Differential Leak

[801802971]

Hi All. I have just replaced the front oil seal on my Diff and changed the quill shaft bearing. I obtained the bearing from one of our more common suppliers as I thought I would get a quality bearing but the one that came was unmarked and probably a Chinese import. I obtained a quality bearing at three times the price and I thought that would be cheaper than having to take the whole Diff out again. Anyway, I digress as this is not my problem.

When I put everything back in the car I only had the exhaust to put in so I packed up for the night as it was getting dark. When I returned to the car the following day to fit the exhaust , there was a drip of oil at the front of the Diff and it looked to be coming from the joint between the Diff and the Front Extension. (This is the same place I noticed the oil leak before I took the Diff out). I thought it was perhaps some excess oil when lubricating the seal before putting the Front Extension on. I took the bottom bolt out that holds the Front Extension to the Diff to see if I could see where it was coming from and I cleaned everything up and locked the garage despondent.

The next day, there was a drip of oil again in the same place and it looks like it is coming from the inside of the hole where the bolt goes. When I say a drip, in 24 hours it has only left a drip on the Diff but not on the floor.

I put quite a lot of PTFE tape on the bolt and put it back in and after another 24 hours it is still dry. That is not to say it won't leak when the oil gets thinner when running.

Has anyone had this problem where the bolt hole seems to have broken through into the inside of the Diff housing allowing Diff oil to leak out? I made sure there was no chance of a hydraulic lock if some oil had found its way into the bolt hole. (The oil that is coming out is clean and fresh).

Many thanks for any help you can give me.

Jim

[801802971]

Hi All,

Since no one has replied, I can only assume this is not a common problem and only affects me (lucky White Heather on me).

I have ran the car for over 200 miles now and all is dry so the good old PTFE tape seems to be working. I hope this helps other people who may encounter this problem in the future. It was easy to think that the new oil seal had not worked and if it had not been for the fact it was leaking from the joint between the diff and the extension, I would not have thought of looking at the bolt hole.

Jim

[72BLUE]

Good tip Jim! Well done for reporting back as it will be useful to others in the future when using the search facility if they have similar problems.

Keith

[tjk]

Hi

Strange this as I have recently changed my diff and when taking the old one off I noticed sealer on the end of the bolts and around the joint of diff to extension. There was a bit of dampness from joint but no drips. I could not see any reason for the sealer and did not put any on new diff to extension and there are no leaks, maybe I should have.

Tim

[new to this]

Hi

Handy tip,at some point i have the same job to do

Dave

[XFSTag]

Hi All. I have just replaced the front oil seal on my Diff and changed the quill shaft bearing. I obtained the bearing from one of our more common suppliers as I thought I would get a quality bearing but the one that came was unmarked and probably a Chinese import. I obtained a quality bearing at three times the price and I thought that would be cheaper than having to take the whole Diff out again. Anyway, I digress as this is not my problem.

When I put everything back in the car I only had the exhaust to put in so I packed up for the night as it was getting dark. When I returned to the car the following day to fit the exhaust , there was a drip of oil at the front of the Diff and it looked to be coming from the joint between the Diff and the Front Extension. (This is the same place I noticed the oil leak before I took the Diff out). I thought it was perhaps some excess oil when lubricating the seal before putting the Front Extension on. I took the bottom bolt out that holds the Front Extension to the Diff to see if I could see where it was coming from and I cleaned everything up and locked the garage despondent.

The next day, there was a drip of oil again in the same place and it looks like it is coming from the inside of the hole where the bolt goes. When I say a drip, in 24 hours it has only left a drip on the Diff but not on the floor.

I put quite a lot of PTFE tape on the bolt and put it back in and after another 24 hours it is still dry. That is not to say it won't leak when the oil gets thinner when running.

Has anyone had this problem where the bolt hole seems to have broken through into the inside of the Diff housing allowing Diff oil to leak out? I made sure there was no chance of a hydraulic lock if some oil had found its way into the bolt hole. (The oil that is coming out is clean and fresh).

Many thanks for any help you can give me.

Jim

Hi Jim
That is a job I have to do on the Stag and on my TVR so appreciate the heads up on that mate.
I hope it seals it, I am fed up of differentials and leaks in my garage I hate the smell of the stuff and worse still it drops on the exhaust of the TVR so smells even worse burning and it's a right sod to get to in the space frame!
All the best
Glyn

[flying farmer]

Not a problem I have come across before on a diff, other places yes, but not a diff!

PTFE tape, silicon sealant or a copper washer are various methods I have used in various places.

Neil

[Stagdad]

Seem to remember I had a masive leak from my J type OD for the same sort of reason and did similar to sort it. I think there are supposed to be copper washers used to seal the studs where they exit.