Differential Vent
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Differential Vent
Where is the vent located? I have a leak that drips slightly to the drivers side on the differential. I have had the "O" ring/seal problem which is further outboard. I read here that the vent is spring loaded and releases pressure. Could it stick open? The differential is slighly overfull but it was this way for a 1500 mile trip completed last month without signs of leakage.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
The vent is the small round steel cap on the top of the drivers side of the housing. It is spring loaded to allow air/pressure to escape and not allow air back in.
The differential normally operates at a slight vacuum and when it cools off the vacuum inside the diff increases. This helps prevent diff leaks. If you remove the fill plug when the differential is cold, you should hear a small inrush of air.
The correct fill on the C5 diff is to have the car level and allow all the excess fluid to run out of the diff fill plug. If it is over full it can come out of the vent. Heat can cause the fluid to expand and exit the vent.
BC
The differential normally operates at a slight vacuum and when it cools off the vacuum inside the diff increases. This helps prevent diff leaks. If you remove the fill plug when the differential is cold, you should hear a small inrush of air.
The correct fill on the C5 diff is to have the car level and allow all the excess fluid to run out of the diff fill plug. If it is over full it can come out of the vent. Heat can cause the fluid to expand and exit the vent.
BC
