how can you keep water out of your differentials?

[Sacredgroove]

i like hitting the puddles and crossing streams, and im wondering what i can do,if anything, to avoid getting water into my differentials?
also,does a t5 have breather vents or a tube? dont want it in there either
thanks!

 

[L33TJ33P]

Swaybar/ Trackbar removal

seams to me like, if you are getting water IN your Diffs then you are also having problems with your Diff fluid getting Out, no??

 

[Sacredgroove]

hmmm its a possibility...i have some oil leaks but never thought to see if diffs are leaking too onto the driveway.
if they are not leaking,is it still possible to get water/mud in them ?
mechanic changed fluids and didnt mention leakage or that it was low on fluid...but did have water in the mix.(i was sunk in some swamp soup a couple weeks ago up to the fender flares at the front for about 20 minutes while friend took his 4 wheeler back up the trail to get his xj down to pull me out)

 

[L33TJ33P]

If you have water in there I would think either condensation from not changing the Diff fluid at the right intervals (like gas, if it is possible in a sealed Diff.) Or you do actually have a leak.

 

[Tug-n-pull]

Breather lines run to the highest point possible would be my guess. I do not know of any other way for you to be getting water in there. tug

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Connect the breather tubes for the front and rear diffs and run them up high on the firewall. Don't know about the T5 having a breather, my AX5 does but older AX5's don't. Never know.

 

[Nymisus]

so how hard is it to change the fluid in your diffs???? and how often do you need to do this???

 

[Snitty]

it is simple to do... undo the bolts on the cover, let it drain, clean the surfaces, inspect the gears, apply rtv or similar sealant to the mating surfaces, reinstall the cover, fill it til it drains out of the fill hole, replace cap... you are SUPPOSED to do this everytime you go through water higher than the axle.. but i doubt too many people follow that... ever 5-10 oil changes could do you pretty well

 

[Sacredgroove]

i have definitely been in water over the axles so thats where mine came from. when the mechanic called me i was half asleep but im picking the jeep up today and i will ask him...guy i take it to is a jeep guru...about all he works on,so i will get an in depth answer and post it here...

 

[graewulf]

it is simple to do... undo the bolts on the cover, let it drain, clean the surfaces, inspect the gears, apply rtv or similar sealant to the mating surfaces, reinstall the cover, fill it til it drains out of the fill hole, replace cap... you are SUPPOSED to do this everytime you go through water higher than the axle.. but i doubt too many people follow that... ever 5-10 oil changes could do you pretty well

or go buy a drill pump.. themn you dont have to crack the diff cover to drain it.. just pump out the old fluid first... as for keepin water out.. you basically have 2 choices.. don't go in water of lengthen the vent lines high enough to keep them dry...

 

[Snitty]

i prefer to open the diff to drain it all out... i like to inspect everything and check for metal and make sure the bearings and everything are all in good order

 

[Sacredgroove]

looks like im going to need to change my pinion bearings changed out soon as well,but...i plan doing the one piece axle next so i'll do that at the same time. while differential is half apart any other recommendations to go ahead and do?
amc 20 rear 84 cj7

 

[Snitty]

locker? spool?

 

[Nymisus]

so is there any kind of write up on doing this??? or is it simply take off cover, let drain, put stuff on the matting?? thing, and put cover back on?? I've never done anything like that, but assume i need to as I was in some muddy stuff not to long ago......also, how would you lengthen the breather hoses?? and what do they look like??

 

[firemanharry]

or go buy a drill pump.. themn you dont have to crack the diff cover to drain it.. just pump out the old fluid first... as for keepin water out.. you basically have 2 choices.. don't go in water of lengthen the vent lines high enough to keep them dry...

If there was a question of water contamination in a diff I would want to get in there and inspect everything. Take off the cover, spray some PB Blaster around, wipe up a bit, reseal, and refill. This would make me feel much more secure than just blindly changing fluids. 8)

 

[Inspector-Gadget]

Hello Sacredgroove,

Perhaps it might be useful to take a look at why water gets in the differentials in the first place.

Here is an explanation which I cut and pasted from a web site about the care and feeding of boat trailer bearings and axles.

"The wheel bearings produce heat as they rotate. This causes any air inside the wheel hub to expand. When the hub is driven into cold water, the air inside it quickly cools and contracts. This pulls water in past the axle seals..."

Suction produced by rapid cooling -- this is why you can get water drawn into the differentials even though differential fluid does not leak out. The differentials are vented for over pressure.

My guess is that all the vent-tubes in the world (assuming the OEM vent tubes and caps on your Jeep are intact and functional) will not completely stop water from entering your differentials. The water is likely entering the differential via the axle seals. That intake is caused by the suction produced when the differential assembly (a pretty hefty chunk of hot metal) is rapidly cooled. The axles seals were not designed to be waterproof under immersion conditions. At best, they are water resistant, but not waterproof under deep immersion conditions.

If you are going to use a your Jeep as a boat, I suspect that water in the differentials is going to be a fact of life for you.

Just as the people with boat trailers have to stay on top of wheel bearing lubrication, you are going to have to stay on top of changing the differential lubricant after deep water excursions.

Too bad that nobody sells "bearing buddies" for Jeeps.

Gadget

 

[Craig]

I've extended my vent tubes for both my axles, my transfercase and my distributor cap breather into my airbox. Since then, I've never had a problem with water in any of these places. As for water being sucked in your axles near your bearings, I'm sure it happens but I've never experienced this and sunk this thing in a lot of water. Could have something to do with how old or much grease you have in your bearings. The grease may act as a seal.
When changing your diff oil, if you have water in it, it's definately not clean water so I would recommend pulling off the whole diff cover and spraying it down. This way you can get out any foreign materials along with any metal shavings from your gears. I use brake cleaner, it works fine.