noisy diff

[poppy patrol]

hi guys
Just went through some deep water and now have a noise from rear diff,
i was wondering if some water got in and do i just drain and fill with appropriate fluid;
any and all help will be greatley appretiated

[Bigrig]

hi guys
Just went through some deep water and now have a noise from rear diff,
i was wondering if some water got in and do i just drain and fill with appropriate fluid;
any and all help will be greatley appretiated

If it got in mate, then the seals (out near the wheels) are probably stuffed and they would need checking for replacement also ...

Do you have a diff breather installed???

[Sir Roofy]

If you havnt got extended diff breathers front and back
and you entered the water with hot diffs
yes you could have sucked in some water

[YNOT]

Quick test is to pull out the fill plug after going for a short drive and dip your finger in the oil. If the oil is milky there is water in it. I would be replacing the oil regardless. Are you sure the noise is from the diff?

Tony

[Silver]

which patrol do you have poppy patrol? On the GQ from the factory, the rear diff breather ends in the round chassis cross member above the diff.

Draining and refilling the diff would be a start - some would suggest first removing the fill plug - just to be sure that you can. And then stick a finger in there, hopefuly it will come out oily and not milk shakelike :-)

Then the next step is to crack the drain plug, and see if water comes out (water being heavier than oil) before the oil.

[poppy patrol]

hi again
1st up its a GQ
pretty sure noise from rear diff will pull plugs out this weekend
thanks heaps for the input


CATCH YA IN THE MUD:hpfredgeorge1:

[poppy patrol]

Sorry yes it has breather to cross member,but was deep think it went over that for a little bit

[Silver]

Sorry yes it has breather to cross member,but was deep think it went over that for a little bit

oops, time for extended breathers after you get this fixed.

Someone more knowledgable may correct this, but I read ages ago in a tech article in a mag that water in the diff displaces oil, so there is metal to metal contact which in turn leads to pressure welding of one metal surface to the other - which then cracks off as the diff does it's thing, leaving a lump and a pit, which go on to do more bad stuff. If this is true, continuing to drive may not be such a good idea.

It might be worth checking in the brakes if you were that deep in case there is some debris between pads and rotors making the noise?

The manual recommends removing a bottom swivel hub bearing bolt to see if water has got in there (edit, sorry front diff, not back) end edit. It can also get into your wheel bearings - might be worth having a look - I think that is a bit more complicated on the back than the front. Search in this site will reveal plenty of info

[Mrowka]

Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. Better change out that diff oil quick!

If you get the oil changed in time, you won't be rebuilding your diffs right now. Otherwise...

And I'd change the oil in the front diff too for good measure.