VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Anyone tried sucking gear oil out of the rear end?

I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried using some kind of pump to suck the gear oil out of the rear end instead of removing the axle housing cover? If so, what kind of pump and where did you buy it? Don't know if it would work. But if it works there would be less chance of stripping old screws in the housing.

Just take out a bottom bolt on the cover. Put a pan under first. Go get a cup of coffee, donut, shave, brush your teeth. Come back a couple of hours later and the rear end will be drained.

Yes, I guess that was a pretty dumb question. Thanks for the advise Chipper. That's what I'll do.

I agree that is the easy way to drain the rear axle even when you are planning to remove the cover.

Just remember to put some sealant on the threads of that bolt when you reinstall it.

Good advice Rusty. Thanks. I'll get some permatex.

I actually have a tool for drawing the fluid out of something, like a rear end. Its a canister about the size of a caulking tube, with a nipple on the end that a rubber hose attaches to. You insert the rubber hose and pull on the handle to draw the fluid out and into the canister. Push handle to remove the fluid. Can be very time consuming, taking a bolt out and waiting for fluid to drain makes more sense, but the tool does get used on a couple of jobs. Removing summer windshield washer fluid was last job.

I got the tool at Princess auto here in Canada, less than $10.......... 5 years ago.

mike lynch

Has the differential cover ever been off or has it been a really long time since it came off?

If either case is true, I suggest pulling the cover off so that you can get any sludge out of there. The sludge won't drain through the bottom cover bolt hole.

Also, you cannot inspect the innards by just draining the oil and replenishing it. There might be a chipped gear tooth and the loose chip is sitting in the sludge.

It's better to err on the side of safety, Dean

I would suggest pipe thread or just thread sealant would be better than Permatex. Just clean the bolt off in mineral spirits, and clean out the female threads with shop rag or paper towel right before installing the coated bolt. Removing permatex in the future could be tedious.

I got my sealant at NAPA, can't recall who made it. I use it on all water pump, and (later V8) intake manifold bolts to stop oil wicking out of the lifter valley onto the top of the manifold.

Doug

If you still like the suction pump idea, here's an example of what will work for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Wekster-Mult...&keywords=suction+pump+oil&psc=1

My thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I'm thinking I should remove the cover and check it out. When I bought the car almost a year and a half ago I changed all of the fluids except the differential. I checked it and added a small amount to it.
What would be the best gasket sealer and thread sealant to use on the cover? I used to use permatex when I was a young man. In the military we used to use a sealant designated as MILSPEC-8802. It worked great but can't be bought on the civilian market.

I like permatex #2. It stays soft.

Perfect timing. Thanks to all

When refilling the rear axle I use a 2L pex coke bottle with a plastic fitting removed from a 1pt gear oil container.The gear oil container extendible fitting is the same size as the coke bottle opening. Fill the coke bottle completely with 2 quarts of oil and as the bottle empties you can squeeze it out of shape and lift it up against the underfloor to empty it.I warm up the 600 wt gear oil for my '36 first to make this process faster.