My rear end is leaking.........

[mommucked]

.....bring the tease, but seriously I carefully cleaned the housing and wiped it w brake cleaner, replaced the rusty cover the 98 S-10 about 2 years ago w a new gasket, Ultra Black sealant and dabed the bolts w sealant too. The damn thing started leaking within weeks and now will leave a 5" wide puddle on the asphalt after sitting 8 hrs @ work and getting worse. What am I doing wrong? the previous time I changed the fluid I also pulled the cover and it leaked then, but not nearly as bad. What is the secret to preventing this? I'm not torquing the bolts but I'm not putting the crush on them either.

 

[Jman78CJ7]

All jokes aside, I have had good luck with rtv that said it was made for gear oil. Picked it up at AutoZone. Gasket plus the rtv on both sides. Finger tightened the bolts and let the rtv set up a couple hours (I think the directions say 24 hrs) then come back and tighten them up and fill it up with oil.
Are you tightening the bolts in a cross pattern a little at a time like a wheel?

 

[adamk]

Most common mistake I have seen with diff covers is people not letting the sealant dry before adding gear oil. The oil will prevent the sealant from drying.

 

[Fabrik8]

Hylomar.

 

[mommucked]

Thanks, I have waited maybe 2/4 hrs to refill the oil. That and using synthetic this time might be my problem.

 

[Fabrik8]

If using synthetic is making things leak, you've got a sealing problem that needs fixing no matter what fluid you're using.

You've probably got a warped cover or housing flange.

 

[Chuckman]

use 'GreatStuff' and put oil in asap if desired.

 

[XJsavage]

Weld cover shut, fill with gear oil one time and forget about it.