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Axle Vents/Breathers

Rockcrawlindude

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My main concern is that if water does enter the diff then there is no longer anywhere for it to evaporate to as the diff heats up (no more vent line). That would also mean your diff seal has gone bad (to let water in). Also, make sure you install it in a way that the force of water itself doesn't pull it off.

Knowing that, I went ahead and ordered myself one and will install it.
The vent isn’t to let water evaporate out. If water got in, you’re already in bad shape. The vent is to let the diff breathe as the fluid expands when it heats up. Taking a dip in deep water rapidly cools the diff, the fluid contracts and sucks water in the vent line like a straw.

If you were to seal the axle completely, the fluid would heat up and expand and the seals would fail from that pressure. The bellows things are sweet alternatives to long breathers.
 
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AnthonyD1978

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Tmr customs sells this guy works great no need to run extra vent hose i will never extend a vent line again after using these

FYI: I ordered this for the front diff so that I didn't have to worry about articulation. ID doesn't fit our front diff. Could probably fit with some adaptor fitting, but I'd rather not introduce any other variables in the vent line. Also, seems rather small.
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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FYI: I ordered this for the front diff so that I didn't have to worry about articulation. ID doesn't fit our front diff. Could probably fit with some adaptor fitting, but I'd rather not introduce any other variables in the vent line. Also, seems rather small.
Not supposed to be big... was the id to big or too small
 

zblink1888

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ive had issues with the bellows in the past so my preference is to always just reroute / extend the breathers
 

loveracing1988

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View attachment 10827

ARB Diff Breather Kit​

A diff breather kit stops your differentials (as well as gearbox and transfer case) from sucking in water when driving through river crossings and large water hazards, leading to serious and expensive repairs.

As your vehicle’s differentials, gearbox and transfer case heat up under normal operation, the air inside expands and increases pressure in the casings. To manage this increase in pressure, most of these components come standard with a series of one-way-valve breathers to allow the pressure build-up to escape.

However, when you enter a river crossing or large water hazard, the cold water quickly cools the expanded cases causing them to quickly retract in size; this forms a vacuum effect on the breather valves.

One-way breather valves will not let any air in, and as a result, water will often be sucked in through your surrounding oil seals allowing water ingress into your casings, axles and differentials; leading to corrosion and serious damage.

To overcome these common issues, it is recommended to install a breather kit which acts similar to a snorkel for your differentials, gearbox and transfer case. The breather kit is primarily a hub which transfers air in and out of the critical vehicle components; the kit includes a length of air tubing which is run to a high point (usually under the vehicle’s bonnet) where it is most protected from dust and water ingress when drawing air back in.

Out of the box, the 4 port ARB Diff Breather Kit can be connected to all four key components (front diff, rear diff, transfer case and gearbox) and comes with enough tubing and fixtures to connect to the most common application of two differentials. With a small amount of additional tubing and fixtures (sold separately), the one kit will also accommodate your transfer case and gearbox.
Has anyone tried this?
 

loveracing1988

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The ARB kit? It's been around along time. Lots of people use it.

Or save a ton of money and just run some lines and zip tie them. That's what I did.
I was talking specifically about on these trucks not just used in general. Since I asked I found the hose supplied is 8mm which is too small for these trucks anyway.
 

MEGA HO

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I used bellows on my old 4Runner offroader, they worked good but 4Runner axles are a lot smaller than HD trucks, I really don't think they have enough volume for expansion / contraction when installed on HD trucks
 

jupp0r

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I was talking specifically about on these trucks not just used in general. Since I asked I found the hose supplied is 8mm which is too small for these trucks anyway.

I have the ARB kit here, the plan is to use barb fittings to fit the 8mm tubing to the factory breather hoses. Will do that tomorrow probably and report on the results. I’ll do the diffs first, then transfer case and transmission.
 

