Cincinnati Area Thread (Tri-State, Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana)

Ditto. The pictures on Rago’s website are good enough to tell how to make it

 

Ran spaas creek and pumpkin hollow yesterday with a Jeep buddy. Neither trail was very challenging and pumpkin hollow was much shorter than I expected it to be.

 

Ok, need some help diagnosing a leak (or really, two). Found a small puddle of thick fluid on the driveway Saturday morning where the truck was parked all night so climbed under there and it wasn’t pretty…

I will have to take pictures tomorrow in the daylight but from what I can tell something is leaking fluid onto (or from) both front axles near where they enter the diff and it has been slinging it all over the frame rails and the underbody of the truck, on both sides. If I had to guess, it’s front diff fluid. It’s semi dark like used oil but doesn’t smell like motor oil. Just to be safe, I checked the engine oil level and it was fine and then I checked both sides of the (new) power steering rack, to make sure it wasn’t the culprit, and it was bone dry. I didn’t get my head up in there too much but it did not look like either axle boot was torn and it didn’t appear to be grease that was leaking (could be though, if it’s been thinned out with age/wear).

Anyone have any ideas? My initial thoughts are that both front axle seals are blown but I’m second guessing that they’d both go out at the same time. But I don’t know enough about the front diff and axle setup to know if it could be anything else (or much worse). I’ll get some pictures of the mess posted tomorrow but for now I’m trying to decide whether the truck is still safe to drive. It’s my only kid hauling vehicle so I can’t really be without it for long.

 

Definitely sounds like axles seals. If the leak is severe enough I probably wouldn’t drive it. But a little bit of oil goes a long way. Meaning, it might be worse than it looks.

 

if it is the front differential seals, and multiple simultaneous seal failures, probably should also check the breather valve is working properly.

does the 4x4 engage?

 

If that fluid smells like pure death, it's gear oil coming from the front diff. Meaning the seals blew.

 

Yeah, if it dries up a bit out there today I may wipe as much as I can off, spray the area with brake parts cleaner and then see if I can tell where it’s actually leaking and how bad.

The 4x4 does engage. But I’m hesitant to drive it in 4x4 right now. And yeah, I was reading about that last night but I’m still not even quite sure where the breather is.

I also haven’t taken the truck through deep water or mud at all. Only thing I’ve done is swap that suspension and replace the power steering rack… no other changes recently. Just daily driving and such. Don’t know why both seals would have blown.

So that’s the thing, the fluid wasn’t even that dirty and didn’t really have a bad smell. I drained and refilled the front diff and transfer case about 30k miles ago though so I don’t know how long it takes for it to become a stinky mess.

But, it wouldn’t surprise me if both seals have had a small leak for a while and since both of the diff side front axle boots are likely torn from 5+ years of driving on a lift, that the fluid is seeping into the boots and now at the new angle (from the different front suspension) that fluid is leaking through the torn boots and being thrown all over the place as they spin.

 

That’s probably axle grease then if you have torn axle boots. It certainly will make a mess. It doesn’t generally drip though unless it’s a shit load. It will thin out a bit as you drive and it gets warm

 

That’s what I was thinking originally too. With it coming from both sides and knowing the Elka suspension changed the angles of both axles, it would make sense that if the boots were torn they could be more stressed and are now slinging grease as they spin. But I won’t know for sure until I can clean it up a bit and inspect both boots more closely. Honestly, I’d rather it be two torn boots than the axle seals. I can clean them up periodically and even inject some more grease into them every now and then to limp the truck through the next month or so.

I just sold my house and will be moving in about 4 weeks so I really don’t have much time to mess with the truck right now.

 

Hoping it’s the boots also.

the breather is on the left side of the engine down against the inner wheel well. Look below the rear inner corner of the fuse box. Mine , if I remember correctly has two breathers together, the front differential and something else…maybe transfer case.

when my right rear axle seal blew out, the breather had failed due likely to winter salt and grime corroding it. Just my reason for suggesting you check it - if the differential seals are the culprit.

 

Anyone interested in some TCMBST headlights?

 

Definitely do this. Toyota diff breathers are notorious for failing/clogging

 

Is it bad that I looked at that giant red oak log over the trail and thought "that's a great log for firewood, time to get the saw"?

 

No because I thought about it too lol. Apparently it’s been there for a little while. I’ve seen it in videos online

 

This is what the truck is leaving on the driveway. Still leaking on both sides but dripping this goo from the drivers side inner axle boot area…

It does not smell like death and is very thick. Still need to crawl under there and clean it up so I can inspect the boots. Gonna try to do that tomorrow.

 

that looks like heavy weight differential fluid.

 

Not what I want to hear…

Guess I’ll check those breathers tonight. With both sides leaking it would make sense that it’s clogged.

 

So, how do you test a breather? Remove it and blow through it?

This is the first I've heard of these going bad....but it's also not something I pay that much attention to.

 

Anyone want to make some cash on the side?

I can’t replace both axle seals myself right now, far too much going on to dedicate any time to the truck right now. So as much as it pains me to do this, if I don’t find a shade tree mechanic, the truck is likely going to the dealership or a local shop…