sam350z2013 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Hi all, changed my diff oil at a garage today and was told that there was a lot of metal shavings around the sump plug - mechanic said differential may need changing. Is this true that the metal shavings indicates the diff is wearing out and needs a new one due to the shavings? Any input from previous experience of others would be very appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R35LEE Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Shaving is not a good Sign. I have spare VLSD diffs in my garage. See what yours is like and if it shows any cause for concern let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Perfect chance for an upgrade should you wish to change it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake4136 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Mine didn't have any metal flakes in it when I changed mine. Keep an eye on it of get it changed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Metal shavings in the oil from anything mechanical is not good news. Any noise from the diff whilst driving? did the mechanic investigate further or just change the oil then? I'd try a PM maybe to Zmanalex or one of the other garage traders on here to see what they think but I suspect without seeing the diff internally it will be hard to tell exactly what's going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Perfect chance for an upgrade should you wish to change it Does anyone manufacture aftermarket diffs for the 350z? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Perfect chance for an upgrade should you wish to change it Does anyone manufacture aftermarket diffs for the 350z? Quaife do; http://quaife.co.uk/shop/search/results/taxonomy:313 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake4136 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Perfect chance for an upgrade should you wish to change it Does anyone manufacture aftermarket diffs for the 350z? Quaife do; http://quaife.co.uk/...ts/taxonomy:313 £8,450 for a sequential gearbox!!!! Thats some serious money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Perfect chance for an upgrade should you wish to change it Does anyone manufacture aftermarket diffs for the 350z? Quaife do; http://quaife.co.uk/...ts/taxonomy:313 £8,450 for a sequential gearbox!!!! Thats some serious money Come on Lotto win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synolimit Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 It's actually normal. I've done diff fluid changes in jeeps, subis, nissans etc. all from 200 miles to over 100k miles, all have shavings every single change. That's why almost all cars have a magnetic drain plugs. They don't want the shavings always getting back in between the gears. The tranny also gets lots of shavings. Trannys also have magnetic drain plugs. If you install a magnetic drain plug in your oil pan, you will see shavings in there also after every oil change. PS, there is a big difference from shavings to chunks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobrien1 Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I've just change my diff oil, had a few very small shavings on the plug. I think that's fairly normal though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam350z2013 Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 Thanks for the replies ..it's put my mind at rest for now as I'm not the only one with shaving coming out 😄 I've seen differentials listed on eBay (as I don't wna pay £8k for aftermarket), anyone know do all diff's fit any zeds as mines a import ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350zedd Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 By the way, the Quaife diffs were from £680. It was the seq. gearbox that was £8450 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicky Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 My suspiciousness says tread carefully! Not all mechanics are competent. Does he see many Z's and has changed the diff oil regularly. Is he an older guy or did they have an apprentice do that job. Did you see the debris yourself. If it was me I'd want to investigate more if possible before committing to big bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobrien1 Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 If it's not actually broken I wouldn't worry too much about getting a new one. Maybe do another oil change in a few thousand miles to see if there's more shavings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synolimit Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 On my 370 I did redline fluid at 1000 miles and have drained and refilled at least 5 times in the last 1000 miles as I've made and installed a diff oil temp gauge and custom diff cooler. Every time the bottom of the jug has lots of shavings. I currently have 8k on the car. The shavings I'm talking about and are normal are like 10 times smaller than a grain of sand. But you will have a million of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 It's actually normal. I've done diff fluid changes in jeeps, subis, nissans etc. all from 200 miles to over 100k miles, all have shavings every single change. That's why almost all cars have a magnetic drain plugs. They don't want the shavings always getting back in between the gears. The tranny also gets lots of shavings. Trannys also have magnetic drain plugs. If you install a magnetic drain plug in your oil pan, you will see shavings in there also after every oil change. PS, there is a big difference from shavings to chunks. Got to be honest this was my initial thought. Surely anything with mechanical metal contact is going to create some 'sediment' to form. I guess it's how you interpret the word shavings but I reckon he just means the usual stuff. I wouldn't sweat it until you actually feel or hear a problem to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synolimit Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 It's actually normal. I've done diff fluid changes in jeeps, subis, nissans etc. all from 200 miles to over 100k miles, all have shavings every single change. That's why almost all cars have a magnetic drain plugs. They don't want the shavings always getting back in between the gears. The tranny also gets lots of shavings. Trannys also have magnetic drain plugs. If you install a magnetic drain plug in your oil pan, you will see shavings in there also after every oil change. PS, there is a big difference from shavings to chunks. Got to be honest this was my initial thought. Surely anything with mechanical metal contact is going to create some 'sediment' to form. I guess it's how you interpret the word shavings but I reckon he just means the usual stuff. I wouldn't sweat it until you actually feel or hear a problem to be honest. Exactly! Here's mine at like 1k or something. That black is like microscopic powder. Big chuck of it on the lower right of the magnetic plug shows a normal amount. If you start to see bright silver...you have issues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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