2015 Nissan Frontier differential high metals

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Feb 11, 2008
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The truck has 170000 miles. NO noise and NO metal on magnet. Is this unit approaching impending failure?
 

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That is high metal., History on the truck or operation ? was the first posted uoa the first oil change for the differential?
 
All you can do is a few shorter oil changes with out doing a uoa then do a uoa to see what happens. Some one familiar with the Nissan probably will chime in later,
 
Didn't you post the same thing about this differential about a month ago?

Why are you doing UOA on this diff if there's no noise, metal on magnet, etc..

Run it till it does some of the above, then replace?

Given what my family has experienced with Nissan Frontiers, they're long lasting trucks.
 
Yes This is the latest results
thanks
Ferrous and other metals are trending downward but if this was OEM fluid originally in there and never changed, then you should see a continually downward trend.

A number of us have asked that you either use a borescope or remove the rear cover to see if there are any indications of chipped teeth or other damage.
 
No, I changed the fluid every 30000 miles since new
I also did two short runs of 2000 miles to "flush" it out. And still getting high metals after 18000 miles
I took my borescope and looked but I don't see any obvious problems and I turned the tires by hand and the axle is smooth. I don't want to take the cover off.

I think I will try 75w-110 and see if that helps

thanks to all for the help
 
I had some real hi metal in a 2005 Xterra (same as Frontier) that had been neglected.
As in chunks of flakes in the diff fluid when changing.

Still runs strong 5 years later for my buddy.
 
We are looking at the UOA for a rear differential, correct?

How hard is it to remove the rear cover and inspect the gears/bearings?
-whew- for a second there I was thinking it was an engine oil report for 50k.

Agree with inspection. With several times the average wear, an experienced eye should be able to spot the problem area.
 
I called my mechanic I trust and some others. According do them the Nissan Rear end can not be fixed just replaced. Parts are almost impossible to find and with labor its cheaper to replace. that's what they say.
 
If it is a problem very disappointing. I can the oil ever 30000 miles and its driven all hwy about 35000 miles a year.
 
You said no metal and no noise...perhaps it is normal wear? Either way, sounds like you could change it once a year until it starts making too much noise.

I see you're using 75w-90. Have you thought about maybe using a -110 or even -140?
 
Hard to say if normal. This is the first UOA's I have done on the rear differential. (wish I had done earlier. Blackstone says this is not normal.

I am going to try a 75w-110
 
If I've followed this correctly, here's a summary ...

- OCIs every 30k miles or so since new. This would imply that these are not residual metals; these are being generated with substantial frequency.
- No noises or metal on magenet.
- Cover removal and inspection pending. Please take pix and post them up.
- This rear diff is not easily serviceable due to parts availability? But they can come up with a replacement? That seems odd. What year of truck?

Rock Auto has parts for many years of this truck. The 2015 model shows a complete rebuild kit available, but no ring/pinion. However, I'm sure any reputable reman/rebuild center can source parts from other places. For example, the following show parts available:
- Rockauto
- nissanpartsusa and
- nissanautomotiveparts and
- nissanpartsoverstock and
- Differentials.com has a lot of parts listed also.
Maybe they don't have every part you need at just one store, but I expect it would be easy to source what's needed, even if you had to visit a few websites. Without knowing the exact dets of your truck (engine, drivetrain, etc), I cannot say for sure, but it certainly appears there are plenty of repair parts available from multiple sources.

What's the alternativre? Sourcing a used axle from another vehicle? How do you know it won't have the same wear issues, presuming it's a similar/same year model of component as yours? I'd rather have a reputable shop reman my own axle and know it was done right than buy a used axle with unknown history, but that's just me. Not that I'm advocating a rebuild yet. But to say it can't be rebuilt is perplexing to me.

I guess this comes down to the topic of inconveniences. If you just continue to drive it, it may (or may not) leave you stranded somewhere. What's that risk worth to you? If it's no big deal, I'd just drive it and not worry about it. If being stranded is a big deal, I'd advocate for getting the unit remanned.
 
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Thanks for the advice. Its a 2015.

Parts maybe I can get but with labor its cheaper to get a new one.
I might have to change the oil every 6 months and hope for the best.
 
The only way to really know what's wrong is to take the cover off and inspect; check the wear pattern and the backlash - that's a good place to start, and those things are very simple to do. Since you already OCI every 30k miles or so, the next time it won't cost much more to do these checks; some paint and some RTV. Borrow (or "rent" from AZ) a dial indicator; cheap. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish; fixing a problem now may be a lot cheaper than fixing it later after it explodes, so to speak. Just checking the pattern and backlash can tell you a LOT about what's going on. Generally, the two main causes of high wear in a diff are either bad components or improper set-up; both those are easy to find by checking.

Just because the ring/pinion may be bad, doesn't make the entire unit bad; many parts can be reused if only the gearset is bad. And the kits for the bearings/shims/crush sleeves are cheap; like less than $100. The diff carriers themselves RARELY go bad, unless you have a habit of abusing it and it's cracked.

When you say a "new one", are you talking about getting a whole new axle (you called it the "rear end") assembly? How can that be cheaper than rebuilding the existing diff? I find it hard to believe that it's cheaper to get a "new" assembly than rebuild the existing one. Complete new axle assemblies are around $3000. Even a diff carrier is something like $500. You need to do some digging and price parts yourself. Labor should be around $100/hr or less, and any reputable shop can do this work. Find a 4x4 speciality shop that does gear changes; they do a lot of this kind of work. I think you need to shop around for another mechanic; the pricing you're being quoted seems way off.

Lastly, if you do the checks (backlash and wear pattern) and all looks OK, then I'd just ignore the UOA and drive it. It's already got 170k on it, just change the oil every 30k and forget it. And I'd recommend a less expensive lube if you're OCIs are 30k; run to WM or a farm supply store and get some inexpensive conventional GL-5 and be done with it. Syn fluids are a waste in a diff in LA if 30k miles is the OCI.
 
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