diff parranoia (UPDATE)

[Wambat]

i am a little paranoid, after having a 60 which blew the rear diff and and tore apart my transfer case from a mistake of my own when fitting extended breathers, that i ingested some water in my 75 over thee week end, i have fitter breathers to the 75, but this time i did it properly, i used the same hose that they had on there to begin with, a hose clamp on the diffs, and some fuel filters on the other end, the breathers are up to the top of the tray. i didnt pinch any lines when running them either.

what i would like to know, short of opening the diffs, howi can check.

i will open the diffs asap, but at the moment i have no oil to put back into them if i do open them.

and cause i have only been driving the 75 for a few weeks i haven't quite learned all its noises, tonight on my way home from work i noticed that there is a slight whine from the gearbox, which i would sort of expect at arround the 330k mark??

also i noticed that the rear diff pinion is weeping, and that the front diffs transfer output is weeping,

would they just be normal wear and tear? and if i waited until the week end to pull them down would it be a problem?? if i had a decent work area with lights i would do it tonight, and i may do it tomorrow night at work just to make sure, do i only need to pull the plugs to drain the oil to check?? and if the oil is milky its had water.

if i drove another 40ks on it to work would it fuck it completely?remembering that its been driven home from the bush and then around a little so say maybe an extra 200ks already?

would the week end be ok? or is that to hard to answer?

[Matt_85Lux]

to check without dropping any oil just undo the filler plug and dip your little finger into the oil. You should know by looking at the oil on your finger if it has water in it or not

[Wambat]

yeah i did that just before, well i attempted to. some one previous to myself looks to of had some trouble getting the filler plug out, and it looks like they have drilled it and used an ezy out, as there is a wed in the middle that looks like it is plugging a hole, and the flats them selves have been ground so i think some one has fucked up that plug once before,

i didnt want to pull it out incase i stripped it and then couldnt put it back in, i will pull it out at work tomorrow as i shuld have a fitting there that could fit it.


man i wish i wasnt this paranoid about it.

[B.D.R]

I would'nt worry too much mate, a bit of water wont hurt too much.

A mate drove around for 6 month's with Milky oil in the Rear diff, of his Hilux , he was watching to see how long it took to blow .

Not knowing you're car, but i would not worry about a wine from the gear box, the old Drill rig's gear box was as noisy as 2 Skeletons fighting over a hub cap .

Just wait till Saturday and have a look

[Wambat]

i hope so, i couldnt go through this again, especilly not now, i have made things a little tight with cash, so am in a bad possition if any thing major goes wrong, a couple of week should see me right enough to deal with most, and a month or so ill b good, but this week, i would be screwed.

the diff input shaft(pinion??) has no up or down play and only about 10mm rotational play, which would just be the mesh of the gears. i dont think i done anything, but cause it happend to the last cruiser i am very very paranoid!!!!

last time the whole expense came to 5 grand, and thenit happend again so i had to flog it off.

[Wambat]

ok, so i just drove to the girlfriends place, and i thought of something that i didnt think of earlier. i dont know about other 75 series utes, but i assume they are the same as mine in the regards that they whistle while driving, i get wind noise through some seal ot another on the doors and or roof, so i open the left hand side little window and it stops, but cause it was open i think i was hearing tyre whine and mistook it for gearbox whine,

how ever i will still check out everything to be safe than sorry, but the way it feels it is ok, i so hope any way

[dogbreath_48]

One would expect pinion and output shaft seals to be weeping after that many km, as well as some gearbox whine - esp in 5th. Don't let it stress you out.

So long as they're not making too much of a mess and you don't let them run dry, it's really nothing to worry about.

A little water in a diff isn't too much of a worry, especially if the vehicle isn't left to sit for extended periods. Replace it when you get the chance.

Curious - how did a mistake during breather installation fark up your 60's diff?

[Wambat]

i used the standard end on the breathers, which after i blew a rear diff for the second time i took off and blew through it to find it was a one way valve and not really a filter, so it would alow air out but not in, so after one long stay in a bog hole it ust have sucked a heap of water in and ad heat to clay water and boom i got grease which flung its self off the geas and blew the diff.

but that was diff only, the first time it took the tranfer with it, and cause of that seal between transfer and geabox they wouldnt give it a waranty untill i recoed the gearbox too.

so this time used better hose and fuel filers, that should do the trick.

i was contimplating using hydraulic hose from work, but figured that would be over kill, but atleast i could hang my fourby by it!!!

[Wambat]

ok so i checked when i got home tonight, got a new bung, skinned my knuckles getting the old one out(would you have it any other way??)

and all is good, rear diff oil could do with a change. but is still ok.

