Front Differential cover gasket leak | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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91Rustbucket

Member
Joined
November 15, 2017
Messages
42
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City, State
Washington
Year, Model & Trim Level
1991 Explorer XLT
All right I just Installed a 2" lift, no problems. But when I jacked it back up the next day to change the tie rod ends I noticed that I had oil POURING out of my front differential. I used the jack points I've always used and had the jack stands in the same place. I'm trying to figure out

A: Is there a simpler fix other then pulling the whole front end out?
B: Did the lift / jacking process cause the leak?

The Red is where the leak is, the green is a bit of gasket I don't think was showing before, but I'm not sure.
20171115_122925.jpg
 



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Could have been RTV that hardened up and jacking there would cause some flex of that sealing surface. I don't think you're getting around pulling the differential housing out. Use some Permatex The Right Stuff and you won't have a problem for a long time. While you're in there though, you might consider doing the c-clip eliminator mod. While you might never break a passenger side axle, the ability to pull the axle shaft to replace the seal (which yours looks wet) without unbolting the housing would be really nice.
 






Could have been RTV that hardened up and jacking there would cause some flex of that sealing surface. I don't think you're getting around pulling the differential housing out. Use some Permatex The Right Stuff and you won't have a problem for a long time. While you're in there though, you might consider doing the c-clip eliminator mod. While you might never break a passenger side axle, the ability to pull the axle shaft to replace the seal (which yours looks wet) without unbolting the housing would be really nice.

Do you know of anyone who has pulled the front different on a first gen and has a good walk through? I haven't had any luck finding one.
And is this something I can drive on until I fix? It's my daily driver.
 






You're fine to drive it. If it's leaving puddles, I wouldn't use 4x4 but if it's just seeping, you're fine to use 4x4, just top it off and keep an eye on it.

I can't think of a walkthrough with pictures (perhaps look up the c-clip eliminator mod?) but my thought process would be to pull the driveshaft coming from the transfer case, pull the driver's side brake & spindle off, pull the driver's side axle out of the differential then undo the bolts on the front of the beam and then the front differential should be free. The passenger side axle will slip off, it's 2-piece. There shouldn't be anything else holding it at that point.
 






Mines been leaking for years, I just fill the diff whenever I'm going to use 4wd.
I haven't fixed it because it's such a huge job, at least for me it is.
The one big key to pulling that diff is that vertical bolt seen in your pic, to the left of the diff. If it wasn't for that, it would be a much simpler job. You have to at least partially remove the drivers side radius arm so it can swing out of the way.
 






You're fine to drive it. If it's leaving puddles, I wouldn't use 4x4 but if it's just seeping, you're fine to use 4x4, just top it off and keep an eye on it.

I can't think of a walkthrough with pictures (perhaps look up the c-clip eliminator mod?) but my thought process would be to pull the driveshaft coming from the transfer case, pull the driver's side brake & spindle off, pull the driver's side axle out of the differential then undo the bolts on the front of the beam and then the front differential should be free. The passenger side axle will slip off, it's 2-piece. There shouldn't be anything else holding it at that point.

Thanks for the reply. Knowing that I can drive on it for awhile while I do some more research is a huge stress reliever.
I'm interested in the c-clip eliminator mod, though skimming through the details it seems kind of sketchy to use lawn mower parts or whatever to do it. Have people had a lot of good luck and long duration use out of this?
 






I had the diff gasket changed this summer after it leaking for years. The mechanic informed me that it wasn't actually the gasket but the axle seals that were pouring. As long as you keep it topped off you should be fine to drive it.
 






All right I just Installed a 2" lift, no problems. But when I jacked it back up the next day to change the tie rod ends I noticed that I had oil POURING out of my front differential. I used the jack points I've always used and had the jack stands in the same place. I'm trying to figure out

A: Is there a simpler fix other then pulling the whole front end out?
B: Did the lift / jacking process cause the leak?

The Red is where the leak is, the green is a bit of gasket I don't think was showing before, but I'm not sure.
View attachment 151989


Hi where does that vent tube lead to? Mine broke off on my Ford Explorer 91 and I can’t find where it connects to. Can you show me please.
 






Is th5R44e an overall reliable transmission? I know the 5R55 series are prone to failing any time after 100k miles.Hi where does that vent tube lead to? Mine broke off on my Ford Explorer 91 and I can’t find where it connects to. Can you show me please.
The one end attaches to the nipple on the diff, the other end just runs up towards the engine and doesn’t connect to anything. It just ‘floats’.
 






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