TOP OFF Leaking Rear Diff Fluid

[CarcleR]

Also, add wheel bearing grease or similar, too the back of axle seal. You see the spring, the grease keeps the spring from popping out. Also add some axle oil too the opening of the seal after you get it install. It help the axle slip in. Not too damage the seal.

Well,tonight you have no choice

Wrap axle splines with a sheet of paper. Hold rolled up paper tension with one hand while guiding thru the seal. Once the spined area is thru, pull out sheet of paper, leaving nick free seal. The splines are sharp. Covering them prevent slicing the seal.

Okay so I was able to find a ride for my daughter as it got too late last night and too cold (I have end stage COPD so having to pace myself especially in cold weather). So I wrapped it up for the night after removing the cover, draining the fluid, and cleaning the surfaces off of the diff cover and then came back today to finish the job but now the diff will not turn when I turn the wheels. The inside gears are turning all except for the big gear that turns so I can find the bolt. It was turning yesterday no problem. I haven’t worked on that part at all. When I turn the wheel now- the small gears inside turn but they’re not catching to turn the big gear. So now I can’t spin it to find the bolt. This is weird because it was turning freely yesterday without any issue and I covered it last night so no dirt or degree would get into it. Any ideas?

 

[Pete Deering]

Okay so I was able to find a ride for my daughter as it got too late last night and too cold (I have end stage COPD so having to pace myself especially in cold weather). So I wrapped it up for the night after removing the cover, draining the fluid, and cleaning the surfaces off of the diff cover and then came back today to finish the job but now the diff will not turn when I turn the wheels. The inside gears are turning all except for the big gear that turns so I can