[blade 929]

just for future reference remember oil will sit on top of water , so if the car has been stationary for a little bit just pull the drain plug out for a quick second with the fill plug still in (helps slow the oil flow) and see if any watery fluid comes out . the amount of oil drained to see will not require you to top it up if you only drain about 100mls.

and also remember although all is fine atm (lucky you ) with the oil seals leaking will render your breathers useless till the leaks are fixed as the water will get in where the oil is getting out when you play in the mud etc .

my work 75 makes that many rattles and noises i would be more concerned if it all went silent

cheers Jai

[dogbreath_48]

my work 75 makes that many rattles and noises i would be more concerned if it all went silent

i'm with you there!

[bru21]

to check without dropping any oil just undo the filler plug and dip your little finger into the oil. You should know by looking at the oil on your finger if it has water in it or not

yeah, warm her up, put your finger in the hole, check for signs of lubricant. You can tell if she's wet or not from there.

[Wambat]

thanks fellas.

she hasnt been sitting around much, as the morning of the after noon i got her regoed, i wrote off my daily, so at the moment she is my daily, and so the water would have gotten quit well mixed through, enough to change it milky, but i am going to drop the oil as i think its a bit old and change it this week end,

how hard a job is it to re seal the pinions? hard to get them out? i got a good seal place to go through from working at a hydraulic place(we use alot of seals)

[blade 929]

thanks fellas.

she hasnt been sitting around much, as the morning of the after noon i got her regoed, i wrote off my daily, so at the moment she is my daily, and so the water would have gotten quit well mixed through, enough to change it milky, but i am going to drop the oil as i think its a bit old and change it this week end,

how hard a job is it to re seal the pinions? hard to get them out? i got a good seal place to go through from working at a hydraulic place(we use alot of seals)

easy , undo shaft , undo pinion nut remove flange pull out seal , install new seal after cleaning surfaces reinstall flange than reinstall nut making sure it goes back to where it was reinstall shaft top up diff oil . take vehicle for test drive to car dealer and trade in on a nissan

cheers Jai

[Wambat]

hey guys,

so it gets worse, i thought all was ok, had taken the bung out and the oil looked old but ok. so now the new drama, today on the way home from work, i notice that there is a new vibration i can feel and hear, so i took the bung out again and had a look again (both times had been in less than ideal lighting) but this time i had a decent torch, and in the bright white light of my led torch i could notice that nice metallic tinge that we hate to have in our diff oil..... so as of tonight the 4wd is off the road, which is a very very bad thing for me, ass i now have gone from two cars to zero cars. the 75 has done about 350 ks since i last checked the oil and in total about 600 since it was off road, and i am sort of inclined to think that it was possibly on its way out from just normal wear and tear, but then again the oil level is quite high, which i dont think would have happend when it was filled, so maybe it did suck in a gut full of water.

as i cant start ringing wreckers until tomorrow, and would like to know, if any one has half an idea what a second hand diff would cost. i know a recoed lsd is worth around 1200, but i am also slightly worried that the gearbox/transfer could have been damaged buy the diff.

i have been through this before, and i am highly annoyed at myself for getting into the position again, especially as last time it cost 5 gs to get the diff gearbox and transfer all recoed.


no one happens to just have a 75 series read diff center just laying around do they lol.....

thanks guys,

[ZUKPOWER]

hey guys,

so it gets worse, i thought all was ok, had taken the bung out and the oil looked old but ok. so now the new drama, today on the way home from work, i notice that there is a new vibration i can feel and hear, so i took the bung out again and had a look again (both times had been in less than ideal lighting) but this time i had a decent torch, and in the bright white light of my led torch i could notice that nice metallic tinge that we hate to have in our diff oil..... so as of tonight the 4wd is off the road, which is a very very bad thing for me, ass i now have gone from two cars to zero cars. the 75 has done about 350 ks since i last checked the oil and in total about 600 since it was off road, and i am sort of inclined to think that it was possibly on its way out from just normal wear and tear, but then again the oil level is quite high, which i dont think would have happend when it was filled, so maybe it did suck in a gut full of water.

as i cant start ringing wreckers until tomorrow, and would like to know, if any one has half an idea what a second hand diff would cost. i know a recoed lsd is worth around 1200, but i am also slightly worried that the gearbox/transfer could have been damaged buy the diff.

i have been through this before, and i am highly annoyed at myself for getting into the position again, especially as last time it cost 5 gs to get the diff gearbox and transfer all recoed.


no one happens to just have a 75 series read diff center just laying around do they lol.....

thanks guys,

metallic tinge is fine, its metallic chunks that are of a concern. Just change the oil and fix your seals (or stay out of the mud) and she'll be fine. My rear diff oil started off with a metallic tinge and then turned to a nice chocolate colour last time i drained it

[Wambat]

am going to get it to my mechanic on saturday if i can, i am not willing to drive it again, as i just cant beat to do as much damage as i did last time, will drain it with him(he is only aboout 5 ks from home, i dont think that will hurt it any more than its already been hurt) but thenn again lol.

i feel just as stupid as i think i was when i was 19(am only turning 24 lol) feel like a tool....

