Yellow Flakes in front diff fluid

[chuntag95]

Okay, got both the front and rear changed. The rear was black and I had quite a few metal flakes on the magnet/plug and about 1/2 of a quart low, which is what I expected (Thanks to you guys/gals.) The front came out looking pretty dark at first and then turned into grey poupon. Again about 1/2 a quart low, but no big pieces on the magnet, just lots of metal dust. (Probably some effenciency engineer said to short every truck 1/2 quart and look at all the money they save on the high dollar synthetic. ) I went ahead and hit all 11 zerks while I was under there, and again thanks, cause I had only found 8 before searching.
Okay, now the part I need help on. In the front diff fluid was a bunch of yellow flakes. It looked like paint chips. I thought maybe the gears were painted and the paint wore off or the casting release materials coming out. Has anyone seen this and should I be worried :confused:

I did jack up both sides to get fluid out of the axel tubes. Now, should I check level in a week or two, or can I go on my merry way until the next oil change? :confused:

Thanks for the knowledge I am sure to recieve.

:D

[letsgo]

Looks like your on your own, changed mine tuesday about 6 metal chips and a pencil eraser of gray powder and of course 3/4 qt low on oil.

good luck

[Idle_Chatter]

Funny thing that you should have posted the yellow flakes issue, because I was just going to post my yellow powder problem. I had the stealer change out both my diffs at 500 miles last year when I bought the truck. I changed out the rear diff some time ago and finally got around the the front last week at 33,000. My front had a few good sized chunks of metal on the magnet and the fluid was "swirled" with yellow powder. I had let it set in the drain pan for a day or so before dumping it into a waste jug and now the pan has a coating of mustard-yellow powder and gunk on the bottom (?) Sure looks different than anything I've seen before. The stealer had charged me $258 for that diff change (mostly for the "grape juice" in the rearend) and I don't know what they put in the front or where that mustard originated.

[chuntag95]

Idle_Chatter,
I only had 15K on mine, so maybe my flakes are the start of your power. They get ground up and wah la. :( I too let mine sit and this stuff settled out. I wonder if others will see it on the second change? This has to be something left in there from GM. Whether it is paint or lapping compound or who knows what, it makes me nervous. I will change my front fluid again in the spring and see if more shows up. If it does, :eek: I might send it off to be tested. $14 bucks for peace of mind is really cheap. Hope others have more info on this one. I wonder if this is a 2002 thing? Guess not since you have a 2001.

[ 10-07-2002: Message edited by: chuntag95 (Chris) ]</p>

[hoot]

Could be something used in the assembly process. Possibly setup compound. It is usually yellow and is made with grease.

[IndigoDually]

Could the swirling in the fluid be moisture? When a small amount water gets entrained in a heavy oil it tends to look like a powder trail. This does not explain the flakes though. I have synthetic and plan on changing mine when time permits so I'll let you know what I find.
I was going to change mine a couple of weeks ago and I found an output shaft seal was leaking so I waited.

John

[Diesel_Lawyer]

Does anyone know who makes the front axle? I have a 2002 2500HD D/A crew cab.

[Idle_Chatter]

Well, just went down to the garage and shot some digital photos of the "Yellow Mung" that came out of my front diff. Three are in a new folder: "Front Diff Mung" at my Yahoo briefcase on the "PICS" link below. There's really a *lot* of that stuff! I don't know about the assembly goop, Hoot, after all, it was the second change with the dealer having done one after 500 miles of breakin. I've got blue Amsoil synthetic 75W90 in there now and we'll see how it looks in the Spring!

[chuntag95]

That's the stuff alright! The exact same color complete with the black swirls, but in the bottom of mine were chunks of the yellow stuff. I too will change mine again in the spring to see if it's clean. Wish I would have thought to take pictures :rolleyes: If I only had a brain. Thanks for taking the time to get pics.