waterproofing the drivetrain
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 11,945
Likes: 3
From: Spokane, WA
That's the biggest thing - the vents. If your seals are all in good shape they'll keep the water out and gear lube in. Check your wheel and spindle bearings on both axles to make sure they're packed with grease (repack them, I'd recommend buying a bearing packing tool if you don't have one). If you keep everything well greased it will keep the water out. This includes slipjoints and u-joints. Also make sure your hubs are sealed properly. If you get mud and sludge into them sometimes they'll stick and won't engage or disengage properly.
One more thing that some people will do if you play in a lot of DEEP water is to use a small onboard compressor and pipe low PSI air into the vent hoses on the axles when they're in water. This will keep it from passing the seals and contaminating your gear oil. You do need a regulator to be sure you don't over pressurize them and push the oil out past the seals. Usually 5psi is perfect. Unimog axles (heavy duty Mercedes 4x4's) are setup like this from the factory and it works great.
One more thing that some people will do if you play in a lot of DEEP water is to use a small onboard compressor and pipe low PSI air into the vent hoses on the axles when they're in water. This will keep it from passing the seals and contaminating your gear oil. You do need a regulator to be sure you don't over pressurize them and push the oil out past the seals. Usually 5psi is perfect. Unimog axles (heavy duty Mercedes 4x4's) are setup like this from the factory and it works great.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 6,214
Likes: 13
From: New Jersey
That's a great trick Ivan.. I've seen that done before. Though, make sure the intake on the small air compressor is as high as you can mount it. A friend of mine did this on his chevy, and ran the hose he added for the air intake of the compressor through the firewall, and up the windshield pillar to the inside of the roof. This way, with the huge amounts of splashing he did in deep water, it would always stay dry.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
Another cheap trick is to use a zip tie to put a baloon over the diff vent. There are bellows type covers specifically for this, but they are a bit pricey. Put the balloon on when everything is cold, and it will expand when everything heats up.
