Breaking In a New Differential: A Guide to Ensuring Longevity and Protection

When it comes to modifying your vehicle's performance, one crucial component that often gets overlooked is the differential. In this video, we'll explore the importance of breaking in a new differential and provide valuable tips on how to do it safely and effectively.

The Importance of Breaking In a New Differential

When you swap out an old differential for a new one with different final drive ratios, it's essential to understand that these components are designed to work together seamlessly. To ensure that they last, it's crucial to take the necessary precautions during the break-in process. The first thing to keep in mind is to avoid being super aggressive when driving your vehicle. This means avoiding hard launches, power shifts, and hard downshifts for the first 500 miles or so. These actions can put unnecessary stress on the differential, causing premature wear and tear.

Another critical factor to consider during the break-in period is the distance you travel. It's recommended to keep trips short, ideally within a 15-20 mile radius, to prevent excessive heat buildup in the differential. This allows the metal components to mesh together and find their perfect fit, reducing the likelihood of hot spots and subsequent damage. By keeping trips shorter, you'll also avoid creating additional heat that could compromise the differential's performance.

If you're driving a truck or towing a trailer, it's especially important to avoid heavy towing or any form of towing altogether for the first 500 miles. This is because excessive stress on the differential can cause permanent damage and lead to premature wear.

Draining and Changing Oil: A Crucial Step in the Break-In Process

After the initial break-in period, it's essential to drain and change the oil in your differential. One useful tool that can help with this process is a magnetic drain plug. This device captures metal shavings and debris that may be present in the oil, preventing them from circulating through the differential and causing damage.

The stock differential comes equipped with a magnetic drain plug, which is designed to capture any minor metal shavings that may occur during the break-in process. However, some vehicles may not have this feature, so it's essential to consider investing in one if you're planning to swap out your differential.

Using Pennzoil Platinum: A High-Performance Axle Oil

When it comes to selecting a lubricant for your new differential, Pennzoil Platinum is an excellent choice. This full synthetic axle oil meets the API GL-5 standard and features a limited-slip additive that makes it suitable for use with limited-slip differentials. The 75W-140 viscosity grade is recommended by the builder, but we've decided to upgrade to this thicker oil to provide added protection during high-performance driving.

Why Choose a Thicker Oil?

When you're planning to put more power through your vehicle, it's essential to choose an oil that can handle the increased demands. Thicker oils like 75W-140 provide better protection against heat and friction, which can help extend the life of your differential.

However, keep in mind that using a thicker oil will result in worse fuel economy and reduced efficiency. It's essential to weigh these factors carefully and consider the specific needs of your vehicle before making a decision.

Conclusion

Breaking in a new differential requires attention to detail and a commitment to following best practices. By avoiding super aggressive driving, keeping trips short, and using the right lubricant, you can ensure that your differential lasts for many miles to come. Remember to drain and change the oil regularly, and consider investing in a magnetic drain plug to capture any metal shavings that may occur during the break-in process. With the right approach, you'll be able to enjoy the benefits of high-performance driving while protecting your vehicle's most critical components.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHello everyone and welcome in this video sponsored by Pennzoil we are going to be talking about how to break in a newdifferential so this is the old original stock differential out of my s2000and I swapped in a new differential with a different final drive ratioso changing the amount that these gears spin when this spins to a more aggressive ratioso that it could put down a bit more wheel torque in each gear now when you change over to some new componentsand you've got new components in your differential you want to make surethat those components last and so there are a few things that you want to keep in mind for about the first 500 mileswhich you're driving so first of all I mean the obvious thing is don't be super aggressive with itso you don't want to do hard launches. You don't want to do power shiftsyou don't want to do hard down shifts for about those first 500 milesyou don't want to get super aggressive with it another thing to keep in mind is you don't want to travel super longdistances for those first new miles on thatdifferential so those metalcomponents are trying to mesh together and find that perfect fit and in doing so they'll wear off some of the hot spotsbut it can createadditional heat for those you know first 500 miles or so and so you want to keep your trips relatively shorteryou know 15 20 miles or less or so?so that that differential doesn't get too hot so if it is wearing something downyou don't just do it all in one run and get it too hot and then cause some permanent damage to the differentialinstead keep the trips a little bit shorter and that will allow that thing to wear and then if it starts to get hot you'restopped by that time and then you're wearing it down a little bit more as you continue driving later in the week etcwhatever that may be the other thing to keep in mind is if it is a truck you may not want to do heavytowing or any towing for that matter for those first500 miles if you can avoid it that way you're not putting too much heat into the differential not asking too much from it initiallyallow those components to wear down and find a good meshand then worry about you know what you're gonna actually be using the vehicle for after those initial 500 miles now after those initial500 miles you're gonna want to drain and change that oil out andone thing that can be useful is a magnetic drain plugand so this is actually the stock magnetic drain plug out of my s2000 somevehicles will come with it some vehicles may notbut it's a good idea to get one of these which you can put on the bottom of thedifferential and that way any of those you know minor metal shavings that are coming off from that break-inthey'll stick to this rather than continue to pass through the differential through the oil that's passing around it and you can seelooking on this oneyou know there is like kind of a fine powder of metal that has kind of been grinded off from that break-in processthis does have a little about 500 miles on it this oilso you can you can see you know that that metal has shaved off andyou know that there was some wear occurring with that differential and that's normal that's normal to seebut you don't want this metal to be passing around the gearsyou'd rather just trap it and get rid of itso you can use these magnetic drain plugs capture it clean this off and then put it back inand so you're good to go now. I am replacing the diff oil in mine with Pennzoil Platinum. This is a full synthetic axle oilwhich is API GL-5 and it has a limited-slip additive,so it can be used with limited slip differentials, and this is75W-140 oil and the builder actually recommended going up a bit in the viscosity the stockdifferential calls for a straight 90 grade oilthis is a 75W-140 and so why might you want to go up in grade?and if you're just using it as a daily driver, and you're not putting more power through ityou've just got a new differential, and that's it you want to go with what's recommendedbut you know this differential the one put in the car has been built a little for a little bit more powerand if you're going to be putting more power through it or for example you're taking it to trackdays, autocross days, things like that athicker oil can help protect it more nowit's going to cause you to get worse fuel economy, and it's not going to be as efficientbut assuming you get good flow that thicker oilwill allow for more protection and part of the reason behind that the logic of that islet's say you're putting a lot more power through that rear differentialwell that means you're putting more heat into thatdifferential and so as you put more heat into the differential the oil of course gets hotternow the hotter and oil gets the lower its viscosity becomes so if you start using a thicker oilviscosity grade from the start it can get to higher temperatures and still act like the original oil grainat a lower temperature, and so that's why I'll be putting this in I am planning on putting more power in the carat some point in time and you know having some fun with the carand and when you're putting that additional heat through the differential you want to make sure it's protectedso the builder recommends using this 75W-140 where you can get a bit more protection at those higher temperatures,assuming you're actually putting more power through it now againif you're just driving around town and not going long distances things like that not putting a huge demand on that differential the stockrecommendation is certainly the way to gobut I'm choosing to do this because I will have more power going through itand I do hope to have some fun with it eventually so a hugethank you to Pennzoil for sponsoring this videoand thank you guys all for watching if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.\n"