Car was sitting with wheels under water for 20 minutes. Will I have water in my axles?

[Sam Mills]

So the other day I god stuck in some mud and was sitting there for about 20 minutes. All wheels where under water and I am wondering whether water has managed to get in the axles. Is there any way to check without draining the fluid?

 

[UKlandy]

As long as you have diff breathers in the engine bay and no leaks from the axles no water should be able to enter the axles. A good way to check though is to remove the filler plug from the diffs. If there is oil coming out at a fast rate (some drips coming out is normal but not a lot) the water has entered the diff which makes the oil spill out of the filler plug when opened

 

[Rockingladiator]

Probably not but it's worth doing what was mentioned above

 

[Tom Davis]

I had the exact same thing happen with my Land Rover and the wheel bearings had a lot of water in them. the axles just a little. It depends on your truck and how old or new it is.

As we all know, Rovers don't have the best sealing properties so I expected it to have water in it. However, with other vehicles you may be able to get away with it.