So, while driving this thing home on a 10 day I could hear a strange noise from the drivetrain when decelerating. I limped it back and saw it was leaking out the rear diff input. So I drained the fluid to try and assess the damage and found a lot of metal shavings on the drain plug and I stirred the oil with a magnet and came up with a couple of little pieces. I'm not quite sure what to do with it next, I have never dealt with this kind of problem before. Any advice would be appreciated! Could this material just be the pinion seal and the lsd may still be ok? What is the best way to test it? My searches haven't come up with much.

Special note: pieces on magnet may just be rust flakes from undercarriage, I cant be sure.

Most of the little flakes are "Fines" (fine particules) which is normal. Larger Chunks are no good.

Take the Diff Cover off and assess the damage.

Ghislain