Removing rear dif breather

[cobraii78]

Hello everyone,

Not sure if this has been asked before, but I'm wanting to remove and replace the breather on my series 5 rear differential. I'm pretty sure it is the original one that came with the car from new. When I attempt to grab it by the cap it just spins. If I lift the cap, there is nowhere to grab onto it to get it to unthread it from the dif. Any ideas on how to remove? Also, where can I get a new one?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[65beam]

If memory serves me correctly there were 4 different breathers used over the years. The early ones were a bolt with a hole drilled thru them and the later had the cap over them to prevent the clogging with dirt and junk that happened to the early ones. The threads were all 5/16 fine thread. Unscrew it and clean it because I doubt that you'll ever find a new one. It seems everything is working if the cap moves.

 

[cobraii78]

Thanks for the reply. I'm trying to unscrew it to clean it, but am not sure where to grab it so it will unscrew. the cap just spins, and i can't find anywhere else to grab onto it to break it free. I am getting a lot of leakage from it when i drive the car. Always seem to have fluid dripping from the dif after i drive the car. So if this is normal then it's working fine.

 

[65beam]

Don't try to remove the cap that swivels. It's part of the vent. The entire unit unscrews from the housing. Look and you'll see what looks like a bolt head at the housing. Put your wrench on that and unscrew the entire unit. The leaks are probably coming from the pinion seal or axle seals.

 

[Mike O'D]

You can also lose a lot of oil through the vent if it was installed in the wrong position.