Differential Cover Leak

knightmare90 said:

Apparently I'm an idiot and jacked my car up incorrectly and bent the differential cover so now it's leaking. I'm curious:

1. Can I find a way to make this one stop leaking or am I better off getting a new one?
2. how easy is it to install and can I do it? (I'm pretty good with tools but I've never done this before.)
3. What differential cover should I buy if I do buy one.

Mustang Chrome 8.8 Differential Cover at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

Differential Cover - LRS Search

These are some that I found with a quick search.
Thanks Guys

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You might be able to flatten your current cover out and use RTV when you put it back on.

All you really need to do is jack up the car (not on the diff) and take out 12 bolts... You also will need new fluid and friction modifier.

Used rear diff fluid smells oh-so-pretty !


You may or may NOT need to add in friction modifier (read the label on the back of the gear oil you plan on adding in - Mobil 1 stated they did not necessitate the usage of additional friction modifiers).


You can definitely do the rear diff cover installation yourself. Here's my write-up over at Corral when I installed my Granatelli rear diff cover (it really was simple, I just forgot to back out the bolts - duh) - click here for linky.


To check the existing pumpkin fluid level, you just have to crack the hex fill plug on the diff housing (it faces towards the front of the car, almost at the very top of the differential, use the open end of your 3/8 or 1/2 socket wrench, I forget which size)


Once you remove the fill plug, the fluid level should be *fairly* close to the top - can stick your finger in it to check. If you're close to the top, it's considered "full" - don't recall the "acceptable" factory fill level at the moment.


I agree with the above though, if you are looking for a cheap fix, you can just remove the bolts on the pumpkin, drain the fluid, remove the existing cover, and try to bend it back - scrape off any old gasket material/RTV, lay a new bead of fresh RTV, re-install the cover, and pour in some fresh gear oil.

How bad is the leak? I had dif leak that gummed up itself and stopped the leak for years lol with no problme.