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Over filled portal gearcase

Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 7:10 pm
by JimmyC
I was checking the fluid level in my portal cases and one in back is very over filled. Can oil get from the differential into the portal cases?

Re: Over filled portal gearcase

Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2018 9:06 am
by rmel
You would have to have a lot of very broken things to even
get a drop of oil from the Diff to the portal. It's damn near
impossible.

Did you pull the plug when the Portal was warm? If so you
should expect to see some oil leak out due to expansion.

The second possibility was that your wheel drives where
"spin filled". I was taught this trick by a Pinz mechanic in the
Bay Area. While you are filling the wheel drive, have someone
spin the Tire or Drum, this will cause the gears to "pump" up
the fluid so then you can squeeze in a few more CC's into that
puny chamber -- under this scenario you would be a tad
overfilled.

Re: Over filled portal gearcase

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 6:30 am
by undysworld
Lube can get from the diff to the wheel drives. IIRC, there are a couple o-rings and/or seals in the diff that keep the fluids in their proper boxes. It's been years since I did the repair, but I seem to recall a seal that had a critical placement when reassembling things.

Check your diff level to see if it's low.

Re: Over filled portal gearcase

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 9:27 am
by JimmyC
I found some old threads on here and it looks like it does happen. In one thread Jim L indicated it was something that the repair could be put off for a bit as long as oil was not getting on the ground. Sounds like the diff needs to come out but not completely apart. The parts look cheap, but it looks like a lot of work.

Re: Over filled portal gearcase

Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 3:31 pm
by undysworld
For sure, it's a bit of work to pull a diff, but far from impossible. Front is worse than a rear, I believe.

So long as you keep lube in the gearboxes, you can indeed live with the leak/s.

If the seal/s in the wheel drive fail, the wheel drive lube can leak into the brake assembly area. There's a weep hole there which theoretically drains any leaked lube out the back of the backing plate (towards center of vehicle), as long as the weep hole is clean. This is to prevent the lube from contaminating the shoes.

Re: Over filled portal gearcase

Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:55 pm
by heinz
I have found the same situation on the left side R.A. when I bought my Pinz in 2016, and only half a quart of gear oil left in my rear diff. I am still driving like that, checking oil levels and correcting them if necessary, watching how fast the oil leaks. It seems to be very slow, so I´m not taking action yet.