In and out, or round and round?
There are several gears in there each with a little play between the teeth. It adds up. After a few thousand miles, its not uncommon for there to be 1/8 of a turn or so.
If its been a while since you changed the oil, try letting it sit for a while and then drain it.
I like to catch the first pint or so in a glass jar. It its dark at all, I put one of my super magnets on the side of the jar and see how much stuff moves over to it after a couple of hours.
There is always going to be a small amount of wear particles, but I changed the oil one time and it was black. But not burnt smelling.
A magnet caused fur to form on the inside.
Turned out my front output yoke had worked loose and sand had gotten into the front bearing.
Since it was in the middle of hunting season, I put on a rebuilt and put the old one out in the barn to rebuild.
I think it has been sitting there for about 10 years. Gonna rebuild it just any day now..........
