When I had my gears put in I was told that my left rear bushing was leaking and going bad. This was a couple months ago and it leaked a little fluid for a while but stopped completely. I need to replace them but i was also told the halfshaft was bad. I don't believe this because the guy seemed like he was just trying to sell me random shit. What should I be looking at for replacements and should I replace the halfshafts while I'm at it? Thanks,.
rear bushing bad?
- Thread starter 99slowbra
- Start date
And yes it still has fluid in it. It just needs to be replaced soon not immediately.
Get under the car and look at both boots on each halfshaft. Ensure there are no tears, rips, openings. If the boots are good and the halfshaft joint inside the boot is not broken, then the halfshaft is fine.
As for the "bushing" that is leaking, it sounds like you are referring to the Diff-to-Halfshaft seal that is pressed into the diff housing where the halfshaft goes into it. The bad bushing is more likely to leak when you do a lot of turn in the opposite direction as the bad seal. It is also possible that they had too much fluid in it. Two things:
- Open the fill plug and the fluid should barely seep out. The level is just to the opening of the fill plug.
- The diff seal is easy to change and can be purchased at Ford. John and I just swapped one of mine out a couple of weeks ago. If you need to know how to do it, let me know.
-Kevin
As for the "bushing" that is leaking, it sounds like you are referring to the Diff-to-Halfshaft seal that is pressed into the diff housing where the halfshaft goes into it. The bad bushing is more likely to leak when you do a lot of turn in the opposite direction as the bad seal. It is also possible that they had too much fluid in it. Two things:
- Open the fill plug and the fluid should barely seep out. The level is just to the opening of the fill plug.
- The diff seal is easy to change and can be purchased at Ford. John and I just swapped one of mine out a couple of weeks ago. If you need to know how to do it, let me know.
-Kevin
Wow thanks for the info! I will give that a go and report back in a few days. Do you think I should upgrade the halfshafts to 03? I don't like launching the car but when I do I don't want to snap one.
Since you have a 99, your stock diff is a 28 spline setup. In order for you to go to 03 halfshafts (31 spline), you would also have to change out the diff to a 31 spline setup.
In my opinion, don't upgrade until you break one. The 28 splines halfshafts will live behind some power as long as you know how to launch without shocking the crap out of the drivetrain --- ie no clutch dumps from 6k. Slip the clutch out of the hole. The other saving grace is to get out of the gas if it starts wheel hopping. The traction/no traction/traction action during a wheel hop is what shocks the drivetrain and starts breaking things.
On a related note, the prices of OEM 03 Cobra halfshafts are way, way down from what they used to be. I just bought one a couple of weeks ago and it was right at $290. Down from the $340 I used to pay and down from the $430 retail.
I see you are in Chicago. I used to run at Route 66 some and Byron a LOT. Route 66 was smooth out of launch, but Bryon can give you some wheel hop from what I remember. Just be aware of it.
-Kevin
In my opinion, don't upgrade until you break one. The 28 splines halfshafts will live behind some power as long as you know how to launch without shocking the crap out of the drivetrain --- ie no clutch dumps from 6k. Slip the clutch out of the hole. The other saving grace is to get out of the gas if it starts wheel hopping. The traction/no traction/traction action during a wheel hop is what shocks the drivetrain and starts breaking things.
On a related note, the prices of OEM 03 Cobra halfshafts are way, way down from what they used to be. I just bought one a couple of weeks ago and it was right at $290. Down from the $340 I used to pay and down from the $430 retail.
I see you are in Chicago. I used to run at Route 66 some and Byron a LOT. Route 66 was smooth out of launch, but Bryon can give you some wheel hop from what I remember. Just be aware of it.
-Kevin
Yes make sure when/if you wheel hop you get out of it and stop the wheel hopping... I've learned the hard way that wheel hop + staying in it will separate the housing inside the diff and spider gears will go everywhere... just saying
Please explain to me why people put up with wheel hop when they know it's going to cause REAL expensive damage to their cars!!?? :shrug:
I have been looking for some 03 axles so I can do gears, axles, and a new diff all at the same time. There used to be a guy that sold them on ebay for $199 but I haven't been able to find them recently. Where did you get yours? Has anyone tried the ones from O-Reilys? I heard that they would warranty them if you broke one.
Slick,
PM me for my contact.
-Kevin
PM me for my contact.
-Kevin
I read the article in your sig, there is a lot of very good information. What can I do that is relatively cheap? Should I replaced all of the rubber bushings and replace the half shafts with new ones? It's pretty much my daily.
You've read the articles so you should know that the rubber in your IRS assembly needs to go at the absolute minimum for starters. That would be the complete IRS bushing kit. Your halfshafts should be ok unless you're putting down gobs of power. If you eventually want to increase your RWHP in the future it might be a good idea to upgrade from the 28 spline to the 31 spline Terminator style halfshafts when you do your IRS. That would also include changing the gear carrier.
Hope that helps.
:thumbsup::coolman::beer:
It sure does. I'm going to probably be getting the entire bushing kit. Don't think I'm going to be adding any power adders so I should be ok with the stock half shafts for now. Thanks again.
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