so last night was crawling under the truck checking stuff out after i noticed that something ripped my trailer harness off i noticed that the breather tube was broken off flush with the barbed end. i am not sure how long it has been broken off but i can only assume that it has been for awhile. we recently had alot of rain and i was driving through alot of standing water in town. i also drive alot of gravel doing farm chores and for my daily commute.

after driving 20 miles or so the rear end gets hot to the touch, you can hold your hand on it for about a second before it gets too hot. I also have had a stored vss code for the last 3 scans and it is starting to cause hard shifts and some speedo bounce.

i am wondering if i should change the rear gear oil, it is pretty fresh from redoing rear seals maybe 15 thousand miles on it but at the same time if i have water and dirt contamination in the oil i surely dont want it in there either, priority 1 is definitely fixing the vent tube, replacing trailer wiring and fixing the park brake cable that snapped

 

If the rear axle was submerged enough to cross the wheel seals or the barbed fitting, drop the fluid. Rear end overhaul is way more expensive than 2 quarts or so of gear oil.

 

Yup, ideally you should change out gear oil any time an axle has been submerged. Cheap insurance. Checking axle bearings (greased bearing, like the front) is also a good idea.

 

If you think it's contaminated based on where you've driven and not knowing how long ago the breather fitting busted off, then change it. It certainly can't hurt anything, plus you can inspect the VSS tone ring while you're in there.

 

I used a piece of Silicone Tubing, hose clamps and a Cleanable K&N filter and routed up and around so it hung upside down on mine.

 

No brainer. Pull the cover and take a look

 

pulling cover for inspection this weekend, from what ive read on the web its just regular old 1/4 inch tubing on a barbed hose end.

local parts store has royal purple and lucas, occasionally they get redline as well which one should i get?

also is it normal for the rear end to get too hot to touch, obviously its going to heat up i know but it seemed really warm, then again i dont crawl under vehicles after i drive them to feel the differential real often lol

 

If you do find that its contaminated, drain out the old oil then refill to the proper level with diesel fuel. Put the truck on jack stands then run it in gear for a few minutes to slosh the diesel around a bit. Drain the diesel out and if it looks kinda milky, repeat until you get clean fuel back out. Once you get clean fuel out, Let it drain out over night and refill with the proper gear oil. With any luck you didn't run it long enough to do any damage to the bearings or gears. Good luck!

 

well im not entirely sure anything is in the oil, i just have enough suspicions to change it.

on another note i got some royal purple max gear oil in 75w90, of course the parts guy (he is known for being a putz) had the wrong sticker on the bottles, thought it was going to be 10 bucks a quart but was 18 when i looked at the receipt, oh well

 

Yes it's just regular tubing for the vent. If you drive where the axle might get dunked under water then just extend all your vent tubes. I have my axle vents at the top of the wheel wells. If I get in over that its time to change the oil anyway cause even with the vents, water can seep past the oil seals. Also be sure to service your front hubs and bearings after every swim.