My dana 60 rear has been leaking more and more. It started at the cover then the driver wheel and is now leaking at the drive shaft seal. I was thinking it might be a clogged vent, but when I went looking for one with a wire brush (on a mass of road dirt) what I found was some sort of compound fitting with the brake lines? Here is a picture:
Dana/Spicer 60 rear vent?
I apologize for the crappy quality. It was dark and my cell phone isn't exactly 'modern.' This is the driver rear axle. The break lines come in and branch left and right at the fitting. The top of the fitting has three holes in a hex nut. Thanks for any ideas. I guess no matter what I'm looking at a seal and gasket kit?
Last edited by Dood on Mon Jun 27, 2011 8:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
I have the same fitting on my 65 D100 Ute. It is for the brakes... I don't know what it does... and mine leaks too... lol
My guess is it's some kind-of pressure relief for the brake line to the rear cylinders but I am hoping that someone else can say more than I. I need to replace mine too. :)
Sorry if I did SQUAT to help here... Just know that you are not alone in needing that part.
If that setup is the same as on my 64 D100, it is the axle vent, it also is used to hold the brass brake line tee in place but is not actually connected to the brake system so anything that is leaking would be from the axle not brake fluid.
Mike
Basically it's a hollow bolt that holds the brass tee in place and is supposed to vent the rearend. That's the reason for the little cap like thing on top. It's probably plugged up. I just removed mine and cleaned it up then reinstalled it. Good luck! Mike
Thanks! I think this was blocked and the pressure buildup is what caused the seals and gaskets to fail. What should I be looking to pay for a new seal kit?
As mentioned that is the vent, and hold the brake tee. And they do clog up. They also can snap if you get rough with them, or the threads are corroded! So proceed cautiously. They are pretty easy to clean with a stiff wire and pipe cleaners.
Thanks all. It was completely clogged. I used a drill bit to clean it out (the butt end that goes in a drill). I also took the opportunity to drain the differential and refill it. The stuff that came out was pretty nasty looking. I refilled with 80w-90 and drove a few miles then drained and refilled it again. Looked better the second time. Hopefully that will stop the leaks, but if not I'm probably going to have to reseal. I see NAPA has a reseal for the 60 which includes bearings but its $200. Is that right?
Dood wrote:Thanks all. It was completely clogged. I used a drill bit to clean it out (the butt end that goes in a drill). I also took the opportunity to drain the differential and refill it. The stuff that came out was pretty nasty looking. I refilled with 80w-90 and drove a few miles then drained and refilled it again. Looked better the second time. Hopefully that will stop the leaks, but if not I'm probably going to have to reseal. I see NAPA has a reseal for the 60 which includes bearings but its $200. Is that right?
If your rear axle has a sure-grip differential, don't
forget to put in the sure-grip additive too.
John
Interesting, so I have no limited slip lube tag on the carrier housing and the test of raising the rear wheels with no parking brake and out of gear and turning one wheel had the other stationary. No sure-grip I suppose. Too bad. I wonde why the opposite wheel didn't turn reverse dir though. I must be missing something about the internals.
Thank you very much for the response! I had the truck in neutral (from how I rested it on the front chocks), and of course, out of inexperience, I didn't think to look there.
