I finally fixed the severe oil leak at the input of my Spicer 5831B brownie (added to my dually '65 F-350, think the details are in the "Brownie Thread" in this forum). The yoke was quite badly grooved where the seal rides, so just a seal change wouldn't have fixed it. A #99249 Speedi-Sleeve ($36 on ebay, came in 2 days) was just the ticket. (The seal area is 2.491" diameter so the commonly stocked 99250 will be too big).

Anyhow, the info I can find online says the 5831 has an oil capacity of 4 pints, which of course is 2 quarts. I put 2 qts of 80W/90 in and the level was nowhere near the fill plug. It took almost another whole quart (total of 5 1/2 pints) before it started dripping out the fill hole.

Should I run it with only 2 quarts, or leave it full (up to the hole)?
Thanks.

 

every manual tranny/gearbox/axle I've ever ran get's filled up until it spills out the fill port. If this wasn't the case then how would you check the oil level.

I would just fill it up all the way and check every so often and make sure it stays full. Those gearboxes are loud if they're not filled all the way.

 

Good point... there's no other way to check the level

This box has always been noisy in OD at highway speeds (a rather annoying high-pitched whine which gets louder with more torque). Doesn't sound like bearing noise, so it may just be normal, or some gear tooth wear. It's perfectly silent in direct.