Front diff PM

[chuzie]

Ok. I would not be too worried about the front end. The sludge is a bi-product of the water which is expected considering what you have been doing lately and I wonder how long it has been since the last change? Some of that nastiness could be old too.

Make sure you clean it all off VERY well. This will help to determine if the broken teeth are new or old by the staining of the surfaces. Inspect to make sure those surfaces do not have any cracks propagating and inspect the broken bits in the pan to make sure they are only ring teeth and nothing from you locker or pinion or etc.

If all that checks I would be comfortable running your setup in that condition for a while longer so long as your hubs are unlocked for daily driving as well as the XFER case too. We don't want the setup turning and generating heat and wear unnecessarily.

I would also double check your axle seals for condition and make sure your vent tube is unobstructed and placed well above the axle. Water is inevitable but fixing those items will certainly decrease the likelihood of contamination.

Make sure you check it again in a couple of months to make sure your gear is not deteriorating.

Would anyone recommend smoothing the chipped gears to prevent damage to the pinion?

Don’t worry about the needles just get a new setup and make sure they did not bore out the housing or damage anything.