Diff Breather chances of water...
 

So i was mudding the other day...

I did some big mud/water holes. I was with a 3rd gen, member 98 SR5. He wasnt attempting the big holes and i askes him why. He said he didnt want his differentials to take on water. So i began thinking. At one point i had to put it in 4Low to get out of a pretty steep pit. My axel was definately under the mud/water. What are the chances that my diff breathers got water into them??

Thanks,
Mike

depends, open it up and see what it looks like. flush it if nessassary. then do the Diff breather extention...

I have been in some pretty deep water (above the bottom of the bumper) and not got any water in there yet. The breather is there to accomodate temperature changes. IMHO, if the temp of the diff is not too high, the breather won't open, and you won't get water in. Since I am usually putting around in 4Low for a bit before entering the water, the diffs are probably not very hot. That being said, I will be doing the breather extension shortly. That reminds me - I need to search on here and see what size fittings I need...

You can remove the filler plug and stick your finger in there to check for water. I recommend adding extensions. They are easy to install, cheap, and most of all, better safe than sorry.

The one time I was in deep water for any length of time (15 minutes) I did get a bit of water in my rear diff.

The diff breather is a fun mod. This is the walkthrough that I found most helpful, by Rob Perin of WATTORA. I did my entire mod for $7.70. The mount point for my breather is different than most, but a friend of mine did his in the same manner and I was pleased with it:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/4...6102BZt3DNszY4
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/4...6102BZt3DNszY4

Thanks Everyone, once the warm weather gets a bit warmer (it sucks not having a winter this year) I will get to doing my mods, including the diff breather. I was just worried because it was right after i was in some water, and my buddy brought it up. Thanks for the help!

Did you check the diffs and they were OK? I understand waiting for warmer weather to do the mod, but you really don't want to be driving around with compromised lubrication in your diffs...

ya, if you got water in there, CHANGE IT IMMEDIATELY. water is not a lubricant, and will destroy your differential, fast.

use a clean container and drain the gear oil. if there are signs of water, replace with fresh gear oil. if not, and gear oil is still good, then you can reuse it.

Yeah, i'll check after school...
Thanks

honestly, since its pretty easy, after every run where i run through deep water i drain the oil to check for water, since the water will settle to the bottom, if no water comes out, i put the plug back in before all the gear oil drains out and then i top it off.

it takes a couple minutes per diff and its cheap insurance. despite what anyone says, no rig is 100% waterproof. the diff breather extensions are definitely good ideas, but they are not a substitute for regular maint

yeah, i agree with you napoleon, i guess i should start doing that, i checked today, no water, thank god...How long would it take for the water to start screwing with the gears? And i only did the rear, i dont know if i should do the front, i didnt even think about it, I seems that wouldnt get water in the front as easily as in the back...
anyway, thanks for the good advice

depending on how much water you got in there... if just a splash it probably wont do much. if you dunked the diff in there and got even half an inch of water in there, that water will mix with the oil very quickly and start causing damage very fast

I searched the maintenace section for more detail on checking and servicing differentials. Anyone know of a write-up? I browsed 4x4wire too.
thanks

water really wouldnt do that much damage to the gears, some surface rust mostly. the bearings on the other hand would get pitted and rough and then sloppy, thats when the gears start wearing unevenly and head south.

Worked on the diff breather mod yesterday, and have a new answer to the "diff breather chances of water" question....

No chance if the breather was rusted shut like mine was! When I took off the rear breather, you could hear the pressure being relieved. I figured I would change the diff oil while I was at it. Put in Redline Heavy Shockproof - that's some sticky stuff!

For those of you with second gens, replacing the front breather is some kind of sick twisted joke. There is just enough room for you to think it's possible, but not enough for it to be really possible. I just left the rusted shut one in and put it on my list to be done when the diff is dropped for lockers/gears...

i checked mine on the front last week. it too was sealed, but due to grease and crap, not rust. i tried blowing air through it, no beans. i put it in a vice, moved the cap around with some pliers, got some air go to through it. cleaned it up good. now it works fine. checked the other one, air went right through that one. i should do a diff breather, but eh... i'm too lazy. one day.

oh ya, it's nice having a solid axle :D

I just did the diff mod the other day and like you said TC it is hard to do but is possable as is - however frusterating, but doable.... Just gotta try harder....