White plastic thing on rear diff

[jerrah]

Looking under my new MQ I've noticed a "white plastic thing" on the top left of my rear differential. Unlike my very basic MK there is a lot of stuff on the outside of the diff so I'm not sure what should be there or was potentially missed in pre-delivery.

[aids84]

It's your diff breather

[Duck]

Not for the diff breather ?
Might have to wait for a MQ owner to chime in.

[jerrah]

Not for the diff breather ?

Looking at my MK again it has a breather hose from the exact same spot. The MQ has a white cap that looks like it should have been removed and there is no hose linking the diff to the tube that joins the two sides of the chassis. Looks like something was missed in pre-delivery. Hopefully nothing else was missed.

I'm not going to pull off the cap until I have a hose to replace it with, I guess I should talk to the dealer to see if they want to check it over again...

Good thing I didn't race out and do a water crossing before checking it!

[jerrah]

[aids84]

It is how it should be, they went away from the hose around 2011/12 I think. The white plastic cap has a valve of some sort under it. Some people have modified the breather back to the old hose style, but I'd say plenty of people have kept it factory and not had issues with water entering the diff in normal 4x4 conditions.

[jerrah]

It is how it should be, they went away from the hose around 2011/12 I think.

That's really odd. It doesn't look very robust which is why I thought it was only a temporary thing. I wonder what the advantage of the "valve" is because it certainly wouldn't be cheaper than just running a hose up to the crossmember.

I asked my mechanic mate and he reckons Toyota use something similar on Hilux's but they're made from metal.

[special k 16]

Hi, I've machined up an aluminium "cup" (which has a 1/8" BSP threaded fitting taking an 8mm nylon breather hose up behind the loading board) to fit over the little white plastic thing. So essentially I have not altered or removed the breather, but, given it some protection from rocks etc whilst improving water protection. I'll try to post a picture. Also any info on the front diff/gearbox/transfer breathers would be appreciated.

[Cowboy Dave]

The MN's had the same breather except models with diff locks. Mine has been like that since 2009. Crossed some rivers and stuff and never had an issue.

[robothefisho]

Same setup on a 2012 MN. It definitely lets water into the diff.