Argh! What did I do now??

[Jason4x4]

So I was bored this evening, and thought I'd check the oil in my diffs to see if it looked contaminated (see my previous thread(s) to see why). No, I still havent gotten around to changing the fluid. Anyhow, according to the owner's manual when changing the diff oil you're supposed to fill it up until it comes out of the fill hole. Now, reading this, I assumed if I took the fill cap off that a little oil might spill, but I was not prepared for what happened. I cracked the plug and oil started gushing out - way more than I thought I would see. I took a couple pictures after I got the plug back in. Is this normal???

Additionally, anybody want to chime in with an opinion on whether or not the oil looks contaminated?


Edit: That *is* the fill cap (where the oil is all around in the first pic), right?

 

[currupt4130]

That oil looks brand new, but damn that is a lot of oil ain't it? Did you pull the plug shortly after you got done driving it?

 

[Jason4x4]

This just happened maybe 20 minutes ago? So about 7:40pm EST, I parked the Jeep earlier at about 3:45pm. So it's been sitting for about 4 hours.

 

[currupt4130]

Ok, I was just curious if it was hot, cuz then I could see that happening. Maybe it was filled on an incline? As long as there's still fluid to the bottom of the fill plug, you're fine.

 

[Jason4x4]

Last time it was filled was at the factory, so I would assume they would know what they're doing .

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Were you parked downhill when you opened the fill plug?

A little overfill won't hurt anything, probably cheap insurance from the factory.

 

[Jason4x4]

Were you parked downhill when you opened the fill plug?

A little overfill won't hurt anything, probably cheap insurance from the factory.

I don't believe so - if anything it was a very slight grade.

 

[dave123]

If you have water in there, it will be on the bottom, as oil floats. I would drain it and refil it with proper fluid, You may have a bunch of water at the bottom.

It's cheap (under 10 bucks for oil and gasket, I just did mine), so why not play it safe?

 

[jfrabat]

I agree with dave; filling it is cheap, and the water may also explain why the diff was overfilled. I would do it just as insurance (maybe there is no water, but there is only one way to be 100% sure!).

 

[Jason4x4]

If you have water in there, it will be on the bottom, as oil floats. I would drain it and refil it with proper fluid, You may have a bunch of water at the bottom.

It's cheap (under 10 bucks for oil and gasket, I just did mine), so why not play it safe?

Yeah, I was going to go ahead and change it anyway since so much oil spilled out. Also, there is no paper gasket, correct? Just some RV silicone type 'liquid' gasket...or am I mistaken?

 

[dave123]

My Dana 30 had a paper gasket, $4.00.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

some use paper gaskets others dont..its up to you. I use them only when I put on HD cast iron or steel diff covers. I ran a steel cage set up around my D44 factory cover for years with no gasket just RTV. Clean up is easier in my opinion. No scraping, just a little Scotch bright and your ready to re-assemble.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

If you have water in there, it will be on the bottom, as oil floats. You may have a bunch of water at the bottom.

If there were water in there, the oil that came out would look like chocolate milk.

 

[Jason4x4]

If there were water in there, the oil that came out would look like chocolate milk.

It would look like chocolate milk...as opposed to what?? (i.e., what would non-contaminated oil look like)

 

[jfrabat]

It literally looks like a chocolete milkshake, which yours does not seem to have... But I would change it anyway it anyway just to feel safe (I am paranoid that way!).

 

[Jason4x4]

and how many quarts of ATF would I need to fill the transfer case? I believe it is roughly 2 quarts per diff, correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[currupt4130]

and how many quarts of ATF would I need to fill the transfer case? I believe it is roughly 2 quarts per diff, correct me if I'm wrong...

What are we talking about? The difs or the t-case? It's about 1.25 quarts of ATF for the tcase and about 1.5 of 80w90 for the difs.

 

[Jason4x4]

What are we talking about? The difs or the t-case? It's about 1.25 quarts of ATF for the tcase and about 1.5 of 80w90 for the difs.

We were talking about the diffs, but then I asked about the t-case...anyway, re: paper gaskets for the diffs, if I were to use a paper gasket, do you still need sealant or is the gasket itself good enough to seal up the cover?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

It would look like chocolate milk...as opposed to what?? (i.e., what would non-contaminated oil look like)

Dark gear oil.

Just get a tube of RTV to seal the diff cover with. Or go with a lubelocker gasket.

 

[Jason4x4]

Alright. I think that's all of my questions. Thanks a lot for the help!