It very may have well been. I think the original fluid was still in there and the fluid didn't look bad enough from the "small" amount of water I've been in since I've owned it. I've only had this thing for like 3000 miles. It looked like watered down Ultra Grey RTV.

I bought mine off of ebay for $70 shipped from a seller called ky_scrap1. He shipped it super fast, very reasonably priced compared to others, and had free shipping. Also was warrantied for 60 days.

 

Think I should bother throwing a rear locker in? Does it make a real difference or just go with stock ?

 

Brandon - I was half kidding, but based on your avitar I thought it might be the case.

Zebra - If you want a locker, there's no better time than now. They definitely help if you do a lot of wheeling, but it does add to the expense. If you just replace the third member with a used one it's a quick swap but if you go with a locker you will either be looking at a pretty time consuming installation and setup or paying quite a bit more for an assembled third member.

 

Change the oil in the diff.
You have nothing to lose.
I had an MG transmission on a 1979 MG.
Hardly any oil in it.
It was hard to shift.

Changed the oil - worked like a champ.

Your diff may just be binding - no lube.

Probably not trashed yet.

 

Drain plug. lots more metal in there. What do you think?