Extending axle breathers
 

I'm looking to extend the axle breathers on my '93 Hilux 4x4 Pick Up. How am I best doing this? The ideal solution in my mind would be a screw-in nipple which I can then attach a tube to, and feed this high up into the bodywork where no water can enter. Any idea where I could procure such things?

Whilst I'm here, I'm after two 22x1.5 threaded blanking plugs for an auxillary fuel tank (from a DAF truck) - any idea where I could get these? I've searched the internet but can't really find anything. DAF website was no help for spare parts.

Cheers

Dan

You can use most any type of hose, come right off the factory outlet. Put a small filter on the end of it. Zip-ties galore and you're done......

I used B&Q garden irrigation hose on my landy, they also do push in hose connectors. I ran the pipe out the side of the bonnet and up the snorkel.

And don't forget the gearbox and transfer box breathers (if a Hilux has them...)

:thumbup1:

Also this!
 

Even with the breathers extended you can still get water in the oil! the difference in temp when you drive into the water will create a gap in the plates and water still seeps in! some people dont have them and they wade through with no problems!



Good luck

what diameter is the breather hose on your truck? land rover stuff is about 8mm or so, so you could go and buy an "off the shelf" breather extension kit fron the likes of Bearmach, for about £30 or so, or just go to your local pnuematic hose place and buy a length of 8mm (or whatever size) hose.

I did this on my 90. got some heat shrink sleeving and used that to "join" my new pipes to the existing ones under the bonnet. on land rovers the factory pipe has curve moulded into the pipe (like an upside down "J"), so i cut that off (leaving an inch or so pipe on it), attached my "new" pipe and where i terminated the pipes (up by my snorkel top) i re-attached the "J" piece (using heat shrink again) so that rain water/mud/babies etc wouldn't go down the pipe.

a word of warning though: don't be tempted to stuff the end of the pipe up into your snorkel top (if you have one).... i did and the suction from the engine was enough to suck up the ATF fluid from my main gearbox then deposit it down the side of my rover!

it looked like i'd run a rambler over....red all down the side of it, like blood! LOL!

Hi

Thanks for your replies.

I guess maybe the Land Rovers have different breathers... on the Toyo, it's a nipple with a crimped cap on top, so as far as I can see, I'll need to take these bits out, and screw a new fitting in, with a hose on. My question really is where to get such pieces from...

Would it work if I just prised the crimped cap off and stuck a hose on?

The gearbox and transfer breathers are about level with the floor of the cab, so if the water reached this level, I'll be finding another way round!

Breather kits
 

Not sure where to get them, but tryMatt Savage - see details below - meber here on the Hubb, and regularly helps Chris Scott will prep work for his desert trips:

Matt Savage - Telephone 01629 55855 ,
email: sales@mattsavage.com
www.mattsavage.co.uk


Let us know what you come up with - and who helps sort the parts/problems

Chris

Hi Dan (and ChrisC, thanks!) I can help, but you might not need them.
Your Toyota will have a one-way valve in the breather, so it should not let any water in anyway, that's why it's there.
But if you are going to spend a long time submerged in water (or mud) then extending the breather would be a good idea. The axles AND the gearboxes.
The easiest way to do this is like Lone Rider said, get some pipe (plastic is best) and attach it to your breather. You will need to remove your existing breather, take it to a place that sells nuts and bolts (like an engineering place) and buy a banjo bolt with the same thread to go in the existing breathers place. Then simply attach the plastic pipe to the banjo bolt and route it all up your bulkhead, and then either stop just under the bonnet, or (as you've gone to all this trouble!) go up towards the roof and, like diesel jim says, put and upside down J at the top.
BUT MAKE SURE IT DOES NOT GET BLOCKED! If it gets blocked then the oil in the axle (or gearbox) will push it's way past an oil seal.
If you want to be really fancy you could put little air filters on the end of each breather (you'll have 4 breathers)
As I said, you only have to do this if you are going to spend a long time sitting in water/mud! Your Hilux did come out of the factory ready to plunge through rivers!
Cheers,
Matt

PS, the place that you get the banjo bolt from might also have a blanking plug for your DAF fuel tank.

These are probably the same one-way valves that are fitted to 80 series. They do get stuck occasionally and can lead to a build up of pressure in the diff, the final result being a blown inner axle oil seal and diff oil swimming around the front drive shafts instead of moly grease. Tell-tale sigfn is oily front swivels and oil seeping out of the small knock-off hub cap. Another idea is to use in line fuel filters or just make sure you check the standard fit Toyo valves aren't jammed with mud etc. Extending to top of the engine bay should be fine. IMHO water is best avoided if poss and any deeper than that and you're into RN submarine territory.

Check this too
 

from Land cruiser forum!

Water in front axle / differential ( below )

Much later in the trip a heavy river crossing resulted in water seeping into the front diff. How it happens is a mystery to me as i have diff breather extensions and there can be no pressure difference as i have fitted fuel filters to the end. It's apparently caused by hot metal contracting as it meets cold water and water is sucked in . Thankfully no damage done as we only did a short distance in four-wheel drive after the crossing but i will be checking this far more often now

filter very good idea!

another story!

The water was so deep that at the midpoint of the crossing, the nose of my lifted Cruiser dipped below the water. A Landy that followed me had water running into the cab via the vents above the bonnet. My breathers are factory standard and I did not get any water into the diffs or gearbox. Best remedy I think is too stay away from deep water as it gets into lots of other places: alternator, headlight units, fuse boxes etc.

some more DIY info on breathers

Johan Buys wrote:Remember that 100/105 already have a partial breather in place, we just need to extend the existing pipe.
Possible procedure to follow:

- remove the existing breather,
- fit suitable hose (in my case, BMW's high pressure rubber fuel lines - can't be squashed and is oil resistant),
- from rear diff, route pipe along chassis (making sure that you have sufficient slack to allow for suspension travel),
- T-up with similar lines from gearbox and transfer case,
- route pipe up the firewall to just below the bonnet,
- fit simple R 9.95 in-line fuel filter and let the filter hang downwards

On my vehicle I have a separate breather for the front axle to reduce the amount of plumbing (comes up to the cranking battery