H3LZSN1P3R

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I used bellows on my old 4Runner offroader, they worked good but 4Runner axles are a lot smaller than HD trucks, I really don't think they have enough volume for expansion / contraction when installed on HD trucks
They are designed for one ton axles when they made them it was based off a gm 14 bolt rear and ford HP dana 60 front
 

jupp0r

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Please be sure to share some pictures also - thanks in advance!
Turns out I ordered the wrong barb fittings. Thinking about it some more, I won't use the ARB tubing (too rigid and I don't like the push in fittings) but ordered 1/2" outer diameter, 3/8" inner diameter oil resistant tubing and barb fittings that should thread into the ARB filter. This time I measured everything beforehand :)

Looking under the truck, the trans breather is pretty easy to got to but I had to reach waaaay over the transfer case from the drivers side to get to its breather tube. Anybody got any tips on how to reach it more easily on a 5th gen? I don't think I can effectively put a new hose on there. I had to squeeze my arm in between the exhaust and the tcase and I could barely feel the hose with my fingertips.
 

el_barto

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Finally got to this today. Just did the front and rear axles for now, but I’ll do the trans and xfer case in a few weeks. Routed the front one up into the engine bay behind the battery, ziptied to the big wire loom on the firewall. Rear vent is decent from the factory, but I decided to run it all the way up into the bedside by the taillight(no pictures).
Used 3/8” fuel hose, 1/2” pex crimp fittings(pretty much the same as oetiker clamps, but you can get them at Home Depot. I just used end cutters to crimp them), and zip ties. Reused the factory vent caps.
Simple enough project, just time consuming figuring out where to route it. Gives me a bit more peace of mind, especially since the front one was so short.
 

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loveracing1988

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Finally got to this today. Just did the front and rear axles for now, but I’ll do the trans and xfer case in a few weeks. Routed the front one up into the engine bay behind the battery, ziptied to the big wire loom on the firewall. Rear vent is decent from the factory, but I decided to run it all the way up into the bedside by the taillight(no pictures).
Used 3/8” fuel hose, 1/2” pex crimp fittings(pretty much the same as oetiker clamps, but you can get them at Home Depot. I just used end cutters to crimp them), and zip ties. Reused the factory vent caps.
Simple enough project, just time consuming figuring out where to route it. Gives me a bit more peace of mind, especially since the front one was so short.
It's one thing for the regular 2500's and 3500's to get the short vent on the front axle but it's stupid for them to not have a longer vent on the power wagons, especially when they used to be a lot longer.
 

jupp0r

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I also found the time to do the front diff at least. I ordered barb to 1/4 pipe size BSP adapters from McMaster-Carr that thread into the ARB end piece. I also bought some 1/2in outer diameter 3/8in inner diameter oil resistant tubing from them that seems a little too soft but worked ok. I followed the locker/front diff engagement wiring up into the engine bay and found a hole to bolt the ARB filter into.

I now have 3 free ports on the filter for the other breathers to use later.

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AnthonyD1978

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So I was looking at my front diff breather after extending it because I've done some water crossings. The check valve had some dirt and grime around the seal so I took the cap off of it to clean it up a little.

When I took the cap off I noticed it's not a check valve, but it had like a white rubber cap over it that was sealed. I wondered how it functioned at all. I noticed the the "Gore" logo on the cap I removed. I was familiar with that logo because of Gore-Tex clothing.

Did a little research and it's what they call a membrane vent. It allows gas/vapor to pass through, but not liquid or particles. This would explain why the front breather is so short from the factory. Either the trans or transfer case also uses this type of vent. I didn't follow my line down from the hood to under the truck to confirm which. I assume it's the Transfer case since I believe that vent sits lower than the trans.+

If these work properly then you don't need to extend the lines for these and it might benefit you to change the other vents to these types.


ptv-why-vent-graphic-contamination-prevention-english_1_1.jpg
 
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Rockcrawlindude

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So I was looking at my front diff breather after extending it because I've done some water crossings. The check valve had some dirt and grime around the seal so I took the cap off of it to clean it up a little.

When I took the cap off I noticed it's not a check valve, but it had like a white rubber cap over it that was sealed. I wondered how it functioned at all. I noticed the the "Gore" logo on the cap I removed. I was familiar with that logo because of Gore-Tex clothing.

Did a little research and it's what they call a membrane vent. It allows gas/vapor to pass through, but not liquid or particles. This would explain why the front breather is so short from the factory. Either the trans or transfer case also uses this type of vent. I didn't follow my line down from the hood to under the truck to confirm which. I assume it's the Transfer case since I believe that vent sits lower than the trans.+

If these work properly then you don't need to extend the lines for these and it might benefit you to change the other vents to these types.


ptv-why-vent-graphic-contamination-prevention-english_1_1.jpg
Cool. This is the same membrane that they have inside the breather caps on the factory headlights
 

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