A little concerned!!!!

[krazzyk01]

So the plan today is to change the engine, trans and rear diff fluid.

I started with draining the rear diff. I pulled the fill plug first and was surprised to find what I considered a large amount of metal stuck to the plug's magnet. I thought to myself I should take a picture of it and ask y'all what you thought of it. But I wiped it off and moved forward instead.

I pulled the plug on the drain and found there was a little more metal on that magnet than there was on the fill cap.

Does this look normal for a 1LE with 28,000 miles on it? Looks like a bit much to me. The clean plug is the fill cap I wiped off for comparison.

[Mark T]

28k miles. First time off?

Looks like one of my wifes vehicles that i drained this last weekend. 168k on that vehicle.

But yours has more sludge attached so it may look like more Metal then it really is. My wifes was dry metal. (Also a quart low as i was replacing a slightly leaky pinion seal)

I have heard on the 1le's that the pumpkin fluids get real dirty after break in. Maybe thats why.

[Ragnar]

I changed mine at 3262 miles and it had a buildup on the end of the plug as well. I don't see nothing to worry about, until your rear end starts humming

[krazzyk01]

Originally Posted by Mark T

28k miles. First time off?

Looks like one of my wifes vehicles that i drained this last weekend. 168k on that vehicle.

But yours has more sludge attached so it may look like more Metal then it really is. My wifes was dry metal. (Also a quart low as i was replacing a slightly leaky pinion seal)

I have heard on the 1le's that the pumpkin fluids get real dirty after break in. Maybe thats why.

Yep. First time off. I would've like to have done this earlier but I didn't have a way to get under the car until now and I refuse to pay someone else to do my work.

When I did the diff fluid on my Magnum with about 67k on it, it didn't have that much build up on it. Not even close. Not too sure about sludge, it all looked rather metallic to me.

I'll change it again in a couple more thousand miles and send it out to the lab with the other oils. I would've done it this time but I forgot to order a test kit ahead of time. Hopefully, it is just break-in.

Originally Posted by Ragnar

I changed mine at 3262 miles and it had a buildup on the end of the plug as well. I don't see nothing to worry about, until your rear end starts humming

Back end humming?,,,,.....That comes after a long night of drinking and eating cheap food....LOL

Good to hear. Thanks both of you for your thoughts.

As I sit hear I'm wondering if I should have farmed this job out this time.....I'm wearing a good amount of diff fluid that flung back on me...A dab of trans oil, Red Line, which I managed to get all over me,...and I've still got to drain the engine oil yet. I'm sure out of the 8 quarts in there I should be able to get at least half a quart on myself and the floor. Good God. I'm going to need to mop out the garage before the end of the day. I've never made this much mess...... Glad I painted the garage floor...

[krazzyk01]

Nailed it! Finished the job with only one arm basically covered in oil. LOL.

Thanks for the info.

[backeddy]

Back end humming?,,,,.....That comes after a long night of drinking and eating cheap food....LOL

Does vvvvv have something to do with ^^^^^ ???

.I'm wearing a good amount of diff fluid that flung back on me...A dab of trans oil, Red Line, which I managed to get all over me,...and I've still got to drain the engine oil yet. I'm sure out of the 8 quarts in there I should be able to get at least half a quart on myself and the floor.

[X25]

All Corvette Camaro diffs I drained had similar buildup. Since the plug is a magnet, the build-up will naturally be metallic. The diff is designed with a clutch pack, which start locking up as the oil pressure (caused by speed difference at axles) increases. As such, it is normal to have a bit of metallic sludge as the clutches break in. The amount should be much less next time, but you'll still have some.

[ICTsccaCamaro]

Thats how ours looked at 900miles, changed engine, trans and rear axle

[krazzyk01]

Originally Posted by backeddy

Does vvvvv have something to do with ^^^^^ ???

LOL I had to read that a couple times to understand what you were driving at.

I should've broke out the boos at the rate I was going. The garage still wreaks of gear oil. WOW! At least it'll be a while before I've got to do it again.

Thanks for all the input guys.