​I am fighting leaking front diff seals and checked the vent tube. No air could pass when blowing from the vent with the fill plug off. Now I am wrestling the little metal tube and the hole must be so tiny. I can't get a larger guitar string in the tube and the smaller string only barely goes in before stopping hard. Is the hole in this tube really that small?

It is tucked in there and I have no leverage to twist and push into the tube. Any advice would be appreciated

 

No I don't believe so.

 

The tube is about 2x longer than shown in the photo. It has a bend where it goes out of view. No hex to unthread from the diff to replace, so I wonder if I can somehow get a hacksaw blade in there to shorten the tube to be able to push straight down the tube instead of around a corner.

 

The front Diff vent hose pops off the Diff connector. It runs from that front Diff connector up to the passenger side of the Radiator Core Support where it loops so the vent is pointing down and no fluids can enter from the top if submerged. Maybe a prior owner Master Minded their own half arsed replacement???

Take a look at page 28 - 31 Driveline/Axle Front Drive Axle - H3

 

I do have the hose off the connector pipe. The little pipe doesn't go vertical, it kinda veers 45 degrees 1" up.
I picked up a little pipe cutter and will try to cut the mwtal tube to be vertical so I can poke something down the hole. Gotta wait for everything to cool off to get in there.

 

why not try to put a piece of that wire in a drill and try cleaning it out that way before cutting it.

 

I have tried wire, guitar string, bicycle shift cable on a drill etc. i spent 2 hours under the car with a hack saw blade moving it 1/4 inch at a time with the room I have and got it to a vertical nubby tube. Tomorrow I'll be able to get in there with a tiny drill bit and work at the mud or whatever is in there. I imagine a front diff rebuild in the near future if the vent doesn't solve the problem.

 

Thanks for the link to the manual. My breather tube for sure doesn't look like the image or any replacement. It has no hex on it to wrench it from the case. The threaded part sits flush with the top of the case so only the tube sticks up. No chance getting leverage to unscrew it while in the car.

 

OK, I think I understand better. You are talking about the Front Diff Connector Tube, the metal tube that the rubber vent hose connects to at the Diff. It is supposed to be pretty straight with about a 45 degree bend off of pointing straight up. Maybe a prior owner Fubared it into a bent kink situation. Like if they pulled the diff and hit the connector tube during the R&R?

When was the last time you changed the Front Diff Lube?

There is more than one way to skin any cat. Get a front diff cover gasket, then remove the cover and inspect the vent from inside the diff. Spray solvent (several applications over time) in from the tube to dissolve any baked in crud.

 

I got it finally!
Last night I was beat after sawing forever.
I got a tiny drill bit this morning and wrapped the top in tape so I could spin it and not drop it in if the hole releases. I kept adding a drop of gear oil to turn the dirt to mud and it took about 25 minutes of twisting with a few fingers in that space.
A little hiss of air came out as I breached the case so I imagine my seal leaks will subside considerably being that there was pressure overnight on a cool diff.
I will change the diff fluid soon.