water in rear axle housing

[nascarnutz]

when my truck was 12000 miles old i went to the local quick lube to get synthetic oil. they found water in the rear housing. anyone else had this problem? I took it to the dealer and they charged me 167.00 to flush out rear axle and replace gasket. said i had gotten in some water somewhere even tho i knew i hadnt. 6000 miles later same problem. take to another dealer they do a flush for free said the drain hose was catching rainwater.no more problems. guess what? first dealer has since gone out of business. just my luck . any recourse? not gonna hold my breath.

[HenryJ]

Not much that you can do , just be glad the problem is solved.

I can't remember, but I may have already relocated mine. Was your rear axle vent tube attached to the crossmember below the gap between the cab and bed and does it have an adapter with a plastic cap to reduce the entrance of contaminants?

It seems like I remember something about the vent tube being mounted above the rear tire? That is a pretty dusty environment.

I like to make sure that it is in a position that limits the entrance of debris and that the little plastic cap is intact.

GM's front axle vent tube end caps work great. I try to have a handful of them around after a run to the salvage yard.

Just be glad that you don't have a late '90's Ford truck. Someone in their "infinite wisdom" installed the axle vent tube into one of the bed crossmembers with just a tube. The crossmember gathers dirt/dust and of course you occasionally hose it out. This inadvertently washes the dirt down the tube and adds to the dust that has already gone down there. I can vouch for half a dozen '97 and '98's that I have had to flush out.
I retro fit them with the GM vent tube breather caps, and move the vent tube to a better location, zip-tying it out of harm's way.

[Jim]

Not much that you can do , just be glad the problem is solved.

I can't remember, but I may have already relocated mine. Was your rear axle vent tube attached to the crossmember below the gap between the cab and bed and does it have an adapter with a plastic cap to reduce the entrance of contaminants?

It seems like I remember something about the vent tube being mounted above the rear tire? That is a pretty dusty environment.

I like to make sure that it is in a position that limits the entrance of debris and that the little plastic cap is intact.

GM's front axle vent tube end caps work great. I try to have a handful of them around after a run to the salvage yard.

Just be glad that you don't have a late '90's Ford truck. Someone in their "infinite wisdom" installed the axle vent tube into one of the bed crossmembers with just a tube. The crossmember gathers dirt/dust and of course you occasionally hose it out. This inadvertently washes the dirt down the tube and adds to the dust that has already gone down there. I can vouch for half a dozen '97 and '98's that I have had to flush out.
I retro fit them with the GM vent tube breather caps, and move the vent tube to a better location, zip-tying it out of harm's way.

Stock location is near the bed & cab gap. GM had something on the tech link a few months ago. I can see mine if I look between the cab & bed. In 28,000 mi I have changed fluid 2x & never had water. but I park on a sloped driveway.

[kf6kmx]

Some friend s who do a lot of mudding with a fullsize have suggested a line extention..
They ran longer lines up under thier hood (from the front AND back) and have them up high on the firewall, with the caps.
I can see an obvious advantage to very little chance of the hose end going under water, but is there any down side to the line being that long (other than trying to route it?)

[HenryJ]

...It seems like I remember something about the vent tube being mounted above the rear tire?

Stock location is near the bed & cab gap....

Thanks, that must have been another model I was thinking of.

Some friend s who do a lot of mudding with a fullsize have suggested a line extention..

That would be a good idea for deep stuff (Quickbiker deep ). The length is not really an issue since flow is almost non-existent.

Late model fullsize are using a small foam filter now, instead of the plastic caps. For extremely dusty conditions it might be an option. The hose is a smaller diameter though.

[malkavian]

I put a long line on mine with a small filter on it. Ran it all the way up to the top of the bed rail.