Leaking front differential

I'm admittedly not a mechanic but have had a lot of free time this summer and have been trying to become as self sufficient as possible. For the longest time I thought i had a small engine oil leak (a couple drops a week maybe). Finally got bored and decided to check it out, turns out it was actually gear oil leaking out of the front differential. It was accumulating at the low flat point below where the front differential black plate meets the case and dripping those occasional few drops (seems like sometimes it would go weeks without dripping and then drip multiple drops a day also). I saw a youtube video on how to flush the differential and reseal it with RTV so thats what i did and so far there has been no accumulation below this plate. My question is, do you think this defiantly fixed the leak? Because I was wondering if instead it could be the Pinion that was actually leaking and the gear oil was slowing follow the bottom of the differtial and building up there until it drips below the plate, because it does look like there is some moisture around that area? Just wondering if that is even a plausible situation, or I can wait and see. Thanks for any help.

Leaking pinion seal is up fairly high, so the oil runs down to a lower location, before dripping off. Wind forces affect greatly the locating of a leak, especially on a rear axle, less on front, where it's protected from the wind.

Why would the pinion have stopped leaking, if you replaced the cover plate sealing? imp

imp said:

Leaking pinion seal is up fairly high, so the oil runs down to a lower location, before dripping off. Wind forces affect greatly the locating of a leak, especially on a rear axle, less on front, where it's protected from the wind.

Why would the pinion have stopped leaking, if you replaced the cover plate sealing? imp

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Thanks for the insight! Sorry I meant to say that I cleaned the entire area do I'm not sure if the leak is or isn't back. When I replaced the liquid gasket on the plate, the old one still looked really good so that's what made me think it might be coming from somewhere else. I guess if it continues to accumulate I'll replace the pinion seal. From the looks of it, it doesn't look too difficult to replace

jbwilson3791 said:

Thanks for the insight! Sorry I meant to say that I cleaned the entire area do I'm not sure if the leak is or isn't back. When I replaced the liquid gasket on the plate, the old one still looked really good so that's what made me think it might be coming from somewhere else. I guess if it continues to accumulate I'll replace the pinion seal. From the looks of it, it doesn't look too difficult to replace

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Read up on pinion seal replacement real closely! The removal of the old seal requires removal of the U-joint flange, which relieves the pinion bearings of their preload. Improperly preloaded pinion bearings upon re-assembly will cause either premature bearing failure, at the minimum, or failure of the ring & pinion gears themselves, a major, MAJOR headache.

I would wipe the housing spotlessly clean & dry all around the area where the pinion enters it: where the driveshaft connects to the pinion. Then drive it for awhile, after which, perhaps a week, look very closely at that area cleaned. If it is dry and devoid of any oil film, the seal is OK. imp