just rolled over 1200 mi on my 2011 pathfinder, which is the end of the break in period. So I decided to change engine oil and rear diff to synthetic. Also I had noticed a slight whine when slowing from 65 to say 55. When i pulled the rear diff drain plug the fluid that came out was darker then i was expecting for such low mileage and to my horror the drain plug magnet was full of metal shavings and a dark black farious substance. Now, this particular drain plug has the largest magnet that i have ever seen on a stock drain plug so maybe nissan is aware the diff sheds some metal. but at the same time is this normal?

unfortunatly i did not save the rag with the metal shavings in it to take to nissan (wasn't thinking about warranty) The whine has gone away with the new fluid so that is good, but i think in 1200 more miles I am going to drain the diff fluid again and see whats up. if there is a mess of metal shavings again I will call the dealer right then.

has anyone else done a drain and fill on the rear diff and found a lot of metal shavings on the magnet?

thanks

I don't know about the 11 model but my 05's rear diff is filled with synthetic from the factory (that's what the SM says).

didn't know that. . .at any rate the fluid was sub par for such low mileage. Have you changed your fluid yet? I am interested to see if this is the norm for this diff.

on a side note, I spoke with our (I am a service manager at a local shop) drivetrain technician and he said that the shavings i found were normal for break in period and that it is sad that manufactures do not recommend fluid changes at around 10k mi for diff and trans. . . etc. anyway, still interested in seeing or knowing if others have seen this in their pathy

I'm pushing 130,000 miles and have not once drained and refilled the rear diff. Since it's synthetic I'd figure it should last longer. Either way this is on my to do list once this heatwave goes away.

If I recall I changed my rear diff fluid on my '05 for the first time around 30k and found a lot of metal shavings on the plug and the fluid was fairly dark, making me wish I had looked at it earlier. I was surprised at how beat the fluid seemed to be and how much was on the plug. Switched to Royal Purple MaxGear and changed it again about 20k later, but this time it looked great; very little on the plug and the fluid looked good.

Not sure I've ever pulled a factory fill differential that didn't stink to high heaven have have lots of shavings. Pretty normal stuff in my book. I'll probably do mine soon...50k miles at the moment. BTW...dealer isn't likely to do anything until something fails and if it's really that bad...it will fail long before the 60k warranty is up!

normal. as long as no metal chunks, you're fine.

Hey guys

2006 Pathfinder here..going to change my rear diff fluid this weekend..what weight should I use? I am going to replace with synthethic, but should it be 75/90?

Thanks

if it does fail before 60k will i have to show that i have done a flush?