Differential mileage question.

If reasonably maintained, ie; full synthetic gear oil since new, kept topped off, changed at recommended intervals etc., a differential should last the life of the truck.

 

wheel ends and input/thruput seals may need attention but if serviced regularly the center sections should last almost indefinitely. Fresh synthetic lube at 100k mile (160km) intervals is a great plan.

 

I’ve seen many 50-70 year old trucks with their original rears. Some probably never got serviced much. My original ‘67 Rockwell 4.33 SQHD’s had 4.11’s put in them in 1992. Up until 2003 they pulled the rockies up into Montana from south Tejas weekly. 1,689,347 miles later they still doing good.

 

True or false, I don’t know but I had a gear shop tell me that the 23/46-160 is nearly indestructible. The guy claimed they work on a very low percentage of them even considering that they are typically used in rough service applications. I said no surprise they’re so outnumbered by regular road axles and he seemed to think they still worked on a disproportionate low number. i have a couple trucks with 46-160 axles and the drive components are much heavier built. They still have the same places to leak oil as the rest and that will kill anything when it gets run out of oil. Bottom line they could easily last a million or two if they are maintained or much less if not.

 

Make sure you get full lockers…then you will have similar mobility to the walking beam with only a power divider lock

 

100k ? Thought it would go way longer.

 

Depends a lot on the application.

Believe it or not a reman component could very well have gears in it that are on their 3rd life. A manufacturer of yellow iron would have us etch the rebuild number (1st and 2nd) along with component hours at each overhaul. At 3rd rebuild the gears were tossed regardless of condition.

Long story short, the gears themselves have a pretty long and reliable life if they aren't shock loaded and oil is kept clean.

 

Chances are considering his location I gave him the "safe" (2 to 3 times) recommended service interval for severe service. Pulling 140K up and down 8 to 10% grades in BC almost daily qualifies.

 

My Volvo diffs have 1,400k. Bearings at 1,100k and a few wheel seals