COSXJFAN

Make this a tech article if you wish.

The last time I went wheeling I hit my rear diff cover and it began leaking. It was no big deal as I planned on replacing it anyway, it just sped the process up a bit!! So here goes!!


The Good!


The Bad!


The Ugly!


I began by removing the diff cover. This took a LITTLE encouragement from a rubber dead blow hammer, but it popped right off with some help.


Bought two cans of brake cleaner and used the first one to get all of the old lube out and debris out of the housing. I saved the other for later.


Okie gasket scraper!! It worked very well!



I noticed some burrs on the bottom of the housing from dragging it over rocks. I wanted to fix this because it was probably the original problem that caused the leaking in the first place. I used a big flat file and knocked the burrs off.



I cleaned the surface with sand paper and used the second can of brake cleaner to clean all of the debris out of the housing that I put in it "cleaning" it off!!


A shot of all of the parts before assembly. Fel-pro makes a very good gasket so I went with them. The guy that put my gears and locker in did not use a gasket. I think that it would not have leaked so easily if he had used a gasket.


I applied a "thin" layer of RTV to the gasket surface of the housing. I emphasized thin for a reason. Don't over do it with RTV, it does not take much to make a great seal.


Put the gasket in place, being sure that the holes line up correctly.


A "thin" coat of RTV on the HD cover.


All bolted up and ready for lube. I went around the cover tightening it in small amounts as I went around until they were tight to ensure that no undo stress was put on the cover. It is a cast piece and I thought if I didn't do it this way it might crack.


It took just shy of both bottles to fill.


After I filled it I decided to hit it with some flat black to make it look better.