Haha so of course when I start planning and figuring out pricing for mods another thing comes along that needs to be fixed first. Last night I noticed that my front diff looked like this:






From doing some research on the internet, it looks like this type of leak is usually caused by the inner axle seals failing or the vent tube being clogged.

This is the vent tube, is it alright to unscrew that fitting from the housing?



I'm really hoping its the tube as the two mechanics I trust have each told me that the labor guide says this is a 8.5hour job but they also both said that that doesn't sound right and want me to bring it in so they can look at it. I don't want to pay that though as all the threads I've seen about it so far make it seem to be doable, just will take longer as I don't have the special tools and haven't done it before.

For those that have done this themselves, were you able to do this without special tools? Any advice?
And while its open, is there anything else I should take care of?

 

Just pull the vent hose off and blow in it, on the diff side stick a small screwdriver in the nipple and make sure it's clear. did you check the fluid level? is it low, or over filled? Always check the basics before pulling axles out. David7.3

 

I just checked the hose and it was blowing air through just fine and the screwdriver didn't feel like it was obstructed. The fluid level seems good as well, not leaking too bad yet. But I guess this means its the seals?

 

Not really, if the axle seals leak they run down the tube and you will see oil all around the u-joint and dripping from the steering knuckles, if they are dry you may just have a diff. cover leaking. thats an easy fix. It's easier to drop the draglink and remove the cover collect all the old gear fluid, while your there inspect your ring and pinion, and your spider gears, if all looks well you can get a gasket at your local parts house or use permatex color of your choice, i prefer black. then refill the diff, you may want to upgrade and go with some royal purple. clean everything up and keep an eye on it. I think that will be the proper fix. David7.3

 

You are getting seepage from the diff cover. Probably because the sealant is old or the wrong type used.

Pull the diff cover, clean/repaint and reinstall using Permatex "Right Stuff". Refill with new gear oil and you are done. Overfilling the differential can cause seepage at the pinion seal so don't overfill it.

 

That would be way easier/cheaper to do. Haha that's actually what my first thought was when I saw it last night before I started researching it. I quickly convinced myself it was the seals though since it seemed to match what some of the threads I was reading said. I will get to this on Monday since that's my next day off and will let y'all know how it went. And hopefully get my wife to take pictures of it all with the new camera I got her for her birthday.

 

This ^^^^^^

 

And....... it's done, after taking a lot longer than it should have to finish.

Here's what I did:
Stuff I needed:
8mm allen wrench
3/4" ratchet wrench
9/16" short socket
flat head screwdriver
razor blade
Permatex



And according to the owner's manual, 80w-90 oil



I believe the bolts on the cover are supposed to be torqued to 35ft/lbs but I didn't have one on hand once I started so... I just went until it felt like it matched what it was coming off.

All of the bolts use the 9/16" except for the bolt next to the ubolts for the leaf springs.



This one used the 8mm allen wrench.
All of these came out easy enough with just the ratchet wrench, then used the screwdriver to separate them. The result:





I used the razor blade to scrape off the old seal to make it easier but it'll come off with just a finger nail. I'm not sure how well these gears take to debris being mixed in with the oil so was careful with making sure that the old seal didn't fall on the gears and I wiped down the cover after I finished.

Then I applied a bead of permatex around the center of the edge of the cover and then used my finger to spread it around.



I prepped the bolts with blue locktite, then put the cover back on and hand tightened the bolts back in except for the allen one as it stripped and so I had to go to my local ACE hardware to get a replacement as my wife wasn't home yet. So take your time as that's a long walk lol.
After about a hour and a half , I tightened the bolts just enough to start compressing the seal. The permatex will start squeezing out a bit. I used this excess to make another seal on the outside.



Permatex takes a full 24 hours to cure according to the bottle but supposedly you can start using it within a couple hours. I gave mine about 10 hours to cure before I started adding the oil. The owner's manual says to use 2.7 liters, but I went ahead an gave mine the whole three quarts.

Took it for a test drive in 4wd around the neighborhood and it did fine so then I went down the highway in 2wd drive and it seems to be doing great ( I leave my hubs locked year round so I believe the gears should still be turning ). No dripping or seeping as of this morning and no whine coming from the gears so I think I'm going to call this done.

 

Glad to see it was a simple fix! Living in the rust belt those covers don't hold up too well. My front cover was so rusty it peeled off with the gasket scraper!

 

Georgia's not bad for rust, and it looks like one of the previous owners of my truck painted the underside. Looks like it's ready for another though, and they missed some spots.

 

I picked up a 92 Camry last week for a DD. Hello to 30mpg and about $400 less in gas a month. Time to start saving for mods now.

 

Cool man, I just did the same on my truck last night, which is also a 2004, 5.4l, XL trim!

Couple things, that allen bolt is technically 5/16" I believe. You dont need to use quite that much RTV. I usually run about an 1/8" bead all around kinda towards the outside of the diff bolt holes, and then circle each hole. Really less is more here, you want to avoid too much RTV oozing inside. much easier with the tubes of RTV like this:

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...481_0361069153

and when your done you just squirt out about a 1/2" extra. That hardens, and next time you just yank out the plug and your good to go for another seal job!

Also, its a good idea to clean the inside of the diff with some brake clean. I clean the cover and paint it aswell. Your not going to kill a Dana 60 with a bit of rtv or particles, just some things to maybe consider next time!!

 

I did a smallish bead around the edge then worked it with my finger to make sure it would have good coverage when compressing. It was a pretty thin layer but the picture does make it look like a lot though. Still, it was my first time using permatex so I certainly could of used too much for this. Hopefully I won't have to do it to this axle again for the life of it. (Debating on whether or not to do the gear swap myself. Reading other's comments about it make it seem easy or that it'll granade the first time I use it.)

 

I consider myself a pretty competent mechanic (not a professional, maybe one day), and I am still too afraid to try it. My first go will definitely be on a Junkyard axle. Also thinking about taking a class at my community college that focuses on manual transmissions, transaxles and axles themselves.