Metal In Differential With Pictures

[Braeden Clark]

Well today I went to change my differential fluid hoping to find no issues. No such luck. I found a tooth missing from the ring and a little chip in the pinion. All the rest looked good. Spider gears seemed fine. I am guessing the rest of the metal is the clutch packs getting destroyed. Thoughts? How bad is it? Can I drive it at all if I change the fluid and remove all the metal? 2000 Ram 1500, Chrysler 9.25, 202k miles

 

[Fast69Mopar]

Well today I went to change my differential fluid hoping to find no issues. No such luck. I found a tooth missing from the ring and a little chip in the pinion. All the rest looked good. Spider gears seemed fine. I am guessing the rest of the metal is the clutch packs getting destroyed. Thoughts? How bad is it? Can I drive it at all if I change the fluid and remove all the metal? 2000 Ram 1500, Chrysler 9.25, 202k miles View attachment 464932View attachment 464933View attachment 464934

Well, it's not the worst I have ever seen or even driven. I had one of my personal 9.25 Corporate Axles last 71,000 miles with a piece of the pinion missing and 3 teeth missing from the rings. It may make a little.noise but if you get all of the metal out or as much as you can it will survive for some time.

 

[Braeden Clark]

Well, it's not the worst I have ever seen or even driven. I had one of my personal 9.25 Corporate Axles last 71,000 miles with a piece of the pinion missing and 3 teeth missing from the rings. It may make a little.noise but if you get all of the metal out or as much as you can it will survive for some time.

It looks like some of the clips for the lsd are missing. Will that cause an issue? Also when I do get this rebuilt, could I just get rid of the lsd and have a normal open dif?

 

[Fast69Mopar]

It looks like some of the clips for the lsd are missing. Will that cause an issue? Also when I do get this rebuilt, could I just get rid of the lsd and have a normal open dif?

Yeah I saw the clip from the limited slip. Those clips are not required to be there for normal operation. We have had so many break over the years in the dealership we just remove the broken clips and service the diff like normal.

If the limited slip is working like it should just reuse it when it's time for an overhaul. You can put some new clips in with a clutch kit and it will be just like new. You won't like switching to an open diff.

 

[Braeden Clark]

Yeah I saw the clip from the limited slip. Those clips are not required to be there for normal operation. We have had so many break over the years in the dealership we just remove the broken clips and service the diff like normal.

If the limited slip is working like it should just reuse it when it's time for an overhaul. You can put some new clips in with a clutch kit and it will be just like new. You won't like switching to an open diff.

So for now those clips being gone won't destroy anything? I drove this truck 13 hours home and the dif was probably in this condition the whole time. The limited slip seems to be working as it should.

I guess I may just fill it up and change the dif fluid very often just to monitor how bad it is. Get some opinions from local mechanic friends. Go from there. Right now I am trying to be as cheap as possible but not so cheap I end up ruining something even worse.

 

[Fast69Mopar]

So for now those clips being gone won't destroy anything? I drove this truck 13 hours home and the dif was probably in this condition the whole time. The limited slip seems to be working as it should.

I guess I may just fill it up and change the dif fluid very often just to monitor how bad it is. Get some opinions from local mechanic friends. Go from there. Right now I am trying to be as cheap as possible but not so cheap I end up ruining something even worse.

You will be just fine without the clips. The biggest problem with the clips is when they do break and get stuck in the hole in the diff and then they stick out and cut a groove in the right bearing cap. I have out plenty of the 9.25's together with Mopar Trak-Lok Limited Slip diffs with no clips.

 

[Braeden Clark]

You will be just fine without the clips. The biggest problem with the clips is when they do break and get stuck in the hole in the diff and then they stick out and cut a groove in the right bearing cap. I have out plenty of the 9.25's together with Mopar Trak-Lok Limited Slip diffs with no clips.

Well thats good to hear. They do seem to have caused a little bit of havoc because there are markings on the dif cover but I removed all metal. I am hoping now that I can change the fluid and hopefully not hear any bad noises. I definitely will pay close attention to the dif and plan for a rebuild later down the road. Probably keep changing the fluid regularly to monitor the issue. Last question (I think lol), will the 9.25 from the 3rd gen 1500s fit the 2nd gen?