Hey guys,

I recently had some work done on my rear differential.. new seals, a new bearing and a new axle..

I bought 3qts of Royal Purple 75w140 and ultra black RTV for my mechanic to use.

Well, a week later, it's leaking.. needless to say I am a little upset. A few months back I posted about having to reseal the cover myself, and with the help from everyone here, I managed to do it with ZERO leaks.

Now, it's not a super fast leak but I would like to take care of it this week before it snows, and I just had some questions before I take this on..

1. Is it okay to use the gear oil that is still in the rear? The roughly 2 and a half quarts of it?? I would like to re use it then just top it off...

2. If I DO reuse the oil, is it okay if I use another brand of oil (not Royal Purple..) to top it off? Again its less than half a quart.. Im not made of money..

3. Is it okay to use a wire brush on the surfaces of the cover and the housing (where they meet) to get good clean surfaces??

Thanks in advance..

 

sounds to me the guy that put the cover on didnt let the silicone dry. ive found it makes a better seal if you let it dry an hour or two before adding oil.

 

Thanks for the response..

I will probably buy a new oil pan specifically for this.. I just dont know how I would get it from the oil pan back into the differential.. maybe suck it back into an empty oil bottle, little at a time?

Last time I just scraped the old junk off with a putty knife.. then I do remember using a wire brush to clean the cover up really nice.. then also using CRC's Brakleen with a rag on every surface to clean em up one last time and get any small bits of debris off the mating surfaces..

And I agree with you on what he did.. I mean looking at the RTV he used, it looks like he also used the entire tube.. went around the bolt holes and everything.. went a little crazy.. I guess he isnt registered here or we would have done it right the first time, Like I did

Luckily, I have days to do this.. hopefully Tuesday I can pop the cover off and drain, take the cover inside and clean it all up... then clean the housing itself.. shouldnt be too hard.. the hardest part is gonna be finding Royal Purple around here!

Thanks again!!

 

leave the used RP in the train tub until after you pour in the new quart. buy a small funnel and pour the old stuff in the new bottle after its emptied. it will take a little time, but should work out fine.

 

Just get some new oil. While you're at it, get a Mag Hytec differential cover.

 

Well heres what we (my buddy and I) found out..

You know how when you grab a socket to put on a bolt, you place the socket on and give it a little turn, to make sure it grabs the bolt head and that it is the correct socket?

Well, we did that.. and when we turned the socket to check it.. the bolt.. moved..

At LEAST 8 or 9 of those bolts were removed with our fingers, or very, very little force from the wratchet. Less than 1ft/lb...

Re-dic-u-lous. I was pissed.

So we took the cover off, drained, cleaned it back up, RTV'd, replaced, TORQUED!

We go to take the plug out.. it would NOT budge.

Got a piece of pipe, nothing.

We had to torch it out.. got it a nice, cherry red and then it finally moved..

He must have put it on with an air tool at 100FT/LBS!!!

We filled it with oil, replaced the plug (with anti-sieze..) and let her sit for a bit.. drove off.. I think it would have started leaking now if it was going to leak.

So, the bolts that were SUPPOSED to be torqued were finger tightened, and the plug that is supposed to be 'snug' was torqued on tight. Needless to say, I need a new mechanic..

 

wow, i would be pissed!!!

 

I was pissed.. but we fixed it.. oh well. He's fired.

Which sucks cuz it needs new rear parking brake cables o.O!