Commatoze

Here's the deal. My Dana 60 axle is the kind with the vent on the cover. I replaced the stock cover with the Mag-Hytec front cover with a vented dipstick. Unfortunately because of a lack of an internal baffle, gear oil is forced into the vent tube and burps out the breather valve which is mounted on the inside fender. It becomes a monumental mess as the gear lube is thrown around the wheel well by the spinning tire. What I want to do is replace the breather valve with a small container that would catch the oil and retain it. When the truck is parked the oil would then flow back down the tube and into the differential. I need to find a reservoir with a nipple on the end to accept the breather tube. Any ideas?

Mopar1973man

Crazy idea... but I would try installing a larger diameter hose for a vent so it can't crawl up the small tube... It would give more room for expansion...

Just a dumb idea... I hope it works for you...

j-fox

This thought had crossed my mind but It isn't a good one.
While you are driving you want the gear lube in the diff not in some resevoir. We need to get it vented correctly.
I'm tired of taking the cover off to engineer it. I bought it so I didn't have to get greasy!!
My next plan is to drill and tap a new vent hole in the tube somewhere.
It is interesting that this topic comes up again, when the weather is warmer. I had very little issue with it till this past month.
Also I hate a leaking vehicle.

Mopar1973man

Well if you know of someone that has a low power MIG welder. You can weld in a baffle on the cover. I realize this will mar the chrome just a bit...

I "HAD" a set of M/T valve covers for a Chevy and I took them off and round filed them. Reason... The same problem the vent wasn't baffled and in would puke oil all over the engine. There is a reason to some of Dodge / Cummins....

Commatoze

I don't think a whole lot lube leaves the differential. Lets's say a few ounces. Once the lube heats up, the burping stops as the air pressure inside the differential equalizes. I would think that drilling and tapping a new hole in the axle tube would be a major undertaking, although it would be the correct way to fix it. You're right, this shouldn't be happening, and Mag-Hytec really dropped the ball, and isn't doing anything to rectify a major design flaw. There were a few feeble attempts sent in my direction, but the remedy is the installation of a baffle similar to the stock cover.

j-fox

It sounds like your is different from mine. I have no leakage on short drives-under15 miles. After that it is a mess.
The baffle is the best idea.

Tom Bolitho

I have seen a couple of rigs that use a 3/8 fuel filter mounted on the frame. The oil will collect in the bottom of the filter and return to the diff when it cools down. the filter will keep the dirt out.

DaNuGuy

This may be alittle late to chime in here, but if the dipstick is vented, why not plug the tube vent? I don't think 2 vents are required. If that doesn't work, some guys in the rockcrawling series are using heavy duty latex balloons. They will expand when hot to catch the overflow and shrink when cold.

Commatoze

There's only one vent on the axle. It's on the stock cover, or in the case of the Mag-Hytec cover in the dipstick. The vent hose goes over the dipstick and is held in place with a hose clamp. BTW, I'm still looking for an answer. The balloon is an interesting concept.