Chrysler 8 1/4 overfill

Hi,

I lifted my 1996 Cherokee, installed rear CV driveshaft and put 8* shims. Now I have to overfill the rear differential. The methods I found so far on this site are
- lifting the rear axle
- parking on a steep slope
- changing the diff cover with one with higher fill hole.

To fill even the normal amount of oil I would have to lift the rear axle 14" (100" * sin 8*). The lower end of the axle is 14 inches from the ground already. My jackstands allow of 21" maximum. I do not like the idea of putting 7" of bricks under jackstands.

The last time I filled the diff at a construction site on a hill of gravel. I had to drive 20 minutes one way and I am pretty sure it's gone now. It takes a while to find a steep road in the south bay area, and if you do find a steep place, car will be passing you all the time, so the idea of uneven parking is not appealing either.

All the talk about changing diff cover was about Dana 44 rear axle. I have Chrysler 8 1/4. Are there any ideas where I could find a cover with a higher fill hole? May be not sufficient higher by itself, but enough to make jacking the rear axle excersize feasible.

I am also thinking about drilling a new hole higher in my cover and buying one more rubber plug for $2. Does anybody have any concerns about driving with 2 holes in the rear diff cover ?

Thank you,
Andrey

Id just lift the rear end up with a floor jack till the diff seems about level with the ground...then filler up and pop the plug in place.

Or, you could weld the original hole closed, grind it smooth and drill another hole slightly higher and use your existing plug...ive never had a plug pop out, but with 2, your doubling your chances!

you care way too much, back the jeep up on something, fill it up

autozone sells mini ramps to drive your car up. Buy some.

xjj33p3r said:

autozone sells mini ramps to drive your car up. Buy some.

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nah... I say that this is a great excuse to go wheeling

Kejtar said:

nah... I say that this is a great excuse to go wheeling

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Amen to that.

What if you gook the front wheels and tires off and somehow set them on something? That would give you at least 10 inches, wouldn't it?

Either go out and wheel it or just park the rear on a curb. That will give you what you need.

OK, while I was joking (kind of ) about going wheeling, some of the suggestions sound scary: take of front wheels, set it down to fill the rear diff?
Slonopotam you have the right idea: during the next diff fluid change, take a drill, drill out a big hole higher up and tap it and use a big bolt to close it up (I hate the rubber plugs as they are worthless).
Careful not to overfill though as you will experience foaming then and you will end overheating the diff anyways as the foam doesn't cool down as good as liquid.

Kejtar said:

some of the suggestions sound scary: take of front wheels, set it down to fill the rear diff?

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Why is that such a bad idea? That would lower the front and thus require less lift in the rear to acheive the same angle. As for what to set it down on, perhaps there are some short jacks you could set the front axle on. That would probably use up some of your space, but you could still gain a few inches.

What am I missing? What's so bad about that idea?

carmike692000 said:

Why is that such a bad idea? That would lower the front and thus require less lift in the rear to acheive the same angle. As for what to set it down on, perhaps there are some short jacks you could set the front axle on. That would probably use up some of your space, but you could still gain a few inches.

What am I missing? What's so bad about that idea?

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Well, for one it's a lot of work, then you're also have to look at putting a vehicle at an angle on 2 stands and a jack (or 4 jackstands) as the shear dropping of the front to sit on the axle instead of tires isn't going to give him all he wants (unless he runs some pretty BIG tires) and that just sounds squirly: things can slip and things can break that way.

Gotcha.

carmike692000 said:

Why is that such a bad idea? That would lower the front and thus require less lift in the rear to acheive the same angle. As for what to set it down on, perhaps there are some short jacks you could set the front axle on. That would probably use up some of your space, but you could still gain a few inches.

What am I missing? What's so bad about that idea?

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Its alot of work in the sence that all you really need to do it jack the rear end up a few inches and fill it...vs taking off tires, worrying about what your going to set it on, etc. It would work...theirs just easier ways to go about it...

Possibly you could add some extra lube through the breather hole.
Also you might add about 1/2 cup of trans fluid
to keep the overfill foaming action to a minimum.
Not sure how much extra lube to add.
Eddie

Kejtar said:

nah... I say that this is a great excuse to go wheeling

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I enjoy wheeling trips for as long as they do not lead to towing rides.

eddieeddieg said:

Possibly you could add some extra lube through the breather hole.
Also you might add about 1/2 cup of trans fluid
to keep the overfill foaming action to a minimum.
Not sure how much extra lube to add.
Eddie

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This is what I have done at the construction site last time.

eddieeddieg said:

Possibly you could add some extra lube through the breather hole.
Also you might add about 1/2 cup of trans fluid
to keep the overfill foaming action to a minimum.
Not sure how much extra lube to add.
Eddie

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This is exactly what I've done the last time at the construction site. Next week I'll see how well it worked.

Kejtar said:

OK, while I was joking (kind of ) about going wheeling, some of the suggestions sound scary: take of front wheels, set it down to fill the rear diff?
Slonopotam you have the right idea: during the next diff fluid change, take a drill, drill out a big hole higher up and tap it and use a big bolt to close it up (I hate the rubber plugs as they are worthless).
Careful not to overfill though as you will experience foaming then and you will end overheating the diff anyways as the foam doesn't cool down as good as liquid.

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What kind of steel the diff cover is made from? Is it easy to tap?
Why do you say rubber plugs are worthless ?

The addition of the second rubber plug should slightly decrease the chances of a plug popping out.

just a thought but if you keep the original plug and drill a higher hole, you have a higher chance of the bottom one leaking becouse it will be submirged? It may not be an issue at all though I don't have any first hand expirence just thinking about it.

uspsamaster said:

just a thought but if you keep the original plug and drill a higher hole, you have a higher chance of the bottom one leaking becouse it will be submirged? It may not be an issue at all though I don't have any first hand expirence just thinking about it.

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Actually the bottom one will stay in a better shape as it will not dry up. Also you could lay a small bead of silicone underneath the lip of the bottom plug before inserting it.