Grey sludge in axles and diff

Hello,

Inside the rear axle was thick grey metallic sludge.
Inside the front axle was the same sludge
Inside the diff there was also grey liquid which wasn't really sludge as it came flowing out fairly fast.

First thing that came to mind was water contamination? But i've extended the breather hoses... how bad is the situation? Do I change the oil? How do I clean out the sludge?

I don't want to drive her in case I cause more damage so I would appreciate some help

1999 Defender 90 TD5

Thanks in advance!

your first thread should have been an introduction.......


oil in water, emulsified under heat and whisking motion, drain and flush with cheap oil a few times via the plugs in casing for a start I'd say

you need to clean axles ,swivels ,wheel bearings out and fill with fresh oil ,you may have already caused damage to bearings and diff etc you need to check oils straight away after wading not later ,check t/box and g/box too

whoops... sorry about that, is there a certain page I should do that on?

And thanks for the super fast answer!

The rear axle sludge seems so thick it'll take a while to come out.. any easier way to drain it? blow compressed air through the filler plug maybe?

Thanks jamesmartin, i'll do that at some point... any tips? i'll have to do more research to find out how to do that.

main page you'll see intro section



no way other than to get it hot if you want it out quick, could try heating the casing gently with a blow torch I suppose or leave the rear parked up by a heat lamp for a bit if not drain overnight and fill in the morning

Mylz95 said:

Thanks jamesmartin, i'll do that at some point... any tips? i'll have to do more research to find out how to do that.

Click to expand...

all you can do is rinse it out with petrol diesel or paraffin etc land rovers arent water proof even with breathers ,either dont wade or prepare to check/ clean out after or spend on more units and wheel bearings ,the water in oil can rust a bearing overnight

I sprayed degreaser into the axle at high pressure and just blew compressed air into the filler hole which cleaned it out pretty well, surprising how much more comes out when you do that! especially when raising each side of the axle. will check the levels again tomorrow. Haven't changed the t/box oil yet as I need to find some new oil in the depths of the garage

Thanks for your help you two!!