HD diff cover install
 

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!!

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The Good!

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The Bad!

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The Ugly!

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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.

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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.

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Okie gasket scraper!! It worked very well!

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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.


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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!!

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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It took just shy of both bottles to fill.

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