug magnet would suggest the oil was changed and magnet cleaned off before it was sold to you. I’m assuming “new to me”’means you bought it used??

Chances are the locker sensor magnet wasn’t cleaned off and if not, it would have collected the same amount of filings as the drain plug. Trick to knowing if that sensor magnet is full of filings is to see how fast the engagement of the lockers take. Do you press the locker button and have to wait a long time for engagement or have to try several times? If so, the magnet is full of filings. If it engages quickly, then the magnet is clean.

 

[Freems]

The question is what’s it hitting? Check your housing For damage.

 

[1rider]

Not seeing much fillings on the drain plug magnet would suggest the oil was changed and magnet cleaned off before it was sold to you. I’m assuming “new to me”’means you bought it used??

Chances are the locker sensor magnet wasn’t cleaned off and if not, it would have collected the same amount of filings as the drain plug. Trick to knowing if that sensor magnet is full of filings is to see how fast the engagement of the lockers take. Do you press the locker button and have to wait a long time for engagement or have to try several times? If so, the magnet is full of filings. If it engages quickly, then the magnet is clean.

Yes, I bought the truck used. The locker engages without any noticeable hesitation that I’ve noticed the few times I’ve used it.

 

[1rider]

The question is what’s it hitting? Check your housing For damage.

Thanks, I inspected and cold not find anything rubbed or similar which is in part why I posted the photo here.

 

[Josh00333]

I'm not a mechanic at all but the gears do not engage at the botom of the tooth. They engage at the face. I see nothing that shows an issue to me.

 

[JTGuy]

Looks good to me,, many other things will fail before the diff gears.

 

[1rider]

Thanks for the replies. The rain moved out and I was able to do the front afterwards. Below is a picture of an earth magnet I swirled in the oil form the front and rear that I caught in the drain pan.

I am glad I did it this and happy to not find anything looking too bad.

 

[Hootbro]

Looks good to me also.

 

[Rusty PW]

Looks good to me also.

Anything with a skirt and 2 legs looks good to you.

 

[Rusty PW]

22 JTR new to me 2 months ago that just turned 40K. I have proof of regular oil changes and tire rotations but some of the other maintenance was not documented so I wanted to get my transfer case and gear oils changed.
Well, I only got the rear diff done due to heavy rain that I didn’t expect. Below is a picture of the gear, I could not really detect any metal on the fill plug magnet and haven’t had a chance to inspect the drained oil yet.
Does the wear in the photo seem “normal”? I am pretty zoomed in with the photo for context.

To read tooth patterns and wear. You have to look where the contact area is on the teeth. Pattern should be centered. Wear, look for pits, roughness, chipped teeth. Sometimes a particle will get imbedded on one tooth and will mark other teeth as it rotates. All the teeth will have a mark in the same spot. From your picture. What I can tell. It looks fine.

 

[Freems]

Thanks, I inspected and cold not find anything rubbed or similar which is in part why I posted the photo here.

Are all the edges of the ring gear marked like the ones you pictured?

 

[Rusty PW]

Are all the edges of the ring gear marked like the ones you pictured?

That could be from the machining process.

 

[Freems]

That could be from the machining process.

It could also be from someone dropping it down a set of concrete stairs

 

[1rider]

Are all the edges of the ring gear marked like the ones you pictured?

There was no other marking that I could see.

Below is a picture of what I was able to collect from the oil with a magnet, this was done after both front and rear gear oil was changed.

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