stupid question, this diff fluid?

[Dabba]

leaking from the front diff, cant see anywhere else its coming from. smells a little like diesel but i cant get a good enough wiff. the bottom of the diff is moist, top is dry. yeloowish and thin. thought gear oil was very thick. thanks.

 

[broncoman6524]

Might be gear oil, feel sticky? Or just like a thicker oil?

 

[fallout232]

You got any pics? Could be the pinion seal leaking down, If you have the Original Model 80 Stanadyne Filter Setup (Square Style) than there is a good chance it is leaking. I thought the rear main was leaking on my 6.2 Due to the black oily substance leaking over my starter and front differential. It wreaked of diesel though. I then thought maybe one of the injector returns lines was leaking but the Exhaust manifolds didnt show any signs of diesel. Turned out one of the ports on the Fuel filter base was leaking and covering everything below it. The only fix is usually replacing the o-rings inside of it or the Sensor that detects Water in fuel both of which are hard to find. I converted mine to a spin on style setup from an Earlier model 6.2

 

[Dabba]

it smells more like diesel than oil, but i didnt get a good smell, very faint so theres a good chance im wrong. the only thing appearing damp is the lower half of the front diff, the top is fine, i believe the rear by the shaft is also fine, but i only did a quick exam with a flashlight so. im not sure how the oil managed to cover half of the front of the siff if the seak is leaking. maybe the square fill plug aint tight? it didnt appear to have an exces fluid around it just most. the only drops forming i saw were at the bottom of the diff. its also left a dollar bill sized oil patch on the driveway since it was sitting since yesterday.i should note its been leaking while sitting and off, so i think i can rule out diesel or motor oil, but then again its nowhere near as thick as normal motor oil, and its yeloowish/clear. if it is dieself i dont know how its getting there because the top of the diff is fine, could it still be siesel?

 

[jonathon]

gear oil is pretty pungent, even in small amounts.

 

[Dabba]

forgot about that. sunds like diesel then, now i gotta figure out how its getting there..

 

[YZEATER]

sounds like you got water in your front diff. and it's leaking out.

 

[Dabba]

that is also a distict possilbility, but i thought water would float above the thick oil?

 

[YZEATER]

it will be mixed unless it has sat for a long time.

 

[BGKYK5]

Oil floats on water.

 

[YZEATER]

explain milky looking, yellowish fluid from an axle that has been dunked way too many times..

 

[BGKYK5]

Well they can be mixed, but will separate if given enough time. If it has been sitting, I would expect water to come out first, followed by the gear oil.

 

[howdiy]

Power steering fluid?

 

[YZEATER]

HMM. more or less what i said in post 9.

 

[BGKYK5]

HMM. more or less what i said in post 9.

Yup and my post (10) was aimed at post 8. It's all good.

 

[Dabba]

yeah its been dunked, wasnt milky but if yellowish is water guess its gotta get changed. Haha i should let it sit so the water drains out!

 

[Chaddy]

It will take a very long time for it to separate. You should drop the cover and get a couple cans of brake clean and RTV.