JLUR Metal Flakes on Diff Housing - How Much is Normal

[gato]

It should be fine. I would put some miles on it and change it again. I changed mine at 5K miles, again at 10K miles, then once more at 25K miles. What one would expect to see (a tapering off of iron in the oil) does not seem to happen with these axles. This behavior may be attributed to gear design and metallurgy, reduced oil capacity from previous generations, and increased operating temperatures from previous generations.

To put it into context, I had a Ford F-150 FX4 with a 9.75" rear locking differential that I towed between 8-9K pounds for 45% of the 160K miles that I had it. In its 160K miles it produced a total of 697PPM of iron. My Rubicon has produced more than 3x that amount in 26K miles.

Here are the UOAs for my Rubicon rear axle:

You sir are an incredible resource. I'll drain the front again in 5K miles and check. FIngers crossed.

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