Replacing rear diff cover

[Joe 5.0]

mines REALLLY leaking now so i need to address it. I bought the chrome cover off summit and it came with a set of bolts. I know it just bolts on, but can i drain the fluid first so it doesnt make a mess? How about torque specs and what kind of fluid to refill it with?

Also should i use the gasket it came with, or just use some RTV?

 

[R.J.]

The fluid will drain when you take the cover off. Do the bottom bolts first and work your way up, you can get it to drain with out making a mess. TQ on the cover bolts is good-and-tight. Just use RTV for the gasket. Go with Moble 1 or Royal purple Synth gear oil. There is a lot of brands out there but these two are highly reccomended by many. Also get a bottle of Ford Fricton Modifier for the clutch discs in the diff.
I would do a Moble 1 or Royal Purple tranni fluid swap while your under the car.

 

[GRGT1994]

That friction modifier is stinky stuff, so put a big oil drain pan underneath. Then remove all but the last few bolts, leaving just a few bolts in on the top - loosen those, but not all the way. Then use a pry bar to break the seal and dump the oil. This way the oil will dump down in a somewhat controlled manner. If you take off all the bolts and pop the cover in one motion, you will have a mess.

Use a long pry bar so your arm is not under the rear end, unless you want a shower (again - it's really stinky stuff).

Since you are replacing the cap, you could drill a hole in the bottom of the old one to drain. But that's really overkill. You should be able to drain as I described without much trouble. And you risk knicking the gears if you drill the cap while installed. This brings up another point, you might want to use a replacement cap with a drain plug (for future use).

If you are really concerned about making a mess, then spread out a layer of newspapers (5 sheets thick or so) underneath the entire back of the car and dump kitty litter over all of that to absobe any mess. Again, overkill - but it won't hurt to have the kitty litter on hand.

Wow, I just wrote way too much on a pretty insignificant issue.

 

[joekd]

When I installed my TA diff cover I used black RTV, no gasket

 

[94-302-vert]

you gotta remove the swaybar too.. but that is easy... then follwo directions above. I usually use a couple cans of brake cleaner and some lint free rags to clean out any residual stuff... last time I used valvoline gear oil and it has the friction modifier in it already...

 

[Stangfreak95]

Absolutely no need to remove the swaybar dude. I did this a few times and the swaybar wasnt a problem at all.

 

[94-302-vert]

How did you get it out?

I changed the fluid on mine in the fall and I could not figure out a way to remove the cover entirely with the swaybar in place.

 

[Stangfreak95]

I guess you just pull it towards you in an angle or so to pass that "bubble" on the cover. Really I cant see how you werent able to do it. I even changed carriers twice in my driveway on the pavement with the swaybar in place as well

 

[joekd]

yeah, both my OEM cover and the TA both fit fine with the swaybar in place

 

[GRGT1994]

I swapped my gears (pulled the carrier chunk) with the sway bar in place. Shouldn't be a problem with just the cover.

 

[Joe 5.0]

Thanks guys, heading to the store right now to get the fluid, andgonnatackle this today.

I'm justgetting whatever they have at autozone, because in the next couple months I'm getting a new diff anyways, so its pointless to spend extra for the fluid when its getting replaced anyways. I just dont have the money right now to replace the diff, but its getting nice so I am gonna wanna drive it.

 

[95stangGT]

Thanks guys, heading to the store right now to get the fluid, andgonnatackle this today.

I'm justgetting whatever they have at autozone, because in the next couple months I'm getting a new diff anyways, so its pointless to spend extra for the fluid when its getting replaced anyways. I just dont have the money right now to replace the diff, but its getting nice so I am gonna wanna drive it.

delete.

 

[Joe 5.0]

delete.

??

I did the change, and it went pretty easy. No broken bolts, but also I only had like a cup of fluid in the axle. Good thing I didnt drive on it much the past couple months.

Actually filling it was the biggest pita, since I didnt have any hosing to snake to the fill hole, so I had to just be swift and tip the bottle quickly.

Anyways, thanks for the help guys.

BTW do I HAVE to put in friction modifier? I used the Valvoline synthetic fluid. They didnt have any modifier at autozone, and the local ford dealer was closed.

 

[95cobraguy]

when i put in my trick flow cover i used the supplied gasket. why would anybody want to deal with sloppy rtv when a nice gasket is supplied? oh, i dont have a drop of fluid leaking.

 

[94-302-vert]

I also used the valvoline high performance fluid and it had the friction modifier in it. If the rear end is not jerky or banging you should be OK.