Hi All,
I fitted extended diff breathers on Saturday. If anyone is thinking of doing it, don’t be afraid – it really is as easy as others have made out.
It might be a very good idea to do it, too, because when I freed off my standard rear breather (after a liberal douse of WD40), there was a “pffff” as pressure was released – the breather cap was sort of welded/corroded sealed to the nut part.
I think this means the rear diff hadn’t been breathing for quite a while. I put the breather back in after checking the pitch, and when I took it out again to fit the new union, there was another “pffff”.
Anyway, I got 2 brake line unions from a motor shop, some clear plastic hose (turns out I didn’t need 5 metres after all… ) and 4 small hose clips, all for about €20.
The thread pitch of the new unions wasn’t correct. When I held old and new together, the threads were out by a about half a thread over 5 threads or so. I carefully wound the new union in, anyway. It was a little tight (and got tighter as I turned), but it did go in with about 5 full turns. It’s definitely sealed, and I’m sure that I’ll be able to get it out and the original back in if I have to.
For the rear, I ran the hose along the LSPV pipe with one cable tie, leaving a little slack, then up the fuel filler pipe and secured with another cable tie, again with a little slack.
I took the plastic fuel filler surround off so I could get in and secure the hose and route it out under the rear right wheel arch. I had to cut a little slot out of the surround to get it back on, but you’d barely notice that.
For the front, I ran the hose up over what I think is the front drive shaft and over the steering shaft, and cable tied the end to a bracket near what I think is the brake fluid reservoir. The hose touches the bottom of the engine/transmission, so I wrapped a few turns of duck tape around the hose where it touches, in the hope that the hose won't melt through.
I haven’t fitted filters to the ends of the hoses yet, but I will. I also bought new oils for the diffs, but didn't get round to them.
Actually, it'd be great if someone could confirm that I got the correct oils - Extreme Pressure 80W90 for the rear (I'm told this is called "hypoid"), and semi-synthetic 75W90 for the front.
Really easy, and really cheap. Makes me feel that little bit closer to being a real off roader now… Just have to save for the ARB snorkel now… And what’s white grease?
Mark
I fitted extended diff breathers on Saturday. If anyone is thinking of doing it, don’t be afraid – it really is as easy as others have made out.
It might be a very good idea to do it, too, because when I freed off my standard rear breather (after a liberal douse of WD40), there was a “pffff” as pressure was released – the breather cap was sort of welded/corroded sealed to the nut part.
I think this means the rear diff hadn’t been breathing for quite a while. I put the breather back in after checking the pitch, and when I took it out again to fit the new union, there was another “pffff”.
Anyway, I got 2 brake line unions from a motor shop, some clear plastic hose (turns out I didn’t need 5 metres after all… ) and 4 small hose clips, all for about €20.
The thread pitch of the new unions wasn’t correct. When I held old and new together, the threads were out by a about half a thread over 5 threads or so. I carefully wound the new union in, anyway. It was a little tight (and got tighter as I turned), but it did go in with about 5 full turns. It’s definitely sealed, and I’m sure that I’ll be able to get it out and the original back in if I have to.
For the rear, I ran the hose along the LSPV pipe with one cable tie, leaving a little slack, then up the fuel filler pipe and secured with another cable tie, again with a little slack.
I took the plastic fuel filler surround off so I could get in and secure the hose and route it out under the rear right wheel arch. I had to cut a little slot out of the surround to get it back on, but you’d barely notice that.
For the front, I ran the hose up over what I think is the front drive shaft and over the steering shaft, and cable tied the end to a bracket near what I think is the brake fluid reservoir. The hose touches the bottom of the engine/transmission, so I wrapped a few turns of duck tape around the hose where it touches, in the hope that the hose won't melt through.
I haven’t fitted filters to the ends of the hoses yet, but I will. I also bought new oils for the diffs, but didn't get round to them.
Actually, it'd be great if someone could confirm that I got the correct oils - Extreme Pressure 80W90 for the rear (I'm told this is called "hypoid"), and semi-synthetic 75W90 for the front.
Really easy, and really cheap. Makes me feel that little bit closer to being a real off roader now… Just have to save for the ARB snorkel now… And what’s white grease?
Mark
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