OMG is that brake fluid or gear lube???!!!

[RAYZER]

well today i was out driving da deuce around, geting saluted and thumbs uped,then stoped by a buddys for a visit, while standing there admiring, he looks down and said " hey, how come the inside of your wheel is all wet? ", w t h? is that brake fluid or gear lube???!!! there was a lot of it , looked fresh and looked like it had just started because it was'nt flinging out on the tires yet and i dont think it was there a couple of days ago, got to looking a little closer and behold, i have two possibly three wet wheels on the rear axles!! thought at first that it might have been brake fluid because i had just made a lot harder than normal stop at a redlight and might have caused wheel cylinders to leak, but upon closer inspection and sniffing the fluid that was now on my finger,yep, its gear oil, a little hard to tell at first,did'nt stink like hypoid oil, does'nt the mill. use a differant lube in these axles? is there a way to get any absorbed oil out of the brake shoes so i dont have to buy new one's if they still have meat? i am going reseal all 4 hubs in my driveway and might as well rebuild the wheel cylinders and replace the two ruber brake lines while im at it, the front axle might have to wait because this has to be done before the fla rally in june, any sugestions would be appreciated or if someone knows of a biger space out of the weather thats near me that i could use for this project, that would really be nice! ill keep you posted!

 

[mikes47jeep]

get some brake kleen, it should clean those brake shoes well enough to use for a while

you might not have 100% brakes but it should get you back to 90% or so

be carefull that stuff is nasty and will strip paint off


use your best judgement, if they look too soaked replace them

 

[stumps]

The best way I have found to get gear oil out of brake shoes is to put the shoes in an oven, on newspaper, and heat them up to 200-300F. The heat causes the oil to thin out, and expand, which helps to get it out of the brake linings. After you take the hot shoes out of the oven, wipe them down really well with a clean cotton rag... paper towels are ok if they are the thick kind. When you have the shoes as clean as you can get with heat, wash them down with some CRC Brake cleaner, and wipe them dry with clean rags. They will be as good as new.

The reason your shoes got soaked is likely clogged axle vents. You need to clean them out and make sure they work.

-Chuck

 

[RAYZER]

The reason your shoes got soaked is likely clogged axle vents. You need to clean them out and make sure they work.

-Chuck[/quote]

about 3 weeks ago i checked fluid level and pulled vents, they seemed to work prop (sucking and blowing on them) and looked clean,however , when i pulled a couple of them they let out a small amount of pressure, is this normal?

 

[Heavysteven]

You need to replace all your vents axles trans transfer case. I had the same problem, axle vent clogged and blew the inner axle seal.

Buy a seal kit from OD Iron
download the step x step to replace the seals
I used 10 cans of brake cleaner
buy 2 new axle lock washers
took 7 hours for me and a friend to do.

If you have any questions send me a PM

 

[3rdmdqm]

I also had a rear inner wheel leak on the driver's side. Definitely gear oil. I cleaned it off, fooled around with the axle vent and the leak stopped for a while. After a few weeks, the leak is back. This time the gear oil looks like light colored chocolate milk. Hope no water got in there. Looks like I'll be pulling the vents and replacing the seals.

 

[rosco]

Baking your shoes is great (if your domestic situation, allows it), but mark the shoes, and put them back on, EXACTLY, as they came out...... front - rear, left front.... etc. Sometimes its just easier to buy new wheel cylinders to install, when you are doing a job lie that. Also, if you can get a wheel dolly to use, so you don't have to take off/apart the duals, it really saves time. If you can't, get a sheet of plywood & grease it, put it under the tires, so when you get the axles/bearings out, you can just grab the dual assembly & slide it out. Use the jack to adjust the height, just right. You'll be happy, when the job is done. Many of these trucks have had "deferred" maintenance for years.

 

[mikeroot2]

if someone knows of a biger space out of the weather thats near me that i could use for this project, that would really be nice! ill keep you posted!

My shop is a mere 18 hour drive up I-75 in Holly MI, you're welcome to do it there.

