Gear Oil Level

[Softball 21]

Hello
Have a 97 Columbia Par Car Eagle. 48V Electric.
Can someone help me out.
Will extremely low gear oil with water in it make the rear feel like it is slipping or like the axle splines are stripped?
I have taken the right side axle shaft fully out and the splines seam good. I have not pulled the gears apart in the pumpkin. As of yet.
I have taken the cover off and got all the old fluid out.
Wondering what my next step should be.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Notsoslim]

Is it actually slipping or just making noise? When you drained the lube did it have pieces of metal in it or a metal flake appearance? For now I would put lube back in it and see what happens. I would use straight 30 weight and run it a little to listen to it and then drain it again and inspect the lube that comes out of it for metal content.

 

[Softball 21]

Thank you very much for your input.
There was no metal chips or fragments that came out. And the splines seam very good.
Just the very milky fluid that came out. and not very much of it at all.
I will give the changing the fluid a shot as you said.
Thank you again.

 

[Notsoslim]

Check your wheel bearings for play. Jack the cart up and give it what I call a shakedown. Grab the wheel and try to shake it up and down, left to right and in and out. The brakes may be holding it from moving to some extent so take the wheel off and remove the brake drum and grab the hub and repeat the shakedown process. If the bearings are bad enough the axle and drum can move enough to cause the brake drums to bind on the brake shoes. If it is that bad you would most likely see the lube leaking out of the axle and your brake assemblies could be wet with lube from the axle.

 

[Softball 21]

Thank you.
I will try that. There was definitely rust in the brake drum. But no signs of leaking anywhere.
This cart was sitting outside for a long period of time without running.
When I put it up on jack stands and spun the right-side wheel it would turn several times then once and a while I would see the other one start to move then stop.