Topic: driving without diff fluid?

[n.c.84]

 so ive been working on getting the front diff fluid from leaking. got the inner seal replaced and new bearings put it in and now its leaking evan worse. i have a 20 hour drive to do tommorrow and was wondering if i can just drain the differential and run it without? is this a bad idea? thanks

[*FFC*]

  

[WHITE_TRASH]

No problem.  Just dont forget that the front diff is empty, go wheeling and blow the rear end, have the t-case shifter get jammed in lowrange and drive it 30 miles like I....  A friend tried to don one time.  it did make it 25 miles though.

[n.c.84 [OP]]

so as long as im not running it in 4 wheel drive it should be fine??

[Ramrod]

you do not want to spin a diff without gearoil period.  simple

[WHITE_TRASH]

Hubs unlocked, t-case in 2x you could put 80 bajillion miles on it and it'd never know the difference.

[n.c.84 [OP]]

Thats what i thought white trash. obvoisly i dont want to hurt anything else in there but i dont have the time or the $ to break it down agian. i think i may have to rebiuld the whole drivers side knuckle. thanks.

[WHITE_TRASH]

If the seal is wasted again Id have to say the knuckle isnt centered on teh ball correctly and it causing the seal to be worn unevenly thus leakage.  If/when you take it apart again mark the orientation of the seal and pull it out.  If its worn on the top or bottom pull a shim from the non worn side and put it on the worn side.

[whiteman]

WT is right un-lock hubs and 2x you will  be fine .  If the gears turned with no oil you would not even make it 15 miles if that befor they blew up.  Trust me my friend learned from experience. 

[WHITE_TRASH]

My "friend" made it 25+ miles before the pinion bearings grenaded into pieces.  Not bad for doing 50 in lowrange running 3.90's and 39.5 tsl's.

[whiteman]

     Damn!   

[WHITE_TRASH]

It was a bad day but it made for great video.   Thats the problem with driving my...er I mean his junk everywhere sometimes ya just dont make it.

[n.c.84 [OP]]

thanks guys.... could the knuckle itself be the problem with the leak? i drove it for a while after the repair and no leak. then this morning there was a big puddle under the wheel. im puzzled??

[WHITE_TRASH]

Was it gear oil or liquified grease?

[kneedownnate]

thanks guys.... could the knuckle itself be the problem with the leak? i drove it for a while after the repair and no leak. then this morning there was a big puddle under the wheel. im puzzled??

That's pretty much what mine did too, cept I haven't been in to fix it yet.  Long as it'll go with no oil till I do guess I have no worries

[Tice]

I was installing my longs and 5.29's last summer, started to drain the oil outa the diff but only water came out!!!!!!!!!!!   I had wheeled it 3 times prior to that day!!!!!!!      Just wanted to share that!!!

[fellowsped]

you might not have those 4 bolts holding your axle shafts in tight enough. put a wrench on them then put a cheater bar or another wrench on that wrench and crank them on there. that ought to at least slow it down. maybe soem gasket maker could help i'm not sure. although i'm sure you can run it without diff fluid it's just not smart. i would try to avoid that at all costs.

[n.c.84 [OP]]

man i hope its not grease. i drained the diff and it was pretty low so i assume its the oil and the grease.