Hey guys!
Well, finally got the parts and managed to get the diff. breather in. You'll have to excuse the pics - they're off a PDA digital camera, the only one I have access to at home



I have a couple of questions for those of you in the know...

Is it okay for the breather to be facing down? I can imagine some water getting stuck in that cap and running down the tubing. Fortunately, I have all 6 feet of tubing under the truck in loops so if I do get water in there it won't go far.

Also, why doesn't anyone use their stock breather instead of buying a new one? Mine looked just fine so I cleaned it up and put it back in

Here's another photo... our driveway

 

I think you're fine with the cap facing down. My original breather was trashed so I wouldn't have considered re-using it at all, but if yours was clean then there shouldn't be a problem with it.

 

Well, it is a little dirty and there's grime around the cap but it's still springy so I'm figuring that I'm still okay.

Anybody going to do theirs soon? Need a breather?

 

I used the stock breather. Hey that's a cool location! Nice work.

 

Dude, that's not a Type R breather. It's like throwing away 50 free HP! My only concern with running the breather upside down is that dust will settle in there and eventually clog it up. Also, some folks say to avoid having any loops, or even sags, in the breather line because of the possibility that water, dirt or diff fluid could become trapped in that low spot and interfere with the breathing.

 

Thanks! It took me a little while to figure out where I wanted it but I like it where it is now.

Yeah, I decided not to go for the type R. I don't think my rig is read to stand that type of boost. Just think, I might go to heavy out of a red light and charge out so fast I'm afraid all the bolts would break and I'd leave my bed and tailgate at the intersection

Unfortunately, there's no real way for me to get the breather to go upwards (short of drilling 2 small holes and using zip-ties). I'm hoping that the fuel door will be good against dirt. Hm. Maybe I should line it with some kind of rubber seal...

As for the loops, thanks for the info. I guess I'll be headed back under later today.

 

Peter,

While you're in Pismo, the Type R fairy (Tom, not me) might visit your breather and make it into Type R.

Bob

 

Did you just call Tom a fairy?

 

I think he did!

I never thought the Pope would ever use any inflammatory language!

 

Bob's the pope now?! Man, I'm gone for a weekend and look what I miss...

(edit) Just saw the post in staff.

 

Any chance of getting a pic of where the rear breather is located. I found the front diff. breather running up in the engine bay. Unless someone has a link to the breather mod. Also, where is the transfer case breather. Haynes manual sucks. thanks.

 

Why doesn't anyone just use a K&N filter instead of a breather? They make small ones that I see on people's engines where the PCV is.

 

Oh boy - another K&N/Amsoil debate...

 

Bob's got a nice write-up. Try:

http://www.4runners.org/articles/typerdiff/

 

I don't see how a K&N or Amsoil filter would make that much of an improvement over a stock breather.

 

I use a generic fuel filter that is routed up to the fuel filler area.

There are 2 reasons to do the diff breather mod.
1) The stock breather can get clogged and fail to seal all the way, allowing water to enter the diff when submerged.

2) The stock breather WILL seal fully when submerged. The diff will rapidly cool which will result in lower pressure inside the diff housing. This pressure difference will suck water in to the diff housing through the axle seals and pinion seal. If a clogged breather can blow diff oil out the seals, then it can suck water in the same way.

So it's actually better that the breather stays open like with a filter.

 

That rear breather is really low and I know I've submerged my axles several times. I'll be making the switch to synthetic for my TC and diffs this weekend. My brother is coming to town and were gonna flush his tranny and put synthetic in there as well.

 

Hey you should use Amsoil if you can. I just did the manual trans and rear diff on my 96 and was very happy with the results. I have 71K miles, and when I drained the rear diff, a little bit of sludge came out of there. I am very happy with the Amsoil oil, and very glad I did the fluid change!

 

Yeah, I'm using mobil1 right now. I'm trying to keep spending to a minimum cause I'm saving up to move to SoCal at the begining of next year. I have a feeling the mods will really start coming once I'm out there.

 

Yeah, watch out for that Bob character when you get to Cali.