Three days ago, my dad observed that my rear differential was leaking oil, and he said I needed a new gasket. I read about fixing them online, and proceeded to Schucks auto parts store for more advice and parts. The employee with whom I talked had worked in a car shop previously, and he recommended a caulk instead of a gasket, so I bought the sealant, a couple quarts of gear fluid, and a bottle of degreaser for cleaning the driveway for around $25. I drove the back-end onto red ramps to elevate it, and laid on the wheeled sled for car repair. There were eleven bolts that had to be removed to take the differential cover off, and the fellow at Schucks suggested I start from the bottom to prevent the remaining oil from making a mess. One of the bolts had a metal tag on it, and I wondered what the numbers on it signified. The differential gear was shinny steel and blue oil and had a petroleum odor. The oil took 20 minutes to drain, during which time I cleaned the old rubber sealant off the differential cover. Everything went smoothly, although I had some difficulty locating the port for adding fresh gear oil. I found it on the front of the differential housing, plugged with a bolt having a square indentation. Fortunately the socket wrench had the mating gender shape and size (about 3/8ths of an inch per side). I added nearly two quarts of gear oil, and I hope that is enough. I still need to dispose of the used oil at a filling station. The degreaser and a spaying hose cleaned about 80% of the oil off spots on the driveway. I used the degreaser on my engine, and the engine became cleaner, though not something off which I would want to eat.
Posted by seander at July 4, 2003 09:04 AM