Houston floods with an LX - Diff fluid change? (1 Viewer)

[radman]

I'm not sure how much media coverage it got, but Houston shut down yesterday with moderate flooding (8 inches of rain in an hour). I didn't plan on leaving work, but the kid's school lost power, so I ventured out to get them.

Man, I love the AHC system! I put it in High mode and didn't have any issues getting through flooded streets. I was able to use the front camera to see how deep the water was and eventually made it to my kids (the water never got above my camera). I lost count of the number of stalled/flooded cars i passed in the 2 mile commute. RIP Chevy Volt, X5, expedition, Audi's....

Few questions.
1) Obviously, water cant get in your intake, and i wouldn't want it coming in through the doors, but how deep would water have to be for you to be concerned?
2) is it time to change the differential fluids?

 

[mxtaco48]

If you went through relatively deep water, not just a couple inches, change your diff fluid.

I’m from the Beaumont area and used my 3/4 ton Chevy to evac my grandparents to the woodlands. Unfortunately I flooded out near Cleveland so now I’m looking at 200 series as a replacement. I swear... I didnt Plan for it to flood.

 

[ElJayBird]

I think it’s pretty tough to flood the diffs unless it’s really cold water but it wouldn’t hurt to change it anyhow as a precaution.

From what I understand, it’s when the diffs are hot and then rapidly cooled that can creat suction, pulling water past the seals. But I think it takes a bit to actually achieve this.

But a fluid change is cheap and would give you peace of mind.

 

[bloc]

Toyota uses a great diff breather with a diaphragm built in that effectively seals them from water, for a time anyway. I crossed the animas river in Colorado that was definitely above the level of my rear breather. I pulled the fill plug after some miles to see whether there was any evidence of water. None.

A few thousand miles later I changed the diff fluid on my normal schedule and again it was completely normal.

I’m definitely not in the “absolutely change it” camp. I’d pull the rear fill plug (much easier to get to and less chance of stripping the head) to look for evidence of problems. Will only cost you a $1 plug gasket.

But grease your driveshafts for sure.

 

[Softride62]

thank god I have a LC..it took me 2 hours!!! to get from the Galleria area to Cy-Fair through the river-streets...saw plenty of stalled cars along the way , crazy rain. I can see how the AHC would be even better sit makes the veh slightly higher than the LC. Good advice on the fluid changes.. I'm due for an oil change anyway., so might as well play it safe, plus I have 179K on the clock now...

 

[Cruisin911]

Like mentioned above, don't do just the diff fluid. Make sure and re-grease every zerk fitting on both driveshafts.

 

[mooneywa]

I went through some fairly deep water during the May storms and didn't see any signs of water. Unless it was really prolonged, I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[tominboise]

Do you think the water was deep enough to cover the axles? If so, I'd probably change the diffs and perhaps the t case, along with greasing the drivelines. It doesn't cost much in time or money, for a one time event. Peace of mind and all that.

 

[CLHickman]

Do you think the water was deep enough to cover the axles? If so, I'd probably change the diffs and perhaps the t case, along with greasing the drivelines. It doesn't cost much in time or money, for a one time event. Peace of mind and all that.

My Videos: Changing the oil in the front/rear diffs and transfer case

So I hit 90,000 miles last week, and it was time to service my front and rear differentials, and my transfer case. I searched YouTube, but there were no instructional videos exclusive to the 200 series. So....I decided to make my own. Hopefully you guys will find them helpful. Keep in mind, I...

forum.ih8mud.com

@MScruiser has thankfully provided a how-to for this. I believe if you get it done at the dealership it will be around $300.