Checking axle breather valve?

[morgant]

Eleven months later and I've still yet to replace the radiator in my '82 SIII 88", but then again I've barely driven it.

I replaced the gear oil in the transmission, transfer box, and differentials a couple weekends ago and noticed something odd regarding the rear diff: it appeared to be over-filled, but with very brown gear oil. My assumption is that the previous owner never checked it after a water crossing or something. It was definitely in a state that could've been contributing to overheating.

With the gear oil replaced and at the correct level, the next thing I'd like to do is make sure the axle breather is functioning correctly. Does it just unscrew from the housing? What size is it (I'll have to borrow a wrench as my adjustable spanner doesn't fit well enough and a socket obviously won't fit over the cap)?

It's just a ball-bearing in there and I need to see if it's stuck, correct?

[daveb]

Does it just unscrew from the housing? What size is it (I'll have to borrow a wrench as my adjustable spanner doesn't fit well enough and a socket obviously won't fit over the cap)?

It's just a ball-bearing in there and I need to see if it's stuck, correct?

Yes, Don't know but I think it is a whitworth size, Yes, and Yes.

[Lalo88DK]

I unscrew the axle breather's from the housing with an slim 16 mm wrench, every time I service my Series III truck (for every 6000 miles) and put them in a little cup filled with petrol, leave for about 10 min. so they're nice and clean and you're able to hear the ball clicking when you shake the axle breather. Then I blast with compressed air and give each one a tiny drop of oil and replace them on the axle housing.

[alaskajosh]

Better yet, replace them with Defender style remote breathers and never worry about them again. Sold by RN.

Kind regards, Josh

[martindktm]

What I have done on mine is to remove the ball type breather and tap the thread 1/8" npt in the housing. Then I screwed a nipple so I can install a 1/4" remote flex hose.

[Lalo88DK]

Defender style remote breathers can be blocked aswell, and with same result, ask me how I know that ;)










I experienced this on my former Ninety :sly:

[morgant]

Thanks all!

No luck getting it off yesterday with the tools I have (Vise-Grips, various adjustable spanners, and non-metric wrenches), so I'll be trying to borrow a 16mm wrench and see how that goes.

[LaneRover]

Thanks all!

No luck getting it off yesterday with the tools I have (Vise-Grips, various adjustable spanners, and non-metric wrenches), so I'll be trying to borrow a 16mm wrench and see how that goes.

IIRC - this is one of the instances where having a cheap set of tools can help. You want a pretty thin wrench to make sure the 'mushroom cap' on top of the breather doesn't get in the way.

Brent

[morgant]

Frustratingly, it seems to be somewhere between 15mm & 16mm (and between 9/16" & 6/8"). Maybe I could squeeze a pair of needle-nose vise-grips in there.

[SafeAirOne]

Frustratingly, it seems to be somewhere between 15mm & 16mm (and between 9/16" & 6/8"). Maybe I could squeeze a pair of needle-nose vise-grips in there.


There are lots of sizes between 9/16" and 3/4" (6/8")!

[morgant]

There are lots of sizes between 9/16" and 3/4" (6/8")!

Ha! Obviously that should've been 5/8". :p

[morgant]

Fortunately, my boss has a set of Whitworth wrenches he bought for restoring/rebuilding a Norton, so I may have a real solution soon! Here's hoping. :D

[morgant]

Sadly, none of his Whitworth wrenches were the right size (maybe some of the sockets were, but obviously won't work for this issue). I bought another wrench that looked like it'd fit and do the job, but I only managed to round it off. So, now I'm worse off than where I started.

My next step will probably be to order a new axle breather valve and take the truck to a shop that can cut the mushroom cap off and then extract the rounded off bolt. Feh. :mad:

[SafeAirOne]

Just get some channel locks and accept that the breather will be sacrificed to the Rover Gods.

[morgant]

I essentially did. I picked up a pair of VISE-GRIP GrooveLock (http://www.irwin.com/tools/pliers-adjustable-wrenches/groovelock-pliers) (the one for hex nuts) and that's what rounded it. No matter how tight a grip I get, it just turns. Maybe if I mash the sides of the mushroom cap in so I can get a better grip, that'd help.

I guess my main concern is completely destroying the thing so it can't be removed.

[scott]

i don't mean to insult your intelligence but are you doing this lying on your back wiith the axle between you and the breather? lefty loosy, righty tighty only works when your looking right at the bugger you're trying to remove or install

[morgant]

No insult taken and certainly well worth verifying. I've been attempting to turn it to the right while lying on my back (which should be left if I were looking down at it).