mmcpeck

The rear diff breather on my '92 Pickup is rusted to hell. Actually the whole diff has a lot of heavy rust on it, not sure what the PO did to it, the body and frame are in great shape as far as rust, so is the front diff, but the rear diff is in messy shape, may have gotten dunked in salt water at some point a few times.

Anyway, I noticed that the diff breather was rusted bad and wouldn't even move, so I tried to lossen teh cover up with some pliers and PB Blaster, and the cover popped right off of it, actually broke right off, when it did it hissed a little bit, not sure if it was positive pressure or vacuum, but in any case this diff wasn't breathing too good.

I went and ordered a Union nipple from Toyota, as per a post on the site, and am gonna pull the old crap design diff breather out and replace it with this union and some hose.

But I'm starting to get concerned about breaking this breather as I try to get it out of the diff, because it is rusted pretty bad.

Has anyone ever broken one off when removing? Seems like it would be a whole new nightmare, I may try and just rig a hose up to the breather that's in there.

Any thoughts/opinions??

Thanks.

mmcpeck

Nobody huh?

wheatus

bathe it in PB and be really careful, try not to move too quickly. if you do break it just tap a new set of threads, your fluid could use the change.

mmcpeck

Yeah it's been bathing in PB, I may try to use heat and PB also.

The issue with breaking it is not just tapping a new ste of threads, it's drilling the old one out, which usually widens the hole, and then the union nipple I bought won't fit.

Has anybody ever just connected a hose to the existing breather with the cap off of it?

I know it's just a little stub, but there must be a way to get a hose to stay on it.

wheatus

take the nipple back and go pick one up from a hardware store for a couple of bucks. if you are going the stub route just use a hose clamp.

mmcpeck

Well the nipple only cost $4 from Toyota, and the dealer is like a mile from my house, so I figured it was just easier to get it there than search all over for one that fits.

Yeah I may just get some vacuum hose, maybe some kind of sealant around the bottom of the hose, and a clamp and use the stub that's in there. I don't have the time right now to deal with breaking it and drilling it out.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

I just use an 1/8" NPT hose nipple in mine:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...html#Breathers

And if the old one breaks off, I have used a screw extractor, tapped into the existing center hole to remove the broken part. I like the tapered square profile extractors, have used them on broken grease fittings before. You can also apply some heat with a propane torch to the fitting to help break it loose.

Plumbrbob

maybe the rear axle is rusty from dunking a boat in the ocean , sounds like your onthe right path for extraction

mmcpeck

Yeah the PO had a weird custom bumper on it at one point with a hitch, he pulled it off and put an aftermarket original bumper back on, but the trailer wiring is still there.

So I'm assuming it was used to trailer a boat to the bay at some point and the rear diff has gotten dunked a few times and never rinsed, that's the only reason I can see that nothing else is rusted on the truck.

If you're not familiar with saltwater rust, it's a whole different animal, so as soon as I saw this diff breather all rotted out, I knew it would be tough to get out.

I will give it a shot, if it feels tough I am just gonna use the stub that's on there from the original breather and stick a vacuum hose on it.

I have found that when bolts/screws are rusted from saltwater and they break, that screw extractors don't work, because the broken part left behind is so fused and rusted in, that it won't turn at all, and the ONLY way to get it out is to drill it.

twitchee2

Yes i just popped the top part of the breather off then ran a hose up to my gas inlet. Then i just put a sponge over the end as a filter so crap wouldnt get in it.

mmcpeck

twitchee....was size/kind of hose did you use, also what did you use to hold it onto the little stub of the breather?

Jay351

I ran my rear extended breather like that for a few months. IT seemed to work okay, but there is harly anything to clamp to on the stub...

Kiroshu

If its that rusty with nothin else being it my not be the original axle.... is the diff leaking? if not then why are you messin with it?..... "Let that sleeping dog lay"

twitchee2

the biggest vacuum line i could find I think it was 1/4in, i just slid it on and threw a zip tie on it for good measure but i dont think it needed it. I was driving through about 2ft of water yesterday and it held up just fine.

mmcpeck

No I'm pretty sure it's the original diff, the PO was the original owner and he was nuts, he has a record of EVRYTHING ever done, I have a receipt for every damn oil change this thing has had. He told me about putting the aftermarket bumper on and that he wrecked the driver door and replaced it, so he would have probably told me about a new diff or definitely had a receipt for it.

I'm only messing with the breather because I noticed how rusty it was and when I tried to move it, it was rusted shut, so my diff wasn't breathing. Still can't believe what a crap design Toyota came up with for these breathers, and they are still using them.

So I tried to loosen the cap up and it popped right off, and I got a hiss out of it, not sure if it was positive pressure or vacuum, but the diff definitely wasn't breathing right, and I don't know for how long.

I don't see any leaks from seals, I got lucky with the seals, both drums are clean and have no gear oil in them. The only thing that does look like it's leaking is the center of the diff in the back????

Not the front where the driveshaft goes in, but the back of the diff, right under where the break line bracket attaches, which is also rotted in half, the bracket not the line.

The diff is wet with gear oil back there and metal is flaking off....and you can't mistake gear oil, it smells like nothing else.

Is it possible that the gear oil is leaking through the metal???? I always thought that it was pretty thick metal back there.

Kiroshu

Is your tranny leaking or your transfer case? if so it will blow back to axle.... if not then.. it could be from the front diff.... if not then you may be leakin ou the filler or drain plug.... that breather is not causing leaks... let it be(for now) is the rear end shaking or roaring? if not leave it alone...

mmcpeck

I may not be getting my point across here.....

The diff breather has nothing to do with the gear oil on the diff. The breather fell apart when I tried to loosen the cap up. I'm not gonna let it be, because it will suck water into my diff, that's the whole point of the breather mod.

The gear oil on the diff is in the back of the diff, on the raised part that the ring gear sits in. There is no oil in the fron of the diff, that would be blowing back from the front, the oil is on the back of the diff, it is an area that has no plug near it, the fill plug is 2 inches to the right of the wet spot.

The diff works fine, no vibration or noise, but I don't want to ignore something that will make it go bad. The school of thought, if aint broke don't fix it, is BS. If it aint broke yet, and you do nothing it WILL break soon.

I am just gonna clean up the diff, drain and re-fill and get a hose on the breather nipple....I'll take it from there.

Thanks.

Jay351

I bet the lack of a working vent pushed the gear oil past the seal.

Same thing happened to me. My rear diff leaked a few drops everynight for about a year. Then when I was checking out the rear breather I noticed it was imobile. So after removing the cap, and digging out what appeared to be a oil/sand/mud mixture with a screwdriver the leak disapeared.

I would just shove the hose over the end of the breather stub, use a hose clamp and get it nice and tight, then route the hose into the rear tailight.

I bet your leaks stop...

mmcpeck

Hey Jay, yeah I thought that maybe a seal had been compromised at first, but this oil is all over the back of the diff where there is no seal, so I'm not sure what would leak back there, unless it pushed past the front seal while driving and creeped up and over the diff from the air pushing it, the only thing is the front of the diff is as dry as can be and the axle seals didn't leak into the drums.

I will just clean all the oil off and see if I can spot a leak.

Thanks.

Jay351

Perhaps there is a hole that formed from rust on the housing. Knock down the rust with a wire brush and take a looksee