Axles & Fluid Level

Probably.

Ive had axles fail when the bearings quit. You can bet whatever is liquid now wants out any way it can find a slope to flow out on.

Ive also had lost differentals. When the tow man pulled the axles the damage was quite apparent.

Ive had differentals destroy themselves among other types of driveline failures and when they do, usually the entire fluid content with the metal shavings and chunks need to be taken out. And fresh fluid put in once the space is confirmed to be clear of that.

Im just happy I am not a mechanic. I respect mechanics for sometimes being able to fix what I break. =)

Fluids is the least of our concerns when faced with a potential question of "Do we total this tractor and replace with a new one?"

 

Yes it will, You can use something like a gallon jug cut in half and place it under the cap. Shouldn't be more than a pint or so come out if the truck is level.

 

Making a tag axle out of one of your drives? I always thought of doing that. I think the oil level in the pumpkin is higher than the tube, so it should flow to the bearings.

 

The amount of oil held in the hub cavity with the axle out is enough to lube the bearings if a cap is installed after axle removal. I have resealed many axle flanges after they leaked. Started retorqing hubs on all new trucks. Transporters tend to under torque axles they reinstall. Then they start leaking much later. Never had a bearing failure.
Oil level on ours is lower in the banjo housing as oil never runs out of the axle tube when an axle is pulled.
When reinstalling a hub the cavity should be filled as much as possible. You can also drive the truck on a grade so oil will flow to the hub. Then do the other side as well.

 

I had a bearing failure on the IH 4070A I bought new in 1973. This was a short wheelbase twin-screw (152"), and the drive axles were tilted to meet the drive shaft angle resulting in a lower fill hole. IH failed to tell me to add a pipe elbow at the fill hole to raise the lube level about an inch. After it was too late, I saw the service bulletin at a dealership.

 

It wasn't orange, was it? Sounds like a Schneider truck

 

They warrantied it?

 

No warranty. I bought the truck in 1973, leased to Darling's Keyline until they sold to Roadway in 1978. The bearing failure occurred probably in 1979 when I was leased to R-W Service System. After that, I saw the service bulletin at a dealership.

 

I remember some diffs tilted like that but never saw a bulletin. They were off the hook by then anyway.