Rear Differential

dgeist · **Posted:** Sun Jan 09, 2011 9:43 am

tommudd wrote:

I don't go by torque but by feel, I know whats too tight and whats not enough.

I would bet that 75-80% of all diff covers are tightened too tight, people tend to think tighter is better, .....

I'll second that. On the ultra-grey, the instructions call for you to tighten it hand-tight (or until the ooze just starts to show), then let it set for an hour, then turn one more half turn. Considering the bolts are held in place by rigid silicone and wouldn't shake loose in a samba competition in Rio, the pressure on the bead seems much more important. I think the torque settings are there for people that don't have the common sense to understand what compressing the bead does.

Dan

denvergrows · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 7:51 pm

So I went trail riding today, and my jeep did great. But I smacked my rear differential on a rock and it's leaking just a little. not much and it is still working fine but how do I get it sealed up?

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 8:29 pm

look close and see where it's leaking
odds are you bent the cover - it's sheet metal

you'll probably have to take it off and hammer/flatten the edge so that it'll reseal

(or this is a really good time to look at aftermarket covers that are stronger and won't bend - but are more expensive)

denvergrows · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 8:54 pm

ThAt would make sense. It seems to be just slightly dripping from where the cover bolts on. So I need a differential cover and new seal for a Chrysler 8.25 right? We've benn looking into those anyway. Thoughts on a cool red one? Lady wants it in red.

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 9:16 pm

One of the aftermarket ones comes in Red - but if not - before you install it - Rustoleum has a lot of stray colors......

Al has one but it's Zinc coated
http://jeepinbyal.com/prod-10_Bolt_Differential_Guard-779.aspx

denvergrows · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 9:33 pm

Also, my girlfriend is all upset because she was driving when it happened. She thinks she messed our whole jeep up. I'm trying to explain to her that this is not a big issue. She didn't mess anything up she just sped up the process of buying a steel cover. And the reason we were going to get the other cover anyway, is because this is such an easy thing to do. All this is true, right? As long as we don't drive it until we get it replaced and refilled, nothing else is going to screw up because of this mishap.

denvergrows · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 9:40 pm

I have a 4 wheel parts warehouse by my house. I hope they have something in stock. It's my every day driver and don't want to drive it around waiting on shipping.

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetrain-a ... n=RIDRD825

Good one?

KJ Willy · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 9:47 pm

Riddler is a good cover, Have 3 of them on Different Difs, but that is $$$$$$, but if you can't wait on shipping then you do what you gotta do.

And you can paint it red if you want to.

KJ Willy · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 9:49 pm

http://www.northridge4x4.com/shop/catalogsearch/result/?q=riddler

denvergrows · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 9:50 pm

It seems pretty average. The jeepin by al one is the same plus shipping. I see some for around 100 on 4 wheel parts.

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetrain-a ... TFBTF11014

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetrain-a ... N304CM8.25

KJ Willy · **Posted:** Thu May 10, 2012 9:59 pm

KJ Willy wrote:

http://www.northridge4x4.com/shop/catalogsearch/result/?q=riddler

Dave from Northridge is great, if you are military then discounts if you call them, also over $100 free shipping. I am partial to them for their support of the Military (me) and he has helped me out a few times with my TJ build and parts. Both of the Difs on my TJ Dana 44's and the rear on my KJ have the Riddler covers. As for the seal, just use some red or black gasket maker and you should be good.

jhblackwell · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 1:39 am

Cobolt60 posted this recently. Worth looking into. I plan on ordering one soon.

http://www.solidaxle.com/productcart/pc ... category=7

denvergrows · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 5:26 pm

Ok I am going to order a new one. The only one 4 wheel parts had in stock was the crane for $179.99. Is replacing it as easy as it looks?
Put a pan under it to catch the oil. Take the bolts off the old one. Scrape the old seal off. Put new seal on. Replace bolts. Take off plug. Fill with oil.(Lucas or what?). Replace plug.????? Or am I going to run into other problems?

kjon · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 5:44 pm

It's that easy. There's a little magnet in the bottom of the diff housing to catch any metal shavings. I like to clean that up real nice with a rag. I think some folks even spray out the diff with some parts cleaner.? Also, torque to spec.

irollgen4s · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 6:19 pm

when i get a chance to change it myself, i use brake cleaner to get all the sludge and oil out, and then fill it up after its blown out with a compressor.

irunmiles · **Posted:** Sat May 19, 2012 9:06 pm

I've been using $3 cardboard-like gaskets from the auto parts store. They're made to fit our diff, and I typically get 2 to 3 changes with them before replacemant. No scrapping required. Been using them for 150k miles with no problems.

denvergrows · **Posted:** Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:33 pm

How ofter do you guys change your rear diff fluid? And whats the best gear oil for them. I did the Lucas 85w-140.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:22 pm

denvergrows wrote:

How ofter do you guys change your rear diff fluid? And whats the best gear oil for them. I did the Lucas 85w-140.

I personally change the rear every year regardless of mileage,the front will go longer since I have manual lockouts so it doesn't really spin unless I'm on the trail unlike the stock KJ setup which the front diff turns 100% of the time regardless if in 2wd or 4wd.

If using synthetic gear oil replace the oil every 12k-15k on a KJ,front and rear.Using dino gear oil(like you are using) you can go alot longer,say 50k-60k would be good.Your diffs will like the dino 85w-140,sure you may take a 1-2mpg hit but will be better protected.I only use Lucas 85w-140 in my diffs.

Oh and a side note you should have gone with Cranes diff cover,there chromoly steel and would outlast your Jeep.Hence the high cost since they are made extremely stout with a no questions asked lifetime warranty.I know Josh at Crawler Tech(owner of Crane) and he's a good guy to work with,a local Denver company also.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Jul 10, 2012 11:33 pm

Had a couple of other makes on mine before I went to a Crane works great and looks good as well
Use only Dino in mine 85-140
Change it out every 40,000 or so at the most

Jeepin'WNC · **Joined:** Mon Nov 15, 2010 1:48 am **Posts:** 191

I did my first rear differential gear oil change on my KJ not about a year ago; not the first one done on my KJ, but the first one I'd done. I removed all of the bolts other than the very top one, and let it drain; then I removed the cover and hosed everything with brake cleaner, and scraped off the old RTV (it had orange) with a plastic scraper. I cleaned the cover first, and applied a thin layer of Permatex black RTV (what I had on hand) onto the cover and let that set up a bit while I while cleaned the old RTV off of the differential. Then I applied a thin layer of RTV to the diff and let it set up for a bit; maybe 20-30 minutes...I also used one of the cardboard type gaskets. I put the cover in place and tightened all of the bolts to just snug, then torqued them to 30 ft.lbs. (according to specs I found here) in a star pattern. I was afraid that I would have a leak, but it was a success. It's been about a year/12,000 miles...time to do again. I'll do it again just like I did last time... If you are going out to buy RTV to service your rear diff I'd get ultra-grey...I used black because it's what I had on hand...I'll use it again, because I have some left, and it seemed to work fine last time....

Rear Differential

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