 

[RAYZER]

My shop is a mere 18 hour drive up I-75 in Holly MI, you're welcome to do it there.

thanks for the offer,lol,but thats a little far!

 

[RAYZER]

thanks for all the info guy's, pulled the vent, off today and heard some air escape, although i can blow through it with not much resistance, is that small amount of presure enough to to blow a seal? could it be just a keyway seal? any one just do away with the vents and use a barbed fiting with a hose run up as high as u can get it?

 

[stumps]

Because the vents have a spring pressing on the rubber disk that seals the vent, there will be a little pressure build up. It shouldn't be a problem with an axle that has good seals, and a properly done seal for the keyway. The keyway cork seal tends to degrade and shrink over time, so it could be where your problem is.

What goes wrong with the bobble head vents is when the differential heats up, the bobble head vent lets out the excess pressure. When the differential cools down, a mild vacuum is formed, which pulls the rubber disk tight against its seat. The rubber, and the gear oil conspire together and glue the vent disk to its seat. Now it takes lots of pressure, 20 or 30 psi to make the rubber disk come loose from the seat. More than enough to push the oil through your seals.

The simplest, best solution I have found to this problem is to put compression fittings in place of the vents, and run 1/4 inch plastic tubing to vent all of the axles and other gear boxes up to the air cleaner. The brake master cylinder should get its own vent, as it too has problems with the disk gluing itself to its seat.

-Chuck

 

[RAYZER]

The simplest, best solution I have found to this problem is to put compression fittings in place of the vents, and run 1/4 inch plastic tubing to vent all of the axles and other gear boxes up to the air cleaner. The brake master cylinder should get its own vent, as it too has problems with the disk gluing itself to its seat.

-Chuck[/quote]

thanks for the info Chuck, its funny you should mention doing away with the bobblehead vents because i just came in from doing just that! i went to ace hardware today and bought some barbed fitings, 1/4" fuel hose and some spring clamps, ran the hose up through some installed adel clamps at the highest points, have not done the trans and t case yet but i will, and install some kind of filter (still looking)at the tops of the hoses to keep the bugs out, i feel alot better about this setup, i just cant go in water now deeper than the bottom of my bed! lol

Ray

 

[JAYHAWK 1962]

Quick ?. how exactly are you attaching the air lines to the air cleaner? are you drilling and putting fittings through it attaching air hoses that way? or is there some sort of multi attacment that all of the hoses could be hooked into? thanks

 

[RAYZER]

Quick ?. how exactly are you attaching the air lines to the air cleaner? are you drilling and putting fittings through it attaching air hoses that way? or is there some sort of multi attacment that all of the hoses could be hooked into? thanks

i just ran each hose seperate, the two back ones up to a bed floor support and the front up on the firewall, but thats a good idea to run them to the air cleaner, you could thred some barbed fitings right into the side of it and atatch the hoses,would be alot of hose.

 

[stumps]

Because the flow from the axle vents is nearly nothing, you can "T" the individual vents to a common line that goes to the front of the truck. If your air cleaner can is like mine, it has a short chunk of 1 inchish pipe sticking out of the side that was meant to take a hose coming from the air compressor's inlet (when the fording kit is installed). Most of the time that pipe is left open and is an invitation to mice. You can stick your vents in there, with a cork.

Or, you could drill a hole in the top casting in a point on the dirty side of the air cleaner, and tap the hole for a fitting to take the vent hose.

Or, you could run the hose into the cabin, and situate it behind your seat... That way if you are dry, the vent is dry.

-Chuck

 

[RAYZER]

i think ill redo mine and run my hose to the air cleaner!

 

[JAYHAWK 1962]

Thanks!!

 

[Loco_Hosa]

I have a silly question, why was this not done from the factory?

Also, can someone tell me how the "Fording kit" worked in regard to these venting tubes?

 

[mikeroot2]

I just found gear lube on one of my side walls after post trip inspection the other day. Looks like I'll bejoining in the fun.

 

[gunboy1656]

My seal is getting replaced on Thursday. I think I have everything.