frozen rear end

Got back to the ranch after Elk hunting and discovered that the truck wouldnt move after checking everything I took of the filler cap on the rear end and found it frozen solid put a heater on it drained all the water and gear lube refilled it and works fine. This truck leaks NO fluid so how would the water get in any ideas?

 

"SOMEBODY" parked it in a creek and the water filled into the dif through the vent and the oil floated away through the same vent

 

the vent is the only real way to get anything in or out...so the creek park is a good possibility

 

Thanks for the help BUT where is the vent located?

 

there should be a vent tube on the top of the rear diff..(a breather) should have a short hose on it so it can breathe up near the bottom of the truck bed

 

I must admit, I giggled a little at the subject line. It's winter here and reflects my sentiment exactly!

Glad it was an easy fix for you. The last rear end I seized was a friend's Jeep that the gears blew apart on the highway... Locked up solid at 60mph. Apparently running dry isn't a good thing.

The old 4x4 guys would drain their diffs after each "event" as they were very prone to taking on water. If you are doing a lot of off-roading, see if you can't run the vent line higher up into the frame.

/Kris

 

Thanks again the picture helped also, the 3 years I've ownned my Mitz it's never seen a paved road out here in the sandhills, I'll keep it in mind about drainning the rear end more often. Today I need to change the CV joint before that blows up, I'v had the parts for awhile but no time to work on it.
Thanks All