Anyone else have a leaky rear diff?

[elyrain]

My rear diff has been leaking ever since I got my half shafts rebuilt by some douch mechanic, a year ago... But I check it ever 2-3 weeks and it's never low on fliud, how can this be? It's got enough fluid in it to were it pours out a bit when I undo the fill plug to check it and stick my finger in there.

 

[VirtualSVT]

diff fluid is pretty thick and a little drop can seem like a lot.

Leakage is pretty common.

 

[poneypower]

It's funny you asked that because I just got gears and half shafts installed and I had the car up on a lift yesterday trying to adjust my pinion angle and we noticed that the diffy was leaking. I have this tiny little spot on my garage floor from sitting over night. I was going to call up the shop that did all the work and tell them I have a leak. Should I worry about it or not? Oh and where is the fill plug on these cars?

 

[ac427cobra]

It's common for these diffs to leak due to several reasons. Torque from hole shots and overheating from track use.

The cover really needs a brace for hard street use and drag racing. If you over heat the diff on a race track, that can do it as well. A leak is unfortunately, pretty common in these cars.

A drip here and a drip there will not cause your level to go down much. But it will be irritating to see the drops on your driveway and garage!

John, the fill plug is on the rear cover. It has a 3/8" square female head for a ratchet.

FWIW

:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer:

 

[Chris@BAP]

yeah its common, but can be fixed in your own driveway... it is a pain though, I just did mine last week. here are the directions:

Originally Posted by 99COBRA2881
99 is right you might as well swap gears while you are at it, 'cause it's a bitch.
Heres what you have to do.

Support the frame on jackstands, use the body not the IRS.
1. Remove driveshaft and rear wheels/tires.
2. Remove parking brake cable
3. Remove tierod end (disconnect inward bolt by differential)
4. Remove Brake caliper and rotor
5. Remove traction control sensors from diff hub
6. Support lower control arms up with jackstands
7. Remove upper* and lower spindle to control arm bolts
8. Place a screw driver between the halfshaft and diff gently pry outwards to unseat the halfshaft.** To install shaft align splines and slide inwards itll take some effort
9. Support the halfshaft and spindle and pull it outwards from the differential
10. Support the diff with a jack
11. Unbolt the rear diff attach bolts from the diff cover
12. Remove the front attach bolts and bushings, !!Warning!! Diff is no longer attached to the IRS and could fall and cause damage to the diff or injury to you. Support the diff on the jackstand to help balance it.
13. With the diff supported, lower the jack and diff to the floor.
14. Once the diff is out the fluid swap is like any other rear end fluid swap, remove cover, drain fluid, clean gasket surface, install new gasket, torque cover bolts.
Reinstall following the reverse removal steps. Refill diff once its in back in the car. Be sure to add one bottle of FMS friction modifier.


*Index the upper eccentric alignment washer to the spindle to ensure correct alignment when the spindle is reinstalled failure to do this will result in an unaligned rear end.
**Before removal it's important to index the halfshafts to the splindle to ensure correct reinstallation failure to do this my result in a driveline vibration.

Like I said its a bitch I did mine when I had 4.30s put in or else Id never recommend it, until its due. 2881

 

[quick01snake]

mine leaks a drop here and there too...but it is much easier to change...remove cover, clean, silicone, put cover back on, fill...LOL

 

[ac427cobra]

FWIW, all you really need to do is unbolt the front and rear diff mounts, take off the driveshaft and you can push the diff forward far enough to get the cover off. No need for all of that other unnecessary extra work.

YMMV

:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer:

 

[SKEETER_SVT01]

Mine was leaking at where the driveshaft goes into it. The bearings were also bad so I could move the entire driveshaft without loosening the bolts. Found out whomever installed the 4:10's reused the old bearings... Since I had that fixed its al good now.

 

[99riocobra]

mine leaks a drop here and there too...but it is much easier to change...remove cover, clean, silicone, put cover back on, fill...LOL

isn't life great with a solid!

 

[ac427cobra]

isn't life great with a solid!

Um......................... NO! ;-) oke:

 

[elyrain]

isn't life great with a solid!

with what it's going to cost me to get some level 5's and new gears put it I'm thinking of going solid!

 

[01 Venom]

I was always all for my IRS, but now I am really considering going Solid

 

[quick01snake]

it's all about personal preference...do you want to spend a fortune to have strong rear end w/ a smoother ride over bumps? if so, IRS is for you...i however prefer to build a 500+rwhp capable rear that can handle well for less than half the amount required to make the IRS stout...and i like that i dropped a pretty good amount of weight...

 

[01 Venom]

well ya gotta look at what you use the car for also

I am pretty much a go straight kind of driver, dont do much corner carving

 

[quick01snake]

well ya gotta look at what you use the car for also

I am pretty much a go straight kind of driver, dont do much corner carving

you can make a solid handle as good or better than the mustang IRS...as long as there are no bumps or potholes that is...LOL

 

[01 Venom]

no youre right, we will see how my setup behaves. I may try a MM grip box. But thats 1g right there, I dont know lol

 

[ac427cobra]

with what it's going to cost me to get some level 5's and new gears put it I'm thinking of going solid!

Quick question for you here. How many stock halfshafts have you broken?:shrug:

 

[elyrain]

Quick question for you here. How many stock halfshafts have you broken?:shrug:

two one snapped the other needed to be rebuilt. That's why I stopped going to the track. and I'm running 50+ more hp now...

 

[ac427cobra]

two one snapped the other needed to be rebuilt. That's why I stopped going to the track. and I'm running 50+ more hp now...

Ok, just checkin'! :-D

 

['95yellowGT]

unfortunately it is very common in these cars my man, but u learn to live with it lol i first bought mine with 77k miles and the rearend wasnt even leaking i was shocked, an old guy owned it since like 30k miles and apprently was real easy on her, but that motha phucker leaks now that i have put 10k miles on it lol