Rear differential Vent is frozen?

N

nicolachel

New member
Went to the dealership today to balance my wheels and they told me that a valve on my rear differential is frozen and recommended "take it out and clean it" which is $60.

They say that it might cause the rear axle to leak which doesn't sounds good to me.

So my question is will "take it out and clean it" really solve the problem or will I need to replace that valve in the near future even after that cleaning?
btw. does $60 sounds like a fair price for the job?

Thanks a lot!
 
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sounds bogus

maybe we need just a bit more information about this vent or valve

there's a vent hose out of the axle carrier of diff that goes up a ways to get it out of any possible high water

if plugged it could cause some slightly high pressure in and force out some lube at the axle ends

you should be able to see and evaluate this yourself, its nothing to get in a panic about

you can probably fix it yourself for between 0 and 5 dollars
 
I believe from what I have read that there is a simple valve on it. If you are not able to remove and clean yourself, I would have them do it. While $60 seems like a lot, that is 1/2 shop time and I think it is pretty good that they discovered it. I don't think that it is to common for these to plug up but it does happen and it will increase the pressure and cause leaks.
 
I haven't looked at mine, but my older Land Cruisers had one-way valves letting pressure out but nothing in. Guys replaced that with long vent hoses high enough to not let water in. With our non-greasable rear bearings I should make sure I don't have such a vent, those tends to create a vacuum when you cool the rear axle passing through water, which pulls water in through the bearing seals.
 
It's not bogus. Your differential has a breather valve, designed to let the differential equalize air pressure when it's hotter or colder than it's surrounding environment. When it heats up and can't blow off air through the valve, it'll push gear oil past the axle seals and diff cover.

Should be a simple matter of hitting it with some brake cleaner, but if it's really stuck shut it's also the work of maybe 10 minutes to replace it.
 
Thanks a lot guys!

I lowered the spare tire and took a look down there. It seems to be the small valve located on top of the rear diff on the driver's side and it indeed look kind of rusty.So I think it might be better for me to just replace it.

But I couldn't find it on toyotapartsales.com but it is not drawn in the diagram of rear axle and diff and there's nothing listed as a vent,valve or breather under that category(rear axle and diff).

So I'm wondering does anyone know what's its name and part# and could you kindly help me out?

Thanks!
 
got the bogus wrong
but not far off on the price !

I'll be checking mine, I thought the hose extension was standard and vented near the gas filler. woops
 
Atlanta_man said:
got the bogus wrong
but not far off on the price !

I'll be checking mine, I thought the hose extension was standard and vented near the gas filler. woops
Click to expand...

I researched a little bit on this and it seems that the front diff and transfer case have a hose extending into the engine bay but on the rear diff there's only a breather.
 
I'm still wondering how the mechanic was able to diagnose it as frozen without taking it out and inspecting it. Or even if just looking at it would show the problem even if it was out and in hand.
 
“I'm still wondering how the mechanic was able to diagnose it as frozen without taking it out and inspecting it. Or even if just looking at it would show the problem even if it was out and in hand. “

A good Question! I pulled mine due to inspecting my 2007 Certified T4R @ 43,000 to verify the list of inspections/repairs and additional charges. It was a simple one-way valve that should be simple to check the one-way seal. Possibly he checked for the one-way seal if rust/mud or etc got his attention. Take it from me and do not open the valve vs checking with a vacuum hose/etc. A new one should be cheaper if needed (due to the time it took to adjust it to seal again and mine was clean and good, after seeing the inside’s process. jow
 
i have to replace one on the rear diff soon. got tires rotated at toyota, told me that the rr axle seal was leaking and could contaminate the brakes. said the vent was "frozen". picked up the part ($11). and will install soon.
 
rwh963 said:
i have to replace one on the rear diff soon. got tires rotated at toyota, told me that the rr axle seal was leaking and could contaminate the brakes. said the vent was "frozen". picked up the part ($11). and will install soon.
Click to expand...
did you get the part at toyota?
 
My axle seal is leaking. Likely because my differential vent (breather) is frozen. Advice on how to remove this lump of rust?
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It's off! Hit it with PB Blaster. Waited 30 min and took it off with a 14mm socket. Next is to fix the rear axle seal.
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that looks nasty, do these use the same parts as tacomas? I saw a Tacoma thread with part numbers for the hose nipple fitting to fit the axle threads and a vent cap to put on a hose that you mount wherever you want it
 
If that vent has pipe threads I would get a male barbed fitting, thread that into the axle housing and a hose on the barbed end to route it to a location where it easy to get too, attach another barbed fitting with a female end attached to the hose and a new or cleaned up vent attached to the female fitting and you can inspect/clean it periodically with ease in the future.

The hose will need to be oil resistant.

https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...t_id=1045459&gclid=CKyjteX0_NMCFdY9gQodQtAK4w

https://www.amazon.com/Dixon-Valve-...8-12&keywords=female+barbed+air+hose+fittings
 
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