Going to do the rear axle seal this week

[Rileysowner]

I am thinking I did not do the new gasket correctly as it seems I have a drop of oil at the bottom of the diff. I'm not sure if it is because of a leak in the 'new' gasket yet or if it is perhaps not having the fill cap in tight enough, or something else. I just noticed a drop of oil on the driveway, and after getting some new rabbit cages with my wife I looked underneath and saw the drop of oil (or something that looks like it) on the bottom of the diff. If it is a leak, it is really slow, and I think I will order a new diff cover before I fix it. I just have to decide if I want to pay the $20 or so for one like the factory one, or the $150 or so for a fancy one with fill and drain holes in it.

[zook94]

Did you wipe all the extra oil that came back out when the differential was full? I would get a can of brake parts cleaner, and completely spray the entire differential until it is absolutely clean.

Then, take it out for a drive. When you come home, jack it up and inspect for leaks. Remember that gear oil is very thick, and it will take a while to travel down the differential, and enough of it forms a drop. Unfortunately, you may have a leaky pinion seal, which is re-engineering the space shuttle compared to changing the axle seals.

[Rileysowner]

That is exactly what I think has happened, because I did not clean off the oil that dribbled out (at least not more than a wipe with a rag) when I filled it up. That is why I am not horrible worried at this point. When I get some time I will have to give it a spray with some brake cleaner.

This past week my free time was taken up doing the exhaust on my wife's mazda. I did a quick job on it a while back using clamps to hold stuff together, but as they are prone to do they came loose. So I decided to weld stuff together, and that ran into a few issues getting parts to re-attach the exhaust. It is back on and working well, so maybe Monday I can give the diff. a spray with brake cleaner, and see what I see after driving around. There was no leaking around the pinon seal when I started the job, so I doubt that is where the leak is, but if it is, I am game to do it because with the help from my friends here, I'm sure I can fix almost anything on the van. It is amazing how the more I fix the van, the more confident I am about doing other things that before I would never have considered.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had not thought of hitting it with brake cleaner, and I just happen to have a can sitting around. I should really buy it in bulk I use it so much.

[Rileysowner]

I cleaned off the diff this afternoon, and now I can wait to see if it was remaining oil that dribbled out of the fill hole while filling it slowly making its way down the diff, or whether I messed up on the RTV gasket maker. If I could have found my zip ties I would have zip tied the air lines for air adjust shocks better as well. Oh well, I will be under there again

[Rileysowner]

I have not yet jacked up the van, we were out all day today, but I did look under it yesterday after going to the beach and back. There is a drop of oil hanging off the bottom of the diff. I will jack it up and see where it is coming from, but from what I could see without jacking it, the leak is from around the cover. I will know more later this week. I figure I will order a new cover if it turns out to be around the cover, and replace the old one while I am redoing the gasket.

[Rileysowner]

I decided since the old cover was looking pretty rough, and I was taking it off anyway, that I would put on a new one. This time everything worked great. No leaks so far. I took the chance when I had it jacked up to put some more zip ties on the air lines for the shocks. I am quite satisfied with how they are attached now as well.

[kings-x59]

for surfaces that need to be rtv sealant sealed, brake cleaner is good, electric parts cleaner it good, even isopropyl alcohol is good. the thing is you want is a solvent that does not leave an oily residue, and evaporates completely.

[Rileysowner]

It sealed up nicely this time. When I went to take off the old cover there was what looked like a rather large damp spot on the diff cover that was not there after I cleaned it up with brake cleaner to determine where the leak after I re-installed it was from. The inside of the cover looked good to me, but maybe there is a pin-hole through it. Either way, I have a new cover on, and feel better about it.