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Ring gear pitting

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Old Jan 26, 2021 | 08:03 PM
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Default Ring gear pitting

Hey guys,

I'm about to buy a differential remotely (shipped from 600 miles away).

The seller is telling me that the donor car only has 25 000 miles.

The pictures are telling me otherwise. There is some kind of pitting, or darker area, in the center of the drive side gears.

Should I be concerned and investigate further before spending hundreds of dollars? Or if this is about right and it will drive just fine for many years to come?

Thanks for your precious input.


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Old Jan 26, 2021 | 09:57 PM
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Been racing and building diffs, engines and transmissions for over 30 years, and that photo looks very unusual to me.

I would investigate further before sending money.

SG
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Old Jan 27, 2021 | 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by SG4247
Been racing and building diffs, engines and transmissions for over 30 years, and that photo looks very unusual to me.

I would investigate further before sending money.

SG
Which part of the photo looks unusual?
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Old Jan 27, 2021 | 10:38 AM
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the line you are referring too is caused by 1 of 2 concerns................... interference between the gears causing excessive load or a "case crush" condition where they were initially assembled with no clearance or lash between the gears to allow lube film on the gears to protect them. Just a FYI - I work for a Tier 1 driveline supplier of axles, and have seen literally thousands of them so I have some experience.
I would pass on this unless you were prepared to replace the components before installing it into the vehicle.
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Old Jan 27, 2021 | 11:56 AM
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Originally Posted by rkj427
the line you are referring too is caused by 1 of 2 concerns................... interference between the gears causing excessive load or a "case crush" condition where they were initially assembled with no clearance or lash between the gears to allow lube film on the gears to protect them. Just a FYI - I work for a Tier 1 driveline supplier of axles, and have seen literally thousands of them so I have some experience.
I would pass on this unless you were prepared to replace the components before installing it into the vehicle.
Robert is being modest when he says he has seen thousands of these. At least part of his job is to analyze OEM warranty return failures and report his findings back.
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Old Jan 27, 2021 | 12:10 PM
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In addition to the racing stuff, I also worked as Engineering Director for a Tier 1 drivetrain supplier to GM, Ford and Chrysler for 15 years.

So, OEM warranty analysis was one of our jobs as well.

I would pass on this one, unless you can get it real cheap and are planning to rebuild it with new parts, like others have said. Even then, it may be noisy.

If you need to know what "really good" looks like, just send me a PM, or I am sure other members here can help.

SG
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Old Jan 27, 2021 | 12:57 PM
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Wow, thanks a lot guys. I didn't know that there was such a high level of drivetrain expertise here.

I'll follow the advices and keep looking. It's to replace my base, never raced, '08 differential that looks like this:


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