I’ve had quite a few inquiries about the Vent Tube Tape that is located on the Rear Axle Housing. There are a few details surrounding this topic that others may have more information about. The Tape was used to cover the threaded Axle hole during shipment to the Assembly Plant. I can’t be sure if they were suppose to remove this Tape on the Assembly Line, prior to installing the Vent or if the Line Workers accidentally left it in place. I have seen quite a few original examples with the Tape still in place and others that had no signs of it ever being there.
There were also variations of the Breather/Vent Fittings. One had a thicker hex head and longer threads. The other had a thinner hex head and shorter threads. Both shared the same part number. Most of the earlier versions that I have documented exhibited the thicker hex head and longer thread shaft. I don’t know why they were manufactured with these minor changes. Pictured below are a couple of NOS examples. One is dated 1984 and the other is dated 1986. The label showing the date is not when the Parts were manufactured. That date was when the part was pulled from inventory (for shipping) from a “Picking Ticket”. One has the older Chrysler packaging used in the mid Seventies. The other has the newer style packaging that was used in the Nineties.
Here are a few pictures showing the Tape used on the 4 Door Axle Housing, the variations between the Vent Breathers and a couple photos of original examples.
