Weird debris when changing rear axle oil

[MrClortho]

If you have the factory "limited slip" then that is most likely the culprit. They are junk and come apart fairly quickly. I haven't had them last 30k miles in my previous two Wranglers without leaving chunks like that in the diff.

On the JT, when I do gears, it is coming out and either an ARB locker or Yukon lunch box is going in.

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[WTR]

What do you figure this stuff is? , open diff, no noise or indication of a problem.

Bearing cage. Not normal. Get it to the dealer.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Hopefully final update for anyone that might still be interested: got the truck back last week, work order stated metal shavings throughout - bearings failed. Took it camping last weekend and all was well.

Yes, those are parts of a bearing cage. Not gears at all. Bearings make sense.

 

[tonywin]

What are the symptoms of a bad bearing cage and how does that happen?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

What are the symptoms of a bad bearing cage and how does that happen?

Steel bearing cages giving out are weird, not common. About the only way is if there's an issue with the bearing itself - one of the rollers is compromised, or debris gets into the bearing and keeps a roller from rolling, the forces stack up and the rollers "behind" it roll on, distorting the cage.
Cages don't go bad without something else first causing it.
On the differentials I've rebuilt and serviced over the years, you always look around for the root cause - what either caused the roller to be compromised, or what got in there and bound things up. There's always a cause or reason - the cage doesn't simply fail or let loose.

I check over the fluid with a fine-tooth comb looking for parts, chips, whatever, and inspect every bearing - meaning if I find one torn up like that, I will never simply replace that bearing. I do a full tear-down, always.

One differential I did for another fellow had blown out the pinion bearings - exact cause unknown but I suspect it was either grossly over-torqued or something similar. Pieces of the pinion bearings were found all through both axle tubes, inside the carrier. I did a full rebuild, including disassembling and rebuilding the limited slip carrier, all of it. All new bearings and seals. The guy told me a friend of his had done a rebuild on it just prior to failure. (wow, the mistakes I found)

You have no idea where the rest of those pieces are - or what caused the rollers to fail and rip the cage apart. Something got in there, or it was overloaded and got hot, poor lube, lack of lube, whatever.

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