Did something stupid (1 Viewer)

[jchoop]

Feel free to skip this backstory to get to the nitty gritty. So went for what I was hoping was a routine weekend camping getaway and came back with a leaking front axle/diff. Headed for Great Sand Dunes National Park in CO and all the recent posts regarding the 4x4 trail said the creek crossing were extremely low due to low snow pack. Which was true, except for the last one which definitely submerged the axles. I figured two crossings would hurt (in and out). Still being new to the wheeling world, I hadn’t known too much about the breather situation other than that they existed and people who wheel have extensions. Didn’t think of doing any of this at the time before the trip and when doing the last crossing, which while deep, I knew was not as high as my intake, which was my only concern at the time, rookie mistake I know. Anyway after a couple days of camping, minimal driving at slow speeds, and no noticeable leaks we took the 4 hour drive home. Got home noticed the drips under the front and saw a very leaking axle.


So basically, submerged axle in water crossing plus a long drive home and now I see the front axle is very leaky, mostly around the diff to axle gasket. No leaks in rear, but plan to flush and refill diff. First step for me was going to be top off the oil, go power wash the axle and get back home and see if I can identify an exact location.


My question is, one, is there any specific inspections anyone can recommend I make to identify the issue and any further damage. Or two, would this be a good time to just rebuild the axle as I know interior seals between diff and knuckle can blow from this situation. Would be my first rebuild, but don’t need the LC for a while and this would be a good learning experience if needed that I could take my time on.


Any information and minimal insults to a newbie enthusiast would be appreciated. Thanks all!

 

[BILT4ME]

First, drain the differential oil. That will be the best indicator of what's really going on. If you have a lot of water intrusion then you need to get the water out of the ASAP. If that has water, then odds are your knuckle have water too as well as your wheel bearings.

Next, extend your breather line on the front with about 6 ft of 1/4" fuel hose and a 1/4" fuel filter routed up by the brake booster. Make sure your line fitting is clear all the way into the housing. Unscrew it and check it from both ends.

Stick a zip tie into the fill port on the knuckle balls to check the quality and quantity of the grease in there. If milky or runny, it's time to go through it to get out the water.

 

[ppc]

Do what BILT4ME says for elimination of bad effects of water intrusion. That said, fording through water is is not going to be the primary cause of your axle housing to diff leak as you describe it. I think a couple of pictures would help diagnose your problem. Did you make any contact with obstacles and the diff? Check the nuts and studs on the diff to make sure they are tight and undamaged.

 

[Comet]

Geeze! I thought this was going to be a story about hookers, alcohol, tattoo's, and jail time. Sounds minor in the grand scheme of things. Bilt is spot on. Have fun with the front axle rituals. There's plenty of info here to walk you through. Plenty of great vendors here to outfit you with the proper parts too. Pictures or video of the water crossing would feed our mutual sickness of cruiser oogling too.

 

[jchoop]

Thanks for advice and words of encouragement all! I will drain, check, and get some pictures up soon. Didn’t strike the axle or diff on anything, pretty tame trail other than the water. Did do a quick check of loosness on the drain plugs and surrounding area fasteners, nothing seems to have rattled loose. My thought process for the leak, as I have heard from other threads, is that if water gets in the diff and heats up, the built up pressure could blow out seals and gaskets. Made sense to me at the time, but I just assume it would have escaped back out the breather. Thoughts on this line of thinking?



I bought the LC from someone with fairly extensive service records, and no axle service stood out to me when I looked through them. With 295K, I am thinking axle service is due regardless. Thanks again.

 

[Tools R Us]

if it's due for a change, change it. If not remove the fill plugs, if it has significant water, will pour out. If needed stick a finger in to sample the oil, if white-ish, has water mixed in, change, if not good to go. Would also pop the drive plate caps to check for water, if it's in there, likely is also in the bearings, needs a clean and grease repack job.

 

[subzali]

Agree with Tools. I did those crossings last month and did more this past weekend up on Argentine. Toy axles are pretty well sealed; I’ve never much worried about it except check it periodically. My front pinion seal did start to leak though so there’s that.

 

[jchoop]

First, drain the differential oil. That will be the best indicator of what's really going on. If you have a lot of water intrusion then you need to get the water out of the ASAP. If that has water, then odds are your knuckle have water too as well as your wheel bearings.

Next, extend your breather line on the front with about 6 ft of 1/4" fuel hose and a 1/4" fuel filter routed up by the brake booster. Make sure your line fitting is clear all the way into the housing. Unscrew it and check it from both ends.

Stick a zip tie into the fill port on the knuckle balls to check the quality and quantity of the grease in there. If milky or runny, it's time to go through it to get out the water.

Hey, sorry took so long to get around to this. So i did drain the front diff, as well as the transfer case and rear diff. All in all fluid looked ok. Been about 9 months since the last fluid change and looked consistent with regular oil wear. Never saw water intrusion first hand, but based off some pics and descriptions, it did not look to have the milky white people spoke of, and definitely not the melted milk shake look i saw in far worse examples. So i think I'm ok as far as that goes. Put all new fluid in all 3, cleaned off all the caked on gunk real well from front axle, oil pan, and everywhere else i saw and could reach in that area. Took for a short drive pulled back in over some clean cardboard and identified the drip. It is indeed coming from differential gasket at the bottom of the connection. i can see clearly now that the existing gasket is brittle and chipping away.

Reading around it seems like the Toyota FIPG is the way to go to reseal. I also tried to find if i can just pull the diff away just enough without removing the axles to get a good bead of sealant in. Found a few murmurs on the topic, but couldn't find if any one had success with this. Any thoughts? don't really have to cash or time at the moment for a full axle rebuild.

 

[-Spike-]

I can't imagine you'd be able to pull the diff out far enough to clean the surfaces and/or get a bead in there without pulling the axles. However, I've never tried it. I did have the same issue, and pulled the axle apart to seal the diff with Permatex FIPG, no issues since.