[the_orb]

am i crazy or are diff breathers just tubes that change the point where the diffs draw air from.

If thats the case couldn't I avoid the $70+ some shops are charging and DIY with some rubber hose?

(Im asking because I just had a $600 bill for a new bearing after it appears water got into the diffs )

[steve]

yeah, easy as, just make sure you use some oil resistant kind of hose, not garden hose. keep it away from the exhaust pipe, i melted mine once ... and run it up somewhere, can be in to the airbox or even under the dash etc etc, you could put some filters on the end if ya like. I think jimny did this in his build up thread recently. ... and check your diff oil occassionally too just to make sure

PS. $600 for a new bearing? get outa here !

[suzukikid]

steve wrote:

yeah, easy as, just make sure you use some oil resistant kind of hose, not garden hose. keep it away from the exhaust pipe, i melted mine once ... and run it up somewhere, can be in to the airbox or even under the dash etc etc, you could put some filters on the end if ya like. I think jimny did this in his build up thread recently. ... and check your diff oil occassionally too just to make sure

PS. $600 for a new bearing? get outa here !

I have used garden hose why is it not good?

I have run mine up into the engine bay because apparently if you run them into the cabin it smells a bit?

Mine work great but still check the oil after every trip!

$600 is a bit steep!

[steve]

i can't rmember the technical term, but garden hose isn't made to resist oil. So it will deteriate faster. It may go hard and crack etc. Just keep an eye on it i guess.

Yeah i remember old Jeff had his rear breather piped in to the back of the vitara and the rear diff blew up or something and filled the car with a horrible oil smell

[VitZook]

and the problem with nice smelling EP gear oil is ???
I just used oil/fuel hose with cheap fuel filters on each end to keep things clean, Front Diff and gearbox (dont forget the box) up into high spot in Engine bay and rear diff up into cavity behind tail light (up high). Easy and cheap...

[Kymb0]

Most types of air hose are oil resistant. 12mm ID fit over the top of the barb coming out of the diff. Most purpose built kits use 6mm. Don't run the pipes into your cab and don't connect your breather to your radiator overflow like someone I know recently did.

[Grantlington]

hahah thats gold. Did he blow his diff?

[atari4x4]

[the_orb]

suzukikid wrote:

steve wrote:

yeah, easy as, just make sure you use some oil resistant kind of hose, not garden hose. keep it away from the exhaust pipe, i melted mine once ... and run it up somewhere, can be in to the airbox or even under the dash etc etc, you could put some filters on the end if ya like. I think jimny did this in his build up thread recently. ... and check your diff oil occassionally too just to make sure

PS. $600 for a new bearing? get outa here !

I have used garden hose why is it not good?

I have run mine up into the engine bay because apparently if you run them into the cabin it smells a bit?

Mine work great but still check the oil after every trip!

$600 is a bit steep!

mmmm i had worst case scenario:

after the trip I had to go right off to work (dominos driver, 150km)

then the bearing went and the axle seal blew as a result.

when the axle seal went the diff oil sprayed all over the brake drums, so the pads perished and needed to be replaced

and the perished pads wrecked/warped the wheel cylinder when they got jammed open and they had be replaced.

all up i ended up with a bill that resembled a rear diff parts catalog

(there was some more that happened but I dont care to recall...)

the moral of the story is check diff oil before driving 200+ k's and wondering "where is that whining noise coming from?..." although i didnt really think about it until i came home the next morning after a night out to find a puddle of oil in the garage... (so does anyone know how to get the stuff off the concrete???)

Ill whip up some breather this week end, are filters realy needed id I put them somewhere away from dirt/dust?

[smileysmoke]

i used air hose like stuff used for air compressors and so on. lasted so far and is pretty hardy. garden hose will do fine but yeh may go hard if exposed to too much heat.
rear breather can be fed up next to the fuel filler pipe. just cut some rubber out and squeeze it up and in there.. then silicone to be safe.
i am thinking of attaching mine into the airbox instead of the fuel filters but the filters are cheap and easy.

atari - very neat setup i like the way everything looks in its place.

[Mitchy]

Your setup is nice as Atari . What are the silver things? What model + year is your car? And is that a strut brace I can see?
Thanks

[atari4x4]

Mitchy wrote:

Your setup is nice as Atari . What are the silver things? What model + year is your car? And is that a strut brace I can see?
Thanks

cheerz mitchy,
my zook is a 97 j20a vitara with the standard strut brace! the silver things are alloy valve caps with the rubber "O" ring removed, i trimmed the "barbs" off 2 sides on the top of the filter so valve cap still screws on & you can blow thru it easy & they only just screw on as a bit of bling & protection.

atari4x4

[The_GRIZZ]

heh,

mine come with extended diff breathers need to make the rear one longer.
how long did the breathers take to do?

[atari4x4]

they took no time what so ever compared to the other stuff thats been done, LOL. all up a couple of hours taking it easy....

the vitara has breathers front, rear & one for the gearbox & transfer case which reminds me i still need to extend the gearbox breather!

[The_GRIZZ]

were are the gearbox & transfer case breathers located?

[atari4x4]

it should be at the back of the block/bell housing. my 2.0 has the two breathers joined together by the front of the gearbox then a common breather that runs up to the the back of the block.

[The_GRIZZ]

Where do you run the lines from the breathers to up under the hood?

[atari4x4]

just follow the chassis rail

[Mitchy]

gotta try and get me one of those strut braces

[atari4x4]

Mitchy wrote:

gotta try and get me one of those strut braces

hey mitchy,
my 2.0 vitara is a fair bit different to the 1.6 vitara I would guess that the strut brace would be 60m wider from strut top to strut top compared to your 1.6

[the_orb]

i went to have a go at it today, but couldn't get those stupid stock caps off

any hints???

[Mitchy]

Ahhh right thanks, yeah the guy at fulcrum said something about gvs having strut braces, but probably wouldn't fit either.

[Jimny]

steve wrote:

yeah, easy as, just make sure you use some oil resistant kind of hose, not garden hose. keep it away from the exhaust pipe, i melted mine once ... and run it up somewhere, can be in to the airbox or even under the dash etc etc, you could put some filters on the end if ya like. I think jimny did this in his build up thread recently. ... and check your diff oil occassionally too just to make sure

PS. $600 for a new bearing? get outa here !

Hey Steve, I actually used the Pirahna kit and have had a couple of probs. The caps are only plastic and keep breaking in the original position. They've since been repositioned and believe it or not I just went out there to take a photo of the new position behind the headlight for you guys and one of them is broken again. Before I thought pressure from the bonnet might have been breaking them, now I know its just cheap crap. I'll be going back to see Lance with this.

[the_orb]

steve wrote:

keep it away from the exhaust pipe,

oops I should have listened to you steve. I put min in, went for a drive, and sure enough they had moved just enough to rest on the exhaust and melt the pipe in two. sigh, ill start again

[steve]

hah, yeah, atleast you noticed it