Front differential metal shavings.

If it were just a few shavings I wouldnt worry about it... But that bigger piece? I would probably crack it open and give it a very thorough inspection, paying close attention to the power divider and looking for hairline fractures that could propagate through the body of a gear.

If all you find is a single or possibly 2 or 3 cleanly chipped gear teeth, with no propagating cracks... Then I'd thoroughly clean, reseal, fill and run another 10k to 20k and then check the magnet again.

 

On second look... That bigger piece looks odd... Does it have sharp egdes?? It doesnt look like it does... It almost looks like something that flaked off the inside of the gearbox itself... But without seeing it in person its hard to say.

 

I just replaced mine a month ago. $1500 reman and $500 for the labor

 

Power divider? Yeah a brand new one is 4200. I’m one of those guys my friend

 

What guys?

 

Even if that piece of metal is a piece of tooth off of a gear you may be able to go forever without a problem.
No noise. No vibe. No heat. No worries.
Check the fluid in a couple months for more pieces and cleanliness. Roll on.

I’ve changed oil in perfectly running things and found crap in them. Rolled on without problems because there were and have not been symptoms of something going wrong.

Could have been anything like a piece of old axle bearing that finally made its way through the tube down to the plug.

Last year I pulled the sump plug off of an old Cummins 855 and a 3/4 inch piece of broken piston ring came out. It was left in there from an overhaul in the 80’s hidden somewhere in a crevice and finally made its way to the plug. Engine is strong. No overhaul neccessary just because of the “mystery” piece.

 

Been my experience, if that seal went, all the others are going too, and if those shavings went through the bearings, it's going to whine like a retired person. Then the axle seals, soaks the brakes, anytime I found metal in oil, it needed repair.

 

That buys new crap even though I know nothing wrong with a good reputable reman

 

Many trucks go on for years. Why.? Becuase the majority of people never change the diff fluids so they never even knew there was metal in there. Unfortunately this guy did some poking around and now has in back of head. I actually had a buddy call me last week wanting to know what oil to put in his Pete 357 diff. Truck is same year as my 379. 2002.
I told him it’s ok to top it off but I said whatever you do, don’t pull the forward diff plug. You won’t be able to sleep tonight. He laughed and took my advice