Today I decided to do the front diff. cover gasket (yes, they actually do sell a gasket for them.) on my 93 Cherokee. The bolts holding on the diff cover were almost impossible to break by hand, I almost had an aneurism. I now have 3 out of 5 fingers on my right hand with busted knuckles, middle finger busted twice, thumb is severely stubbed and feels broken. Seems like every time I broke a bolt, I smashed my hand. Finally I had the bright idea to use a bottle jack to turn the ratchet, this worked so well it was ridiculous, all that knuckle busting for nothing! Also here is another tip: jack your Jeep up by the frame a little bit to get the suspension out of the way. Hope this helps somebody someday!

 

I'd suggest a thin film of rtv on both sides of the gasket then just snug on the bolts. The gasket/sealing surfaces on the case and cover need to be sterile clean.

 

Yeah I used RTV on both sides of the gasket (probably more than necessary), cleaned the surfaces with sand paper, and I'm sure I over torqued the bolts. Hope it seals, I'd hate to have to do it again, even though I know some new tricks now.

 

"Over torqued the bolts".......that's not good, can cut the gasket.

 

Get a long handled 3/8 ratchet you will be surprised how much easier it is to break bolts loose. Then I use a stubby palm ratchet for faster removal once loose.

You can buy some anti-seaze that will keep bolts from getting stuck.

 

So far so good..hopefully the RTV will catch any breaks in the gasket. I've got a bad nature to wanna tighten down everything to the max, especially the diff. bolts are so short you feel like they might just vibrate out while your driving down the road. That's why I was hoping they would have a rubber fel-pro gasket like they do for valve covers, but I did not end up with one.

 

The diff cover bolts are only supposed to be torqued to 30 ft/lbs. RTV really not necessary. I just use a bit of white lithium grease on both sides and have never had a leak. It makes R&R much easier and a quicker cleanup. PLUS you don't have to wait for the RTV to set-up prior to installing the fluid.

 

The RTV might be necessary when you torque to 300 ft/lbs instead of 30 .
OH...are you supposed to let that stuff set?? j/k I could only give it about 3 hours seeing how I had some where to go, hope that was enough, I would prefer 24 hr. Guess I'll find out!

 

I like to read forums because of the ingenuity found within them. Great ideas - thanks.

 

I've never waited on rtv longer than the time it takes to clean/put up the tools before adding gear oil, coolant, whatever. As thin as a stamped steel diff cover is, over torquing just distorts/bends the cover, especially when using a gasket.

 

More tips:
- Install torque is 35 pound-feet. Use never-seez, reduce by half.
- Use LocTite #222 or RTV on the screw threads. Helps keep them from vibrating loose, and helps protect the threads against corrosion (NB: Using never-seez on threads together with a threadlocker won't work. Most people will not think of this.) Fingernail enamel also works as a threadlocker - and nearly any thread coating will help to prevent corrosion.
- Replace the carbon steel screws with brass or bronze. Cuprous alloys will not gall or seize against iron, which is why much of my underbody has been reassembled using brass or bronze (it's roughly comparable in strength to SAE4 or ISO PC 6.8, so its use is limited. However, careful use of cuprous screws will save you a lot of work.)
- Have a breaker bar that is 3/8" drive and about two feet long. The increased leverage is a huge help!
- Install a 5/16"-18x1-1/2" stud in the topmost hole, use LocTite #242 on the threads into the housing. Use a standard hex nut on the outside, you can use a jam nut to lock it if you like. This allows you to remove the plug, loosen the top nut, remove the screws, and drain the axle without getting gear oil all over yourself of dropping the cover in the pan. Remove, clean up, and hang the gasket and cover on the stud while you get screws started. This saves a lot of wrestling!
- I'll often give at least the housing side of the gasket a light dusting of graphite - doesn't harm the seal, but makes it far easier to clean (I'll also dust throttle body/carburettor base gaskets with graphite, for the same reason. Started doing it about twenty years ago, haven't found a need to stop.)

"Always assume the next poor schmuck to work on something will be you, and that your available tools will be: a rock, a Swiss Army knife, and a box of matches. Design accordingly."

 

No one ever mentions to make sure the surface of the diff cover is actulley flat, because it is always gonna be bent up from tighting of the bolts. This is one of the main cause's of it weeping fluid later on.