Worn spider gear in 1998 transmission

[steve_wilwerding]

I've had the 3.4 in my 98 for four years now, and maybe have 4,000 miles with it in the car. I had a Quaife installed yesterday to cure some wheelspin, and the mechanic showed me that the original OEM differential was starting to eat into the spider gears, and he said it was lucky that I changed the differential when I did, because it was about to get much worse.

Would something like that be caused by the extra power? My mechanic didn't think so - he thought it was a manufacturing defect. Has anyone else had similar issues?

[Loren]

Total miles on the transmission/differential?

Regular fluid changes? and any metal fragments?

Any grinding or mechanical noises?

I have not heard of any differential problems and I doubt the power difference would cause the problem. Unless of course you go to the drag strip every week... ;)

[steve_wilwerding]

Fluid got changed on average every 15K miles. 47K total miles on the transmission. I didn't notice any metal fragments during the last fluid change, but I didn't look closely either. No grinding or mechanical issues. However, based on how the gears looked, there obviously WERE at least metal shavings in the oil, because the spider gear was losing chunks. I hit DEs a few times a year, never drag the car, so yes, it does seem odd.