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Need to seal rear diff. what are you guys using??

badmix

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I just noticed my rear diff cover is leaking some. What do you guys use, RTV or Gasket or both? Any tricks to getting it sealed and staying that way. Any tricks to refilling it?

Thanks :pimp:
 
done both and both together at the same time with a really ugly beat up tin cover.

RTV on the diff, RTV on the cover and a gasket in the middle.
 
I use black RTV with great results. As said, don't overdo it. Keep it out of the bolt holes.
 
F14588279.jpg


Great, but expensive. You don't even have to wait for it to cure before pouring fluid in and it never leaks. Sometimes the can dries up before you can make enough gaskets to finish it, making it even more expensive to use.
 
Ive had good luck with Permatex RTV, have yet to have a leaking cover.

Ive also got a buddy who said the right stuff is the cats meow as well, I have yet to try it.
 
BLACK RTV and done :deal: make sure you spread it around the outside of each bolt hole so the bolts don't seep fluid.
 
Gasket. Put my 14SF together with a gasket, ran it for years, took it apart, gasket came off in one piece, so I reused it. Put about 500 miles on it so far, no leaks.

Not a fan of scraping RTV off of mating surfaces. Easier if you use sealant only on the cover, as at least you can work with that on a bench.
 
F14588279.jpg


Great, but expensive. You don't even have to wait for it to cure before pouring fluid in and it never leaks. Sometimes the can dries up before you can make enough gaskets to finish it, making it even more expensive to use.

I'm giving up on Right Stuff for differentials. It just sticks too well. I recently had to air chisel my front diff cover for about 10 minutes to get it off. A regular hammer and chisel was just bouncing out of the gasket material. Then I had to flap wheel the ridge formed by chiseling. Not worth it when regular silicone works (as long as everything is clean, including the bolt holes).

Plus, I can open the tube of silicone several times and it's still liquid. Seems like if Right Stuff sits for a month, the $18 worth of product still in the can is already hard.

Right Stuff is probably still a good choice for a transfer case or something you don't expect to get into for several years. You should at least have a drain plug on anything you're sealing with it.
 
Leave a plug sticking out of the nozzle to cure. Next time you need it just grab and yank. I've never not been able to finish a can of the stuff, even after it's been sitting a long time.

It does work so well that disassembly can be tough...

gasket.jpg
 
Another vote for a Lube Locker gasket. I have one on my front 60 that I like to use as a bulldozer through the rocks and it seals up great. I kept knocking rtv loose from the hard impacts but not since I switched to the Lube Locker.
 

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