hey guys me and a mate serviced my diff the other day, drove it home from his place only to find the next day that all the fluid had somehow, come out of the diff. that next day, me and some of my other mates pulled it all apart, and we found that the bolts werent on too tight, and the sealant had pretty much fallen off. so we thought, well do it again, this time use more sealant and actually use a gasket this time, as my other mate thought that we wont need one.... which was a big mistake!!! anyway, as i said, we pulled it all apart, got rid of all the remaining fluid, scrapped all the old sealant off and prepped up the diff cover for the new sealant and gasket. so i applied the Loctite high temp sealant around the diff cover, let that set for about 20mins, then put on the gasket, pushed it in, then applied another coat of sealant on top of the gasket so that it can seal up between the gasket and the actual diff housing! we let that set for about n hour, put it on the diff housing, let it set even more, tightened up the bolts as hard as possible, and later, slowly filled up the diff with fluid. we did it slowly so it can penetrate around the sealant and make a good bond between the cover and the housing. this morning, there was a bit of fluid that had somehow leaked out of the diff. there was maybe about 100ml that had came out and i am clueless as to how it did! we only put in 1.5L of diff fluid in which is the recommended amount for the VL diff but still 100ml still managed to leak out! any ideas as to how it leaked after the second attempt? thanks guys!

well first off a gasket is not necessary. Now can you tell where it is leaking? Because it will usually drip off at the bottom of the housing but may not be actually originating from it. Get under there with a flashy and have a look.

Gasket is a waste of time imo. Why did you let the sealant set for 20 mins prior to installation? I'd say thats part of your problem. Are you sure its leaking from the cover? Quite possible that its leaking from the pinion seak and dripping back along the housing.

Ive always used a gasket (with a bit of non hardening Permatex goo) and had no problems ever. Make sure both surfaces are scraped clean and the end plate thing isn't bent. They're meant to have a gasket from the factory and dont have the little groove in the housing/end plate thing for sealant like sumps do which helps them seal better.

well i left the sealant to cure for a bit just so the diff fluid doesnt deteriorate it before it starts to cure. and im almost 100% sure its leaking from the bottom of the diff, and not from the pinion seal. that has not been touched and the diff hasnt been leaking since i serviced it!

Quote: Originally Posted by bewsh well i left the sealant to cure for a bit just so the diff fluid doesnt deteriorate it before it starts to cure. and im almost 100% sure its leaking from the bottom of the diff, and not from the pinion seal. that has not been touched and the diff hasnt been leaking since i serviced it! Didn't consider not putting oil in it till it cured? Letting it cure out of the join is only going to make it leak because it wont fill up all the fine gaps.

its true, goo it up and bolt it on. then let it cure. no good lettingit dry up before you bolt it together, its just making a hard rough surface to squish against

hhhmm i see your point! but even when we bolted it all on, the thick layer of silicone got a bit squashed out as we were tightening it on so with that, i thought it was getting a good seal! but i know what you mean with not letting it cure before you put it on!

Bah you dont need to cure it. Ive done 4-5 diffs in the last year and I can assure you. Put some decent sealer on there. Slap that bad boy on there. Tighten up those nuts and then slam some oil in it. Seriously people its not necessary to fuss about with them. Its a quick and simple job.

just run a bead of sealant around making sure you go round the inside of the bolt holes, dont bother with a gasket as they normally cause more trouble and make sure you clean the surfaces well. also make sure its not leaking from the axel beams and running down the housing, as they are only pressed in.

thanks a lot for the info guys! if the problem gets worse, ill pull it all down and do it all again, FOR THE THIRD FKUCING TIME!!!!! aah its annoying me atm! but anyway, thanks for the kind advice guys!

Quote: Originally Posted by furryfrog also make sure its not leaking from the axel beams and running down the housing, as they are only pressed in. No their not. They are held captive on the axle between the bearing and outer bearing retainer.

what i mean is that they can leak there, most places that rebuild diffs will weld around there to stop that happening.

Quote: Originally Posted by VLHERO No their not. They are held captive on the axle between the bearing and outer bearing retainer. What i'm pretty sure he is saying is where the axle tubes press into the cast centre housing. Make sure you're sealant has a thick texture about it and resistant to heat ie. ultra blue, wurth silicon 250 etc. and make sure the bolt holes in the cover are flush with the rest of the surface because they tend to pull in.

Quote: Originally Posted by M Taylor What i'm pretty sure he is saying is where the axle tubes press into the cast centre housing. Nah he was talking about the seals. The axle tubes are welded to the centre housing.

I changed my diff fluid 2 weeks ago and have had no probs and i used the $2 gasket maybe your diff cover is warped or something ?? Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

i dunno about it being warpes as it wasnt leaking before i serviced the diff! and we took it off with good care and same for when we put it on as it is a bit tight under there!

well i done mine with the least amopunt of care i possibly could, no leak... just goo the feck out of it then tighten her up

Quote: Originally Posted by VLHERO Nah he was talking about the seals. The axle tubes are welded to the centre housing. No he was talking about the axle tubes. They are pressed in and only have a couple of spot welds retaining them. I always use a gasket on diffs, and i dont normally use any sealant. Never had one leak yet. If you must use a sealant on a gasket use Permatex.

Quote: Originally Posted by 87calais No he was talking about the axle tubes. They are pressed in and only have a couple of spot welds retaining them. I always use a gasket on diffs, and i dont normally use any sealant. Never had one leak yet. If you must use a sealant on a gasket use Permatex. spot on I used "Lock Tight No3" on mine (which may be the same thing :P) Some original photos have not been recovered yet.