The diff breather goes from the rear end to a crossmember just under the bed, so basically if you got it in water to frame height you should definitely change the fluid.

The breather is also just some rubber tubing and can easily be relocated with a longer piece of hose and you can mount it wherever you want to. Easiest thing to do is just drill a small hole in the corner of the bed and bring it up through and fasten it in the bed just under the bedrail.

 

^^ Agreed, this would be the easiest thing to do; no need to over think it.

A couple bottles of diff fluid is cheap compared to a rebuild.

 

Something tells me you needed shocks before this past weekend.

 

Ya I think so... I had a REALLY bouncy ride and couldn't keep the rear end down at all.

^^And yes I know the diff fluid definitely needs to be changed it has been awhile since I did it last. I was also going to pull the drums off and hit them with brake cleaner, is that necessary?

 

Purplecranium makes some nice breather vents

 

Hey brother, a little tip on breather hoses. If you use clear hose (lowes, depot, a-1) rather than the stock black factory hose, you can see if water has entered the diff. The black factory hose you cannot see if any tears ,punctures or abrasions has effected the hose and water has gotten past to the diff. Just attach the clear hose with a hose clamp. Also you can measure how much condensation you have by looking at the clear hose. Remember most fluids that are housed in a metal container ( both diffs and trans) need to have a vent line. Some what like Charles Law. Diffs and trans are hot when exposed to cold water (fording water or mud bogging) the abrupt temps variations can cause metal fatigue, breakage or warpage. I've seen damage done to others but i haven't experienced this myself. Besides the usual condensation.In this situation gas occupies more volume than liquid requiring vent hoses. When we pushed water up to half of our windshield (need to see) we also vented our power steering reservoir. The heat in our axles and trans wants to pull in that cold water. Axle seals sometimes allow water to seep in. Diff covers are easy to remove. God bless , Have fun

 

Good tip on the clear hose. Something simple that I never thought of. Thanks!

 

You got in that far with a 2wd? Almost makes up for that lower shock mount lol

 

Well I was going about 25mph when I hit the pit. I thought it was a small puddle. It didn't last very long. I am pretty sure that a 4wd would have gotten stuck as well because that mud was basically soup. The dirt here in Arizona doesn't see a lot of moisture so when it rains it gets really soupy.

^Thanks No_friends

 

Try midwest gumbo out sometime :lmao:

 

So what you guys are saying is that I probably should have checked my diff after this?

 

Hm. Learn somethin new every day. The good news is that I took it to a garage to have everything checked out before putting it into storage for a year and they said all the fluids, including the diff, were still fresh. Dodged a bullet there I guess!

 

All depends on how long you were under I spose :lmao:

 

I just drove straight through, so maybe 15 seconds. that could explain it.