THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

I know, I probably post too much...

But I found some concerning things today. I managed to slide the Pinz in to a very very swampy ditch yesterday on accident and buried it up to the axles in mud. It had to sit for about 2 hours while my buddy met me out there with some straps.

I went back to my parents place after spraying the thing off at a car wash. I started by checking all fluids. Engine oil was good, front diff was great, tranny was great, and t case was great. The alarming thing I found was a layer of rust stuck to the rear diff check plug (not so much a big deal, fluid was very clean and level was barely low). But also I found loads of froth in 3 of the 4 portals. I had 1 quart of 80w90 on me and filled them as much as I could to drive the foam out. This week when I get back to my place, I'm dropping all fluids and replacing them.

Should I be concerned about the portals though? They leak no fluid and appear difficult to service. I don't want to rip them apart unless needed. I have to drive it about an hour at 65mph back home. Will something nuke itself?

Thanks for the help, a search wasn't fruitful but maybe I'm just bad at searching.

if the froth you found is a mixture of oil and water you will ruin your wheel bearings and your portals.
you can change all these fillings on the road; just take off the respective whee for better access.

I still would have no idea how the water got in, unless there is a crack, or a missing filler screw...

I always assumed froth = water.

When the froth came out I checked it between my fingers and it was still VERY slippery and color of non-frothy oil was great.

Don't forget that oil sits on water so the froth may be at the top but there is likely water pooled at the bottom too. Best to fully drain, spray well with wd40 to get the water out and then refill with Hi-hypoid 80-90. I like to add Lucas additive to hubs, diffs, etc. too. Change it to whatever you wish when you get home.

The hubs may not be leaking the large oil molecules but water is a smaller molecule and 2 hours of emersion can find a tiny leak.

Running it home as is would be a big risk. Oil is cheaper than parts.

Good luck.

Cheers, Clive

Well I had to get it moved, so I drove the froth out and replaced with fresh out. It made it back beautifully. I've now got the Pinz down for the week to run through all fluids and add my oil temp gauge in.

Hated driving it suspecting that water might be in there... But even though I didn't plan on it, I should always be prepared for mud to strike. I live too close to the swamp haha