Valvoline 75w-90 Gear Oil Flakes?

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Feb 23, 2025
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Just got 6qts from Rock Auto of the Valvoline Synpower 75w-90. Being a stubborn person, I decided to try some hose and gravity to fill the rear diff without dropping the spare tire on the first two bottles (took forever and just dropped the spare tire after my arm had cramped up). My concern was when watching the fluid flow through the clear line, I could see quite a few floating particles in there. Looked like tiny rust flakes if I had to make a comparison to something, maybe some of the additives had settled.

Is this normal? I'm not too familiar with gear oils and know 9/10 times anyone using this oil is doing so out of the pouches and never sees it flow through a hose. If it's just settling due to the additives and there's no harm then great. Just want a 2nd opinion on this.
 
Were the containers sealed? Could be very old stock.
Yes they were sealed. They are the typical 1qt bottle compared to the pouches everyone buys now, so very possible they've just been sitting and old stock.
 
possibly additive fall out?
so if this is the case - does it mix back in like nothing ever happened or is this something to be worried about? Draining & returning to RockAuto would not be the easiest process...
 
so if this is the case - does it mix back in like nothing ever happened or is this something to be worried about? Draining & returning to RockAuto would not be the easiest process...

Assuming the flakes are just additive fallout, I would expect it to be mixed back in during use. It even happens in motor oil, and that's why they say to shake the jugs a little before use. You could also write an email to Valvoline and post their response here.
 
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