New Gear Break-In Procedure
All new gear sets require a break-in period to prevent damage from overheating. Any overloading or over-heating will cause the gear oil to break down and cause undue stress to the ring & pinion gears. Please follow these guidelines to insure proper break-in:
- After light use for the first 20 to 30 kilometres, stop and let the differential cool before proceeding any further.
- Repeat this process two or three times.
- The gears run hotter than normal during the break-in process and require two or three heat-cycles to ensure proper performance and life expectancy.
- Avoid heavy acceleration and don’t do any towing during the first 800-1000 kilometres.
- If you plan to do any towing following the initial 1000 kilometres, then tow for a short distance (about 20 kilometres) and then stop to let the differential cool for 10-15 mins. Then resume your trip as planned.
- If you’ve already put in over 1500 kilometres on the new differential, then the diff is already broken in. Feel free to tow as normal.
- We highly recommend changing the oil after the first 1000 kilometres. This will remove any metal particles or phosphorus coating that has come from the new gear set and bearings.
This may seem unnecessary but it is very easy to damage the differential by loading it before the gear set is completely broken in. The greatest damage results when a new ring & pinion has been run very hot before the gears are fully broken-in.
Any heavy use or overloading during the first 1000 kilometres will cause irreparable damage to the gear set that can be determined by inspection of the gear set and will void the warranty.