I have a Timken B150, 5.14 rear axle and do not plan to break it apart. It is currently off the frame. I did notice or could feel a lot of "grime" and "sludge" in the bottom of the differential. Any suggestions on flushing or cleaning it?

 

Sadly, it isn't going away on its own! On the advice of MTFlat, when I was doing my brakes I pulled the axle shafts out of my Dana 44, and scraped the junk out of the tubes. At least a handful on each side. On the Timken it's a little more involved to clean the diff case, but that grit won't be doing anything good to your bearings.

 

Thanks Ross. Well that's not very promising That's what I get for working on a dinosaur! I think once I get it on the road and driving it I will change the oil a couple of times, frequently while warm, and hopefully get most off the nastys out.

 

Well this maybe frowned upon, but I had a rear end that had gotten water in it. I mean it was full of water/oil mix. I drained that out and removed as much sludge as I could. Then I put the cover back on and filled it up with gasoline. Diesel would have been better but I had the bad gas. I had the rear raised up so I ran the car in drive at idle and let it all slosh around for 10-15 min. It actually did a good job. I still had to rebuild the rear end later because of the rust.

 

Oh my god! You did what! LOL I have been a Firefighter for 31 years and this is the kind of stuff that keeps me in business! More LOL Hey I have no doubt that it worked for ya, but I probably will not try this. I love the story though! Thanks for sharing Greg.

 

One of the big truck guys should chime in, but I dont think it's a big deal to split the Timken and clean it out right. Won't affect the ring/pinion settings. I'd avoid anything that will slosh the grit up into the bearings.

 

I think this is good advice.

 

 

Made an executive decision today! A decision I thought I would not make. Since the rear end has a large opening and the drain is at the very bottom of the housing, I decided to run gas through the unit at a slow rate. My goal was to remove the heaviest of the deposits. So by leaving the drain open I slowing poured gas into the fill opening. It immediately started flowing out the drain. It came out dark and I could tell I was getting some of the grime out. Probable ran 2 gallons trough before I stopped. I still plan to add, drain, and refill with oil a couple of times in succession after I get it on the road. This isn't a perfect process but it makes me feel a little better that the rear end is cleaner. I will report back when I get the truck on the road.

 

Wouldn't diesel fuel or kerosene have the same cleaning effect?

Did you turn the wheels to get the gears moving?

 

 

I think the last thing you want to do is get it "all over the gears". The goo had settled to the bottom, you don't want to spread it into the bearings. Might help to fish around in there with a magnet on a wire.

 

Pete you are a mess but cool video.
Dave keep plugging away.

 

That's to funny Pete! Would have been hard to explain to my fellow Firefighters if I blew up the shop

I did not turn the axle. Having researched the heck out of the subject, that's kind of the message I got. The fuel came out dark and some heavies did settle out of it. We'll see what happens when I fill it up with oil and head down the road!