Drive Axel Lubricant

[El-Sonador]

Drive Axel Lubricant

As some of you may know, I had to remove my drive axels.

I can't seem to get under the bus to top the Dif.

Is there some sort of trick to this, or is there enough oil left in there to drive to a shop with a lift/pit...?


Steve

[Brian Diehl]

Can you just run it up on some ramps?

If you pulled your axles you have some fluid left in the hubs.  How far you driving?  If it is only a couple of miles then you will be fine to drive.  If it is a lot of miles I personally would not do it.

Do your axle ends have little plugs in them to let you put gear lube directly into the hubs?  If so, just put in about 2 quarts on each hub and that should give you an additional gallon of fluid in the diff.  That should get you where you need to go if the bus was level when the axles were pulled.  If the bus was off level you may need up to 2 gallons of fluid.  It won't hurt to overfill the diff for a little while until you get where you can check the level out correctly.

[Dallas]

Steve,
Just put the axles back in and buy 2 (quart) bottles of Lucas Oil Additive. I've gotten loaded trailers over a hundred miles using that stuff with no damage. If you don't have oiler hubs, soak the bearings before you put the axles in, and add the rest into the axle tube. do it on both sides.
Good Luck!
Dallas

[El-Sonador]

OK... I found two small plugs [one on each hub] removable using a hex type allen key.

What weight and type oil should I get for this... The Lucas stuff? or is that just to pre-lub the axels before going in?

I can re-locate these plugs by rotating the hubs [driving the bus ahead a bit]
Should these plugs be at the top of the hub, bottom or halfway up when putting in the oil?

Steve

[Busted Knuckle]

Hey Steve,

Those are the plugs I refered to back in the thread when you first had yer problems and you should be good to go with either the heaviest gear oil you can get at the local parts store or the lucas, the lucas is more costly but it is good stuff! I'd postion the holes at the top and put 2 qts in each side, then get ya some boards stacked like ramps to run it up on where you can get under it and pull the plug on the rear end if the fluid is with in a 1/2" of the hole you're good to go if not fill to 1/2" or even till it starts runnunig out! Let us knowif ya have any more questions! Knuckle

[El-Sonador]

Hey Steve,

Those are the plugs I refered to back in the thread when you first had yer problems and you should be good to go with either the heaviest gear oil you can get at the local parts store or the lucas, the lucas is more costly but it is good stuff! I'd postion the holes at the top and put 2 qts in each side, then get ya some boards stacked like ramps to run it up on where you can get under it and pull the plug on the rear end if the fluid is with in a 1/2" of the hole you're good to go if not fill to 1/2" or even till it starts runnunig out! Let us knowif ya have any more questions!

I remember you telling me that back then but I was...

A - Didn't see them 'cause the axle was out and stored
B - I was tooooo frustrated to look closely
C - Just toooooo stupid
D - All of the above
;-)

But I got it now, finally, with yours and everyones help

Thanks BK

Steve

PS... I still plan on dropping in to see ya in TN, if that's still on with you?

[H3Jim]

When I had the drive axles pulled on the side of the road at midnight Thanksgiving eve, there was a small amount of differential fluid that came out, although it looked like a lot.  Later after we had reinstalled the axles I pulled into a shop to have them check the fluid level, and it was fine. What came out was just slightly over filled.

So:

1. Unless you drained the pumpkin, I think if you put the axles in, you can likely drive to the shop to have the level checked.  There should still be a lot of fluid left in there.
2. If you drive slowly, it shouldn't be an issue anyway.  If you are concerned, and have an infrared thermometer, you can stop and shoot the rear end for temp, shouldn't be above 200, and likely won't get over 100.

chances are you will be fine.

[Busted Knuckle]

Steve, my suggestion was just that a suggestion not anything else just what has worked for me over the yrs! An I finally got my 100 posts in right now! LOL Also yes it'll be fine to stop in, like I said b4 just give us a call and see when we're gonna be in or not as we've been covered up with charters lately! Also might wanna check my reply on the A/C question you posted it might be worth yer while to stop in an see Billy! Knuckle

[gumpy]

BK is right on with his post. If you only pulled the axles, you won't need to add much, but you should still check the differential plug.

Use 90wt gear oil.

The small plugs in the ends of the axle shafts are for lubricating the bearings in the hub after reassembly. You must have lube the bearings after reassembly so they will not be damaged before oil can travel from the differential through the axle tubes. You can add the 2 qts in each side, as suggested. This will ensure the hub is full and bearings are properly lubricated.

If your differential was full before removing the axles, 2 qts will probably be more than sufficient to re-fill after the axles are reinstalled. You should still pull the differential plug to check, though. There may be two plugs in the differential. Use the one on the side, not the one on the front cover. If you fill to the front cover plug, you will be overfull (BTDT).

[Brian Diehl]

BK is right on with his post. If you only pulled the axles, you won't need to add much, but you should still check the differential plug.

Use 90wt gear oil.

The small plugs in the ends of the axle shafts are for lubricating the bearings in the hub after reassembly. You must have lube the bearings after reassembly so they will not be damaged before oil can travel from the differential through the axle tubes. You can add the 2 qts in each side, as suggested. This will ensure the hub is full and bearings are properly lubricated.

If your differential was full before removing the axles, 2 qts will probably be more than sufficient to re-fill after the axles are reinstalled. You should still pull the differential plug to check, though. There may be two plugs in the differential. Use the one on the side, not the one on the front cover. If you fill to the front cover plug, you will be overfull (BTDT).

NOTE:  On my 96A3 the front differential fill plug is the CORRECT one to use.  On my 96A3 the side plug by the input shaft is the incorrect fill level and will cause the diff to be about 2-3 GALLONS over full.  Did that and wasted a bunch of expensive Oil!  Learned the hard way.

[gumpy]

I'm pretty sure Brian is probably correct about this (he did this more recently than I did  )

Ok, use the plug that is lower, or you will overfill it!  How's that?

[Dallas]

Craig,
You can modify or even delete your post any time you want.
Just go back to it and click on Modify!
Or Delete.
Dallas

CRAP!  I probably just posted incorrect information.

I'm pretty sure Brian is probably correct about this (he did this more recently than I did  )

Ok, use the plug that is lower, or you will overfill it!  How's that?