Water in my axle and t-case! HELP!
From : carl saiyed
Q: wheeling this weekend in a place off river road for those who live in the seattle area - 167. i got into some serious mud/water a few feet deep. deep enough to cover the hood of my 80 ramcharger with a 2.5 lift on 31s. the hood was only covered when the front end into a dip/rut. anyway this turned the front axle dana 44 lube into a brownish milkshake. the rear diff managed to not get any water inside. at fluid appears ok. havent checked the transfer case out yet - is it sealed the t-case does make a pretty good grinding when going from 2hi to 4hi while in motion. goes smoothly into 4hi when stopped. makes a light grinding when in 4lo and moving after stopping and shifting into 4lo. i had to drive about 30 miles after the water after a few miles in 4x4 to get out of where i was. i drove the 30 miles in 2hi with hubs unlocked. even though i was in 2hi with free hubs the front driveshaft was still clunking pretty good when i would let off the gas and coast. the front driveshaft turns back and fourth between 1/8 and 1/4 of a turn. lots of slop. bad i pulled the cover drained wiped out and cleaned the front axle. i sprayed the crap out of everything with b-12 chemtool and then wiped out all the crud. let it air dry. after i blew the entire inside out with compressed air. after that i refilled the front axle ran it on jack stands in 4hi w/locked hubs for about 20 minutes at about 25mph. pulled the cover again drained the new fluid out and wiped the excess out. blew the rest out with compressed air. put the cover back on havent re-filled it yet waiting for gasket sealer to cure. what is the clunking is my axle ruined is my t-case ruined thanks carl .
Replies:
From : tom lawrence
havent checked the transfer case out yet - is it sealed nope - its got a breather tube just like everything else. pretty good when i would let off the gas and coast. the front driveshaft turns back and fourth between 1/8 and 1/4 of a turn. lots of slop. bad 1/4 turn yep - thats bad. thats worse than water-in-the-lube bad... thats chain-stretched-all-to-hell bad. after that i refilled the front axle ran it on jack stands in 4hi w/locked hubs for about 20 minutes at about 25mph. thats fine but very much overkill. when axles fill with water drain em raise one side then the other so the milkshake in the axle tubes drains to the center clean re-fill with gear oil and youre all set. what is the clunking is my axle ruined is my t-case ruined your axle is probably fine. the t-case sounds like its in bad shape but i doubt that was from running with water in it for that short period of time. its probably been like that or getting close for some time. .
From : carl saiyed
thanks for the fast re. can i buy one of those t-case rebuilding kits online and put a new chain in how much more would it be to get lower t-case gears is there any way to troubleshoot the t-case thanks carl havent checked the transfer case out yet - is it sealed nope - its got a breather tube just like everything else. pretty good when i would let off the gas and coast. the front driveshaft turns back and fourth between 1/8 and 1/4 of a turn. lots of slop. bad 1/4 turn yep - thats bad. thats worse than water-in-the-lube bad... thats chain-stretched-all-to-hell bad. after that i refilled the front axle ran it on jack stands in 4hi w/locked hubs for about 20 minutes at about 25mph. thats fine but very much overkill. when axles fill with water drain em raise one side then the other so the milkshake in the axle tubes drains to the center clean re-fill with gear oil and youre all set. what is the clunking is my axle ruined is my t-case ruined your axle is probably fine. the t-case sounds like its in bad shape but i doubt that was from running with water in it for that short period of time. its probably been like that or getting close for some time. .
From : gary carter
dont know about rebuilding the t-case a good service manual should help. before you get under the truck again go to your local supply house and get a large roll of rubber tubing and fittings then run all three/ four ventsdont forget the tranny for an automatic to the top of the fire wall as high as you can get them. some around here even turn them upside down and rig up floats on the vent caps to make sure they float up and hopefully seal the hose when water get that deep. usually rigged like this you will fill the distributor cap with water and kill the motor if you havent hydro locked the motor yet. one guy rigged up an ugly home made water tight snorkle ran all vent lines including the one for the distributor into the snorkle with that and a caulk gun full of silicon to seal the electricals the deepest he has gotten is half way up the windshield without damage. gary carter thanks for the fast re. can i buy one of those t-case rebuilding kits online and put a new chain in how much more would it be to get lower t-case gears is there any way to troubleshoot the t-case thanks carl havent checked the transfer case out yet - is it sealed nope - its got a breather tube just like everything else. pretty good when i would let off the gas and coast. the front driveshaft turns back and fourth between 1/8 and 1/4 of a turn. lots of slop. bad 1/4 turn yep - thats bad. thats worse than water-in-the-lube bad... thats chain-stretched-all-to-hell bad. after that i refilled the front axle ran it on jack stands in 4hi w/locked hubs for about 20 minutes at about 25mph. thats fine but very much overkill. when axles fill with water drain em raise one side then the other so the milkshake in the axle tubes drains to the center clean re-fill with gear oil and youre all set. what is the clunking is my axle ruined is my t-case ruined your axle is probably fine. the t-case sounds like its in bad shape but i doubt that was from running with water in it for that short period of time. its probably been like that or getting close for some time. .
From : carl saiyed
each axle has one vent do you know where the vents are on the np208 and the 727 i cant seem the find them. thanks carl dont know about rebuilding the t-case a good service manual should help. before you get under the truck again go to your local supply house and get a large roll of rubber tubing and fittings then run all three/ four ventsdont forget the tranny for an automatic to the top of the fire wall as high as you can get them. some around here even turn them upside down and rig up floats on the vent caps to make sure they float up and hopefully seal the hose when water get that deep. usually rigged like this you will fill the distributor cap with water and kill the motor if you havent hydro locked the motor yet. one guy rigged up an ugly home made water tight snorkle ran all vent lines including the one for the distributor into the snorkle with that and a caulk gun full of silicon to seal the electricals the deepest he has gotten is half way up the windshield without damage. gary carter thanks for the fast re. can i buy one of those t-case rebuilding kits online and put a new chain in how much more would it be to get lower t-case gears is there any way to troubleshoot the t-case thanks carl havent checked the transfer case out yet - is it sealed nope - its got a breather tube just like everything else. pretty good when i would let off the gas and coast. the front driveshaft turns back and fourth between 1/8 and 1/4 of a turn. lots of slop. bad 1/4 turn yep - thats bad. thats worse than water-in-the-lube bad... thats chain-stretched-all-to-hell bad. after that i refilled the front axle ran it on jack stands in 4hi w/locked hubs for about 20 minutes at about 25mph. thats fine but very much overkill. when axles fill with water drain em raise one side then the other so the milkshake in the axle tubes drains to the center clean re-fill with gear oil and youre all set. what is the clunking is my axle ruined is my t-case ruined your axle is probably fine. the t-case sounds like its in bad shape but i doubt that was from running with water in it for that short period of time. its probably been like that or getting close for some time. .
From : tom lawrence
each axle has one vent yes. on the rear axle its typically on the drivers side top of the axle tube on the brake distribution block. look for a 1/2 or so rubber hose going up. do you know where the vents are on the np208 and the 727 i cant seem the find them. the t-case should have an elbow/nipple coming out of it probably up on top with a hose running from it. the transmission is vented through the dipstick tube which is probably why you didnt get any water in there. .