Al

[Weiner]

Gearbox and transfer should be fine, drop the oil in them and see.

All you need is the crownwheel and pinion, shouldn't cost you $1200.

[Wambat]

every time i have seen a crown wheel and pinion they have ben a set for 1000, so yeah.

well we will see on saturday when i pull it apart.

the oil in the gearbox had a very good colour to it so i couldnt see it being contaminated

[RAY185]

Man, I think you're over reacting a tad. Just change the oil and the pinion seal and keep driving it. Worst case if and when it actually fails is grab a second hand centre from a good wrecker or even better, someone off here. They are easy to find as any 40/60/75/80 rear centre will fit and should not cost you anything over $300 in my humble opinion. Don't bother paying extra for LSD either, complete waste of time.

[Wambat]

yeah i know i am over reacting, but i can only say that it is cause of my experience in the past that has me doing so.

like i said, i will drop the oil, and go see my mechanic, i would prefer to open up the diff, and see the wear and to have his opinion, i just dont want to risk it binding so badly like it did in the 60 where it tore teeth out of the transfer.

[B.D.R]

Pull you're axles, take the centre out, then have a look at it.

You will soon see if the diff's lost a couple of teeth, at the very least it will save some coin.

IF you need a new centre, put a locker in it, because $1200 for an Toyota LSD is a massive waste of money, the old Boss paid about the same for the Drill rig and like i've said it lasted a couple of week's

[hulsty]

If your in trouble with the centre I can help you out with a second handie non LSD unit. Wont be available till next week though. In melbourne too. I'd go with everyone elses recommendations and just change the oil and drive it!! My old centre was abit iffy, lasted a year before I pulled it out.

[Wambat]

got a second hand center for it today, non lsd, center looks good, has no wear, no visable cracks or stresses, will be putting it in on saturday with my mechanic,

i dont have the coin to put a locker in with this center, but it does mean i will have a spare center in which to put a locker when i do have the cash, the big question with that is to do with what type of locker lol,
i am an auto locker fan but i am also a fan of the detroit which is kinda costly aswell, and if i do get that done, are the front and rear diffs interchangeable, or do the diffs them selves have the gears in them to make them spin the right way?? or is that done in the transfer case.
if the front and rear are interchangeable, what would be best? rear or front, remembering i am a fan of auto lockers. although i have considered a air for front, but am not to sure as yet.

[Wambat]

hey guys,

so i put the diff in today, old one looked just as good if not better, had no teeth missing, but had little particles(or which i have yet to work out where it is from) in the oil, i also checked the front and the transfer( i had checked the gearbox already) all was good, transfer oil was a little dirty, so i changed that.

but now, i have a center that i can lean and then have rebuilt with a locker, so its all good any ways.

Al

[Wambat]

ha, the dramas continue, i knew i should have given the 75 a birthday when i bought it(changed all filters and fluids) cause on sunday morning it decided, i dont like my oil filter, and blew the can out of its top section, i dont know if it was to full of shit, but that would be my guess, but having seen the filter it isnt great but i wouldnt have expected it to blow.

any ways now has a new filter and oil, just as well i had both on me at the time, i was planing on doing it on sunday any way just not in the street at the girlfriends laying in oil.

what i would like to know is, what oil pressure should it be running at? am thinking of running a real gauge that shows me the actual pressure, and not just high and low.

i would still keep the stock one though.

[Yom]

some said earlier that you should take it to the dealer and trade it in on a nissan.

sounds like a good idea right about now

[RAY185]

2H diesel motor? Pretty common problem on them. Replace the oil pressure relief valve at the front of the motor. Get the parts from Toyota, they are cheap enough (I think its under $20 for the valve and spring). Do it before you blow another filter or cause other problems. Not sure on what oil pressure they run but 60 psi at around 3000rpm rings a bell for some reason. Someone else might have more accurate info.

[Wambat]

not willing to trade it, as i wont get a ute for it, and ill just have to deal with the same things eventualy.

cheers ray, will check that out,

thanks fellas