Front Diff Wear

[whydahdvr]

On a recent long trip I noticed some vibration and a whine coming from the front diff of my (new to me) 2008 LR3 HSE. Current mileage: 32k.
I took it in to the dealership as it's still under warranty. Lo and behold, the front diff had metal flakes in it. We're not sure how this happened as it's usually something seen in the 70-80k range. But at least it's covered under the warranty.
While I'm not concerned - it's being replaced - I have concerns about other parts that may wear out early and what may have caused this front diff wear so soon. As far as we know, the vehicle never went off-road. It was checked out by the dealership prior to purchase.
Just curious what other's have seen with this MY LR.

 

[Disco Mike]

Anything thing mechanical can fail, normally not early, but it does happen.
I would just stay 2 steps ahead in the future on any and all maintances, up-grade the quality of your fluids and do it more often.

 

[whydahdvr]

Yup, staying on top of maintenance and repairs is what I always do.

 

[jesus_man]

Could have been a friday assembly and they didn't get the gear mesh just right or pre-load on the bearings. It could have even been a faulty bearing.

You'll have other issues, just take care of them as the come.

J.D.

 

[whydahdvr]

roger. I'm not going to ger wrapped around the axle over this stuff. Ha! Too many conference calls today.
Anyway, was just curious if there was anything LR specific that might have caused that. The dealership will check out the other gear boxes at the same time to make sure they're in good condition too. Thanks for the input.

 

[dantheman1]

It could be the front diff breather cap was clogged, or water got into it somehow. I think there is a recent tsb about this. My front diff went out at around the 70k mark, but it was due to a faulty seal that had been leaking fluid for a while... didn't even notice it.

 

[Houm_WA]

The breather tube being too small is/was a major contributor to the seals blowing...and the leaking was subtle, so that it went unnoticed. The revised part per TSB should help this. I seem to have caught mine in time! My fluid looked good...so did the fluid in the rear and in the tranny.

 

[whydahdvr]

Well, regardless I'm getting a whole new axle per warranty. Should work out well going forward.

 

[jesus_man]

The breather tube being too small is/was a major contributor to the seals blowing...and the leaking was subtle, so that it went unnoticed. The revised part per TSB should help this. I seem to have caught mine in time! My fluid looked good...so did the fluid in the rear and in the tranny.

Is there an obvious way to tell which version one might have?

J.D.

 

[Houm_WA]

I haven't seen the two breather caps in-person. ...but it's one of those things where unless you request the TSB be performed or put the new cap in yourself, it's not going to have it.