change fluid in the front diff.. holy dirtness..

Did the front diff today and holy crap.. there was some black sludge all over the drain plug. I'm assuming it's accumulated metal shavings? Is this normal? Anyone else find similar black sludge when doing your front diff? My truck is at 78K, no idea if the previous owner ever changed the fluid there..

Oh and the pump I was had a blew up and

$30 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 squirted all over the truck and floor...

 

The black shavings are normal as the drain plug is magnetic

 

right I know it's magnetic but compared to the transfer and the rear diff, I never saw anything like the black sludge i saw on the front diff.. and it's not shavings like I saw from the rear difff.. this stuff was mud-like..

 

Maybe the oil was just old then. Good thing you got it changed.

 

So the oil itself looked a reasonable color, but the plug was really dark and sludgy? Mine was that way, and I am thinking if it only gets rare/light 4WD use, the oil doesn't get hot and circulated enough to disperse and suspend all the particulates through the oil, and they really settle in at the bottom. That's my guess, now that I spent a minute thinking about it. Mine was like that too. Took a while to clean it all out of the plug/magnet.

 

yeah mine was like that.. and you're right, I rarely use 4wd around here.