Freelander 1 IRD Oil Colour

After getting the hippo up on ramps, using a breaker bar and a hex socket, I was able to crack the fill plug on the rear of the IRD without too much drama. (still needed a good bit of persuasion, but thankfully I didn't have to deal with any of the horror stories - I've taken the advice on board here about only using hex sockets to prevent rounding and slippage!)

Back on level ground the oil drained out nicely. Now I've seen lots of threads on here over the years, and also more recently talking about the condition of the oil as being an indicator of the IRD state. Mine was caught in a 12" circular bowl which after leaving it to drain fro a couple of hours, was a deep milk chocolate brown colour (which was quite stinky too). When I poured it slowly into a container for disposal, what was left on the bottom of the tray was a very fine coating of oil with a course metallic paint effect. - I'd say a tiny silver bit occupied approximately every half mm or so. There were also some fillings, (prob about 3-4mm), spread over the magnet on the drain plug, which is to of course be expected too.

So really I was just after some opinion as to if the deep brown and amount of fillings was normal for an IRD that has clocked up (probably) 97k, and has (probably) never been drained since 2003. (VCU from Bell Engineering fitted earlier this year, after showing signs of tightening).

The comma oil (SX75W90) it has been replaced with is a refreshing clear colour, going back in with a syringe.

Many thanks, Jim

Sounds as if it's all ok, perhaps change every 24 months from now on !

It's normal to have some particulates in the oil.
Mine was the same although my metallic particles were more bronze coloured. The magnetic plug had metal powder on it which is perfectly normal for higher mileages. I'd suggest changing the oil more frequently from now on too

In the YouTube video I saw of a failed IRD, the oil had a decidedly mercurial appearance - so far, far worse than what you've seen.

I am no expert in these things, but if you found particulates in gearbox oil, you'd be worried. The metallic particulates will have come from somewhere, and it won't have been there from new, so presumably this is a sign of bearing wear?

I guess the question is whether this is a sign of the IRD about to fail, or whether the IRD needs an early refurbishment now (cheaper?) rather than later? (More expensive?) Or whether this is a "normal feature" of an IRD that still has 10s of thousands of miles of life in it before refurbishment becomes necessary.

Unfortunately I have no idea: anyone?

PS can you fit a magnetic sump plug to capture the debris?

Nodge68 said:

It's normal to have some particulates in the oil.
Mine was the same although my metallic particles were more bronze coloured. The magnetic plug had metal powder on it which is perfectly normal for higher mileages. I'd suggest changing the oil more frequently from now on too

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+ 1 - seems ok

rob_bell said:

In the YouTube video I saw of a failed IRD, the oil had a decidedly mercurial appearance - so far, far worse than what you've seen.

I am no expert in these things, but if you found particulates in gearbox oil, you'd be worried. The metallic particulates will have come from somewhere, and it won't have been there from new, so presumably this is a sign of bearing wear?

I guess the question is whether this is a sign of the IRD about to fail, or whether the IRD needs an early refurbishment now (cheaper?) rather than later? (More expensive?) Or whether this is a "normal feature" of an IRD that still has 10s of thousands of miles of life in it before refurbishment becomes necessary.

Unfortunately I have no idea: anyone?

PS can you fit a magnetic sump plug to capture the debris?

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In a perfect world, there will be no particles in the oil. I the real world, there will be some. Some will be left over from the factory. Some will develop as a result of damage caused by the debris left over from the manufacturing process. Some will be from the gears "familiarising" themselves with there meshing counterparts.
Some will be from wear of the components. There are 4 cup thrust washers in the differential, which will wear, adding to the particulates in the oil. An amount of metal will be abraded off the gear faces in normal use.
So there will always be some particulates in the oil.
But if the oil has a silver metallic sheen which is obviously ground up metal, remedial action will be needed.

That's fair comment Nodge - it's all a question of how much. I think it would be an idea to see whether I can get a magnetic sump plug to fit in the IRD - it would have the dual advantage of collecting the particles plus provide a means of monitoring metallic deposition.

rob_bell said:

That's fair comment Nodge - it's all a question of how much. I think it would be an idea to see whether I can get a magnetic sump plug to fit in the IRD - it would have the dual advantage of collecting the particles plus provide a means of monitoring metallic deposition.

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Yes mate, apart from the DIFF thrust washers ( shims) which are most important.................................... and, non Ferrous .................

rob_bell said:

That's fair comment Nodge - it's all a question of how much. I think it would be an idea to see whether I can get a magnetic sump plug to fit in the IRD - it would have the dual advantage of collecting the particles plus provide a means of monitoring metallic deposition.

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You won't need to get a magnetic drain plug as they are factory fitted
As Joe said. The magnetic drain plug won't help for thrust washer particles, as those are non-ferrous.

Thanks Nodge68, (And others for confirming),

My oil was no where like the silvery mess that is on the youtube videos. A more accurate description of mine was smelly hot chocolate, with a sprinkling of glitter at the very bottom of the tray.

I'll definitely do another change in a year or so's time. (if nothing else, it will keep that fill plug from becoming a bugger to remove (hopefully!)).

(Talking of material that is left in things from the manufacturer, when I had my FL2 it was a common issue for the weld splatter to be left in the steering column, which inevitably caused problems further down the line - just one of the issues I had with mine when I owned one in the past)

Jim

4Bee4Bee said:

Thanks Nodge68, (And others for confirming),

My oil was no where like the silvery mess that is on the youtube videos. A more accurate description of mine was smelly hot chocolate, with a sprinkling of glitter at the very bottom of the tray.

Jim

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Perfectly normal

Nodge68 said:

Perfectly normal

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Excellent. and pleased to hear it.

Fingers crossed with me looking after the VCU and tyres/(pressures) it will stay that way for a while!

As already said smelly brown is normal. As for refilling, many bottles of oil have a longish nozzle to help. If too short jam a length of clear plastic pipe over the nozzle and just squeeze the bottle. Then when half empty refill from another bottle and keep going. That's how I refill my gearbox and it makes the job quick and easy if a little messy.

Guys, I continue my climb of the north face of the Eiger, that is my learning curve of things Freelander!

So, good news: magnetic sump plug already fitted; bad news that thrust washers are non-ferric.

Normal IRD oil = stinky chocolately jus with just a pinch of glitter. Sounds delicious.
Abnormal IRD oil = Unicorn blood (one for Harry Potter fans I think!)

I'll be checking the IRD oil on Kilo-Hippo-Delta: now I know what to expect... hopefully not a transfusion bank for exsanguinated mythical creatures!

rob_bell said:

So, good news: magnetic sump plug already fitted; bad news that thrust washers are non-ferric.

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The thrust washers are non ferrous because they are the sacrificial wearing surface. It's way cheaper to replace some thrust washers, than a complete differential gear set or diff case

Nodge68 said:

The thrust washers are non ferrous because they are the sacrificial wearing surface. It's way cheaper to replace some thrust washers, than a complete differential gear set or diff case

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Makes sense