So when was the last time you checked your diff oil? A lot of people undo the filler plug and as soon as they see fluid (the reason I say fluid is it might be black but that does not mean it is oil) running out they screw the plug back in and the check is over it has oil! What is running out might well be a mixture of water and oil don’t forget oil floats on water, so when you filled the diff you only filled it to the bottom edge of the filler hole. So why is it running out? Could it be that the axle has water in it, so pushing the oil up higher in the diff housing! 
The photo above left shows what can happen when the oil is not check correctly. The photo above on the right shows the line the oil/water mix was sitting at almost 30mm about the bottom edge of the filler hole.
This is the damage that has been done to this diff housing the corrosion is very bad. Once the diff and carrier is stripped out an assessment can be made on the condition of the components and hopefully it will only need new bearings, still a cost that could have been avoided with regular oil changes.
An easy way to change the oil in the Dana axles is to use a LubeLocker no more having to prise the diff cover off, or scrapping of the old RTV. Available from FTE 4x4 Specialists Ltd.
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