Rear Diff issues

Hi all, well I've never actually never used the rear diff lock as we do most of our driving on beach .. during the car service the other day the mechanic said there were a number of metal filings in the diff when he changed the oil. He tested the diff and it worked with no noise .. but it got me thinking if there are deeper issues. Worse case is to replace it (after closer inspection of course). Now my question is .. if I went for an elocker .. can it use the original switch and warning light? Just swap one for the other? Does that make sense?
2013 Y61 3.0l

metal in the diff oil is not that big a deal to be honest if it is just minor filings. Normal wear and tear given the diff oil is likely 100,000kms old or whatever. The filings are likely from the Crown Wheel and Pinion nad and elocker will not swap that problem out. f you ahve never used the factory diff lock then there is little point spending 2K fitting a Elocker to Not use that either.

If the pinion gerar is not droning then forget about it. f you are really concerned you could have the 3rd member (the diff) dropped out and inspected and giving a clear health. At that point you might put in a new crown whel or pinion if needed but then put it back together and drive on mate.

If you really want to spend 2K i can help you spend it wisely. Fridge, Slider, Drawers, Roof rack, Winch, Suspension, Not an E Locker. (for you).....

I am a big fan of lockers but you are not using the one you have.. I blew up my rear diff last year and had it rebuilt with New gears and Bearings. the only thing they kept was the housing. it cost me $1650 and i fitted it myself. I had the LSD retained and rebuilt. The Patrol rear LSD is a Beast mate. I run an ARB AirLocker in the front and rear LSD only. Great setup.

to be honest when we did the Lennard trail here in the SW, I found that in low range we got hardly any loss of traction at all, even with a wheel in the air .. but that is the exception as we just do beach driving now. I was more concerned about something catastrophic happening ..

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Originally Posted by timbo2410

to be honest when we did the Lennard trail here in the SW, I found that in low range we got hardly any loss of traction at all, even with a wheel in the air .. but that is the exception as we just do beach driving now. I was more concerned about something catastrophic happening ..

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yeah with that kind of driving if i was going to invest in a locker t would be for the front. When you really need a locker the Front one is a game changer. I assume this was found during a major service and the Diff Oil was being replaced? How old was the oil? how many kms?

As i said a decent mechanic with a hoist will pull a rear diff 3rd member out to inspect in about 30 minutes, Front is a much bigger deal. If you are really worried you could have it inspected, Did you see the shavings? did you get a pic by chance? Dd they say that the bung had shavings on it (Its Magnetic and that is the idea) or was there heavy shavings throughout the oil?

no didnt think to ask for a pic .. they didnt say if it was on the magnet but they did say it was in the bottom of the diff .. .. shes done 78000 km's and yes it was the major service so all fluids were done .. we bought the car at 55000 km's ...

I 100% agree with MR. If you are getting no symptoms of diff issues whilst driving, it's working as it should, you never use a diff lock anyway & the oil has been changed, all sounds OK. For peace of mind though talk to the mechanic & see if they agree.

How quickly should the diff lock actuate? Is it supposed to activate instantly when stationary?

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Originally Posted by timbo2410

How quickly should the diff lock actuate? Is it supposed to activate instantly when stationary?

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I dont actually know about the factory lockers sorry, an ARB Air Locker is switched via an air solenoid and you will hear it clunk when stationary. I think the factory ones may be Vacuum actuated actually.

well for curiosities sake i got the misses to switch it on while stationary so I could listen to hear of any noises .. nothing ... light is blinking and that is about all it does .. didnt move the car at all as I'm in the driveway on a hard surface ..

The factory locker is vacuum operated. Did you have the motor running when actuating?

sure did .. engine idle .. running for several minutes ... maybe i need to creep forward for it to engage .. ?? just didnt want to do it on a hard surface .. might try when down the beach next

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Originally Posted by timbo2410

sure did .. engine idle .. running for several minutes ... maybe i need to creep forward for it to engage .. ?? just didnt want to do it on a hard surface .. might try when down the beach next

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Engaging the diff lock on a hard surface ia fine for testing mate. Running up and down the road will not harm it in any way.... Just Don't Turn. ;)

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Originally Posted by timbo2410

sure did .. engine idle .. running for several minutes ... maybe i need to creep forward for it to engage .. ?? just didnt want to do it on a hard surface .. might try when down the beach next

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As mudrunner said, test engaging in your drive way is ok while wheels are straight, but you need to move a bit for everything to line up and engage. Until it engages, the difflock dash light will flash and become solid once its engaged.
Same is true when unlocking. You will more than likely need to be moving and off the throttle, and the dash light wont go out until it has fully disengaged.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

metal in the diff oil is not that big a deal to be honest if it is just minor filings. Normal wear and tear given the diff oil is likely 100,000kms old or whatever. The filings are likely from the Crown Wheel and Pinion nad and elocker will not swap that problem out. f you ahve never used the factory diff lock then there is little point spending 2K fitting a Elocker to Not use that either.

If the pinion gerar is not droning then forget about it. f you are really concerned you could have the 3rd member (the diff) dropped out and inspected and giving a clear health. At that point you might put in a new crown whel or pinion if needed but then put it back together and drive on mate.

If you really want to spend 2K i can help you spend it wisely. Fridge, Slider, Drawers, Roof rack, Winch, Suspension, Not an E Locker. (for you).....

I am a big fan of lockers but you are not using the one you have.. I blew up my rear diff last year and had it rebuilt with New gears and Bearings. the only thing they kept was the housing. it cost me $1650 and i fitted it myself. I had the LSD retained and rebuilt. The Patrol rear LSD is a Beast mate. I run an ARB AirLocker in the front and rear LSD only. Great setup.

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Agree 100% with Muddy. I drained the oil from my old GQ diffs and there was a 5+mm mountain of fillings on the drain plugs. I flogged that car and the diffs never failed

Only way I could tell whether my e-locker (front) was engaged when I first got it was to try turning (in a grass paddock ). Steering was heavier.:) No sound that I could hear. Just the switch illuminated. No idea about the factory locker on the rear, but surely someone here must know if the blinking light is the correct indicator (or if the light should be 'solid') ....... or are factory lockers a rarity?