RockChucker
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Highland
About a month ago, my fam and I went down to Sand Hollow to play for a few days. The weather was perfect and the trails were good. At some point I halfway broke the breather off my rear axle. I didn't find out until I was all sorts of twisted up in the soup bowl at the end of the Maze. I probably lost almost a quart of oil. Still had a couple days to go though, so I did the smart thing. Duct taped up the hole so no foreign debris could enter with the plan to extract the broken piece when I got home. Didn't successfully drive the soup bowl either. It was getting late and we needed to get back for the evening. Strapped out. Also this stopped the oil draining...
I haven't driven my Jeep since the trip, mostly because I didn't know how much oil was still in the the rear axle. So I extracted the broken breather and popped the cover. Good time for an inspection and oil change any way. Rotated the ring gear, and it looked pristine. As I was cleaning the housing out in prep of sealing it back up, I found a few pieces of sadness.
Time for a much more thorough inspection. Enter strange yoga positions to see the pinion. And then more sadness.
The Dana 60 pinion is toasted. I can't complain at all though. I installed the gears 6 years ago. And the last three have been absolutely horrific from a red-headed step child beating stand point. So it's time for a freshen up. These gears are 4.56. I'm going to regear both ends to 5.38. I already have to go all the way into the front for new axle seals. So this really was the opportune time?
Anywho. We'll see how the 5.38s hold up. I suspect they won't be as durable. But I have plans for different axles in the works. And this may speed that plan up. Time will tell. I'll keep updating as I pull things further apart. It will be interesting to see how my axle shafts look...
I haven't driven my Jeep since the trip, mostly because I didn't know how much oil was still in the the rear axle. So I extracted the broken breather and popped the cover. Good time for an inspection and oil change any way. Rotated the ring gear, and it looked pristine. As I was cleaning the housing out in prep of sealing it back up, I found a few pieces of sadness.
Time for a much more thorough inspection. Enter strange yoga positions to see the pinion. And then more sadness.
The Dana 60 pinion is toasted. I can't complain at all though. I installed the gears 6 years ago. And the last three have been absolutely horrific from a red-headed step child beating stand point. So it's time for a freshen up. These gears are 4.56. I'm going to regear both ends to 5.38. I already have to go all the way into the front for new axle seals. So this really was the opportune time?
Anywho. We'll see how the 5.38s hold up. I suspect they won't be as durable. But I have plans for different axles in the works. And this may speed that plan up. Time will tell. I'll keep updating as I pull things further apart. It will be interesting to see how my axle shafts look...
