I did my front right axle u joint. when i pulled my shaft out their was a thick gray fluid that came out. is that normal? their was quite a bit of it.

 

Most likely got water in there and it got all mixed up in the gear oil... Just my guess though.. Someone with more knowledge will chime in soon

 

Was it stinky?

 

Almost sounds like metal shavings (A LOT) mixed with the gear oil. And maybe a bad axle seal. Are there any abnormal noises? Did the fluid come out when axle was pulled? Or was there a trace before you pulled the axle?

Might want to pull the diff covor and have a peak around in there. See how everything looks.

 

Pull the cover, see what you find. I agree with the water contaminated assessment.

 

Can water actually make the oil gray? That just seems odd to me. I've seen motor and hydrolic oil with water (but not gear oil) and it looks the same, milky. I'd just assume that it'd have the same appearance. But, I may be wrong, wouldn't be the first time.

 

If your axle seals leak some, and you haven't changed your diff oil in a long time, it can be really gross in there. And I've seen some that were gray. I used to work tearing them apart in a shop. But changing the fluid is the first real step. You wont do anything but help your diff live longer. just do a really good job cleaning all the old stuff out. I like to spray everything down with brake cleaner. But you also have to wipe it out good after.

 

+1 on oil and water mixed. Also might be a good idea to keep an eye out for more oil leaking out that seal...(I recently ended up having to replace my axle seals because I damaged them replacing the u joints)

 

The fluid did not come out before i pulled the shaft out. Does anyone no what kind of fluid goes in the differental or if theirs and gaskets i need to replace after I take off cover to clean it?

 

No gasket on the cover, just use RTV. 80W90 super-stinky gear lube. If it doesn't smell REALLY bad, it's the wrong stuff.....