A look at this leak, please

[italianbigsky]

This morning after not using my explorer for 4 days, I noticed some wet under the car. It was too dark to take a picture, anyway I took some other pics of the car (and the leak) some hours later and I thought to post them here.

Instruments still doesn't say anything and everything seems normal.
The liquid is some kind of glue, the color is reddish I don't know if it's due to the rust or it is the natural color of the liquid.

Here's the pics, hope I can post them. If not, I post the links anyway.
Thanks in advance!

link to the 4 pics

 

[my98nnj]

Looks like tranny fluid.

 

[italianbigsky]

Thanks!
That's what I thought too, but as I'm not expert at all I asked you.

Who sold me the car said that they completely rebuilt transmission and showed me all the documents, so I believe they really did the job.
But they also said that the car was "perfect", a little rust here and there, some minor noise but no major problems at all.

I really can't understand how big this problem could be. The wet area under the car, I mean on asphalt, was very big this morning,otherwise I could never see it in the dark.
The car has been parked there for 3-4 days.
This afternoon there was no wet area under the car, but I crawled under it and took those pictures. Couldn't see any other drop around...

Do you think it's a major problem? I mean, do you think I should immediatly stop driving the car and find someone to repair it, or that job could be done later this summer without further damages?
Could nthis be an expensive repair?
Excuse me if this question could sound stupid, but this is my first automatic transmission, I have no experience at all.

Thanks in advance, regards from Italy

 

[BobWiersema]

That looks like your front differential to me. If its leaking, the fluid will be thick and the same color as oil. That red stuff seeping out looks like gasket glue. Someone probably had the cover off. Check exactly what part of the truck the oil spot is under.

Bob

 

[Joe Dirt]

I agree- someone's been in that cover. At this point, if it's leaking that bad, the only real solution is to drop it, clean up, and reinstall the cover- and hope they weren't hiding something inside.

 

[italianbigsky]

Thank you so much. I'òò check for more wet spots tomorrow morning. eanwhile, I sent some pictures to the man that sold me the car. He has a garage, he works on rally cars, so I think that pics should be enough to him to give me a answer, expecially if he knew the problem or if he put hands on the differential himself. It's possible, as he said that he rebuilt the whole transmission.

At this point, supposing it's the differential fluid and(or a gasket problem... do you think I should stop the car until I fix the problem? What could happen if I drive i.e. 1,000miles?

 

[italianbigsky]

I forgot another couple of questions:

first, is it possible or useful to block the leaking from the exterior part of the differential (with some kind of glue, don't know the name, things similar to the ones used in the tubs)?

Until I don't drive 4WD, the anterior differential has an active role?

 

[tonyroc14]

It just depends on the size of the leak, if it's not leaking that bad you could probably drive on it. From what I see I would get it fixed sooner rather than later. Another thing I thought of, it could be coolant leaking from up top and dripping on your diff, but it's hard to tell. I don't personally think caulk would be able to stop, or slow that leak. You have to get a good seal otherwise it'll just leak around the caulk.

 

[jlsparky7]

Trying to stop it from the outside probably wont work. I have a differential flush how to vid in the link in my signature.

The front differential is a little trickier than the rear.

 

[SoNic67]

In my opinion, that red stuff is the putty they used to stop the leak from "outside". It lasted till you bought the car...
Sure, it can be fixed but is time consuming and can be costly (labor hourly rates). I would check the level of the fluid in that diff - who knows how much it leaked before and if they fill it back. It has a port where you can check/add fluid.
At least, for now, is not a huge problem (in my opinion).

 

[sandman's wife]

Looks like to me they used form-a-gasket instead of an actual gasket. Not sure if the fluid has possibly eaten thru it or if they tried to seal it right before you bought it. But, definately keep an eye on the fluid level at least untill you have t&m to get it fixed. The right way.

 

[italianbigsky]

Well, I talked to the man who sold it to me and he said that when they rebuilt the whole transmission they touched and checked the front differential too. They didn't use a real gasket and the red glue is what they used to avoid leaks. He said there's another one, a green one, that works a little better, but that in any case it won't last forever. He said that this is a very common problem to US cars here in Italy as it's not that easy to find gaskets, and buying them overseas would increase costs due to shipping. That's why many uses glue.

To check fluid level I should raise the car, so in any case I will go to a garage and ask for the best price for this job. Maybe I'll be lucky and find a real gasket.

Anyway, in the past few days I didn't find any wet area under the car. Who knows, maybe leaking was not that big, or maybe fluid is already over

 

[alohamonte]

this is an easy gasket to replace. there are a number of youtube videos and how-to guides. when i did mine for the first time, it took less than 2 hours.

some tips, 1. use black rtv silicon for the gasket material 2. let the new gasket cure for at least an hour before filling the diff with new oil 3. diff oil is very smelly, use gloves/plastic/cardboard to protect the work area and yourself.

 

[SoNic67]

He said that this is a very common problem to US cars here in Italy as it's not that easy to find gaskets, and buying them overseas would increase costs due to shipping. That's why many uses glue.

Try amazon.COM (not .it). I know that they ship to EU and a gasket shipping should be not so expensive.