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The gear oil was drained(I loosened the third from the housing and let it spew out) and refilled after I found the leak at the seal on the front axel. Stayed parked under the shed at the house once we found the leak and got driven occasionally. I put oil in the front twice after the leak was found. Didn't need much the second time. That was about 2months before Keith got it from me. Drove about 300miles (home from bham, to Montgomery and back twice) after the rock smack with no issues or noise. It did sit for nearly 6-7months with less than 30miles driven but when I drove it the only issue was flat spotted tires. Shoot me a PM when you get a chance. Nick

-Edit-
Gear oil was changed once before I smacked the rock too. Probably a day after I went down the creek/river near my house.

Both times I changed it it wasn't milky. Smelled
Like rank death but wasn't overly contaminated.
 
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Bomar said:
Why loosen the diff....There is a drain plug for the diff..
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There is a drain plug for the diff??? :hmm:... The Bolts on the housing were hand tight* and it was leaking from around the diff itself*. I cracked it open and let it drain completely. Wiped it up and snugged everything back together and poured gear oil in. Drove it for about 10-15 miles(much like the last time*) with the hubs locked in to see if I had bent anything/jarred anything significantly that wasnt noticeable from an exterior inspection. Diff wasnt leaking but had a seep from the bottom of the housing*. Checked it periodically over the course of the next 5-6 months after driving 2-3 miles to the grocery store and back. There was a seep but no actual leak.

*There was a seep from the bottom of the diff when I got it home from birmingham after I bought it. I tightened everything up that was loose, the ride down @70mph seemed to have loosened the bolts on the front housing, the drive shaft bolts, and the rear housing. When the diff started leaking bad(after I smacked the rock at Grey Rock and replaced the control arm) I had driven for about 10 miles with the hubs locked in(in 2wd) and made a tight turn in a parking lot(where I realized the hubs were locked from the clicking/poping). I didnt know if the jarring from the locker/hubs being engaged might have caused the leak*

Nick
 
That's weird about the front shaft bolts and diff loosening, I daily drove it for years with the manual with no issues. I had just replaced rear u-joints to get rid of a new vibe that had loosened the rear shaft on me, but the front doesn't spin with the part time case.
 
bhmmapping said:
That's weird about the front shaft bolts and diff loosening, I daily drove it for years with the manual with no issues. I had just replaced rear u-joints to get rid of a new vibe that had loosened the rear shaft on me, but the front doesn't spin with the part time case.
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Tightened the bolts three times over 10+ months and two times after wheeling. The truck tracked perfect and never wandered when the sway was connected up front and didn't vibrate horribly. From what I understand the factory tq specs on the housings is baby grip tight so that was a non-issue. Only mentioned to illustrate why I opened the case by pulling back the third member.

The drive shaft bolts being lose after the drive home may have occurred from vibration or some other unknown reason. I checked them after each wheeling trip and they were tight.

Front and rear housings seeped from day one but I never put RTV or went hulk on tightening the nuts on the studs so it was a check and fill to be cautious situation.

Either way, any mention was for informational purposes and since I forgot there was drain plugs on the front housing...must have thought I was working on a Chrysler 8.25...and not the gold rig.

Nick
 
Front diff could be dry and it wouldn't matter because it isn't spinning unless it's in 2wd, but I never noticed it seeping. Like I said in the other thread...good news that the diff oil was changed diligently. That means the internals shouldn't be rusty. 80's don't like to sit, that is for sure.
 
Hey, previous owners, settle down. You're pissing in the wind if you're trying to piss further than me. It's my determination that the difs were both loose because it was holding the ENTIRE motor/tranny/xfer in place... my bet now is that both pinion bearings are SHOT. It's also my belief that is why both drive shafts are seemingly stuck.... but the evidence is that the dif was loose even when Keith got it. It's still leaking now. Obviously, the rear puked half a cup out of the pinion when I took the drive shaft off. They were holding an Entire drive train! They gone be loose regardless of 2 or 4 WD...

My frustration isn't so much the truck condition more than the idea... it's not what I thought. It's my seventh 80 and honestly, I don't like a manual. The idea is cool. But it sucks in traffic, it sucks on the trail. I have only driven down a double track but I can already tell, it's lost why an 80 excels on the rocks. Only thing that MAY save this setup is a crawl box. But as it sits now, it's just a novelty. And in no way can I DD it with this lift on it. Hurts my feeble back to try to jump into it every time.
At this point it's going to just take time to go through EVERYTHING... cause I don't trust a single thing on it at this point.
 
Bee Tee Dubya, it's back at the motor-house tonight...

It's obviously me ya'll.... look at the pic... very familiar sight of mine.

 
I bet you will learn to like the manual more once you get used to it. I can't stand the automatic, especially offroad. Even in traffic I get bored with it, working the clutch gives you something to do.
 
bhmmapping said:
I bet you will learn to like the manual more once you get used to it. I can't stand the automatic, especially offroad. Even in traffic I get bored with it, working the clutch gives you something to do.
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trade me.
 
I would be too. It's nice.
This manual is not a DD. The 35's make it whine out on the interstate... 65 is TERRIBLE.
 
I didn't think it was too bad, it was fine on 37s. Part of it its the exhaust. Part of it is the hole in the floor. The skid plate amplifies it., I left it off most of the time.

Lemme clean out the garage and well fix some of the small stuff. It needs a new crossmember with.some bushing style mounts.
 
Matt is the floor dyna matted? That made a world of difference in the sound deadening in mine also new carpet around the gear shifter.

Eric you can try out the toybox at the ride in February as long as you promise not to brake my truck too.
 
BamaPaul said:
Matt is the floor dyna matted? That made a world of difference in the sound deadening in mine also new carpet around the gear shifter.

Eric you can try out the toybox at the ride in February as long as you promise not to brake my truck too.
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No dynamat. I'll prolly bedline it THEN dynamat it... double up on the deadening.

I'll drive it ONLY if I can break it. When we meeting up? I'll come up there if I need to and do it myself. Name the time.
 
BamaPaul said:
I am gonna try and start on it saturday if I can get my finish work done on the kitchen cabinets before then.
Click to expand...

Don't make me come up there... LOL.
No really. I'll come up and pull it off if I need to. I have nothing else better to do. It's only my birthday.
 
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