Posted by Traveler on March 07, 19100 at 13:10:43:
In Reply to: Scheduled Service posted by K M Erney on March 07, 19100 at 04:14:40:
The reason to change the diffs and transfer case early is that there are metal shavings that come off the gears as they break in, and there can be dirt and assy lubes from the line that need to be removed.
This has nothing to do with the oil wearing out.
It would be a good idea to use 4LO and 4HI a bit before doing the lube changes, so whatever metal is going to come off, will. If you never use 4WD, then the shavings will come off later when you do put it to use.
This applies to the transfer case to a lesser extent. The diffs and case have no filters to remove metal particles. There's a magnet in the rear diff. If the particles are left in there, they will pit the bearings and axle surfaces (semi floating), and settle on the bottom of the axle tubes and in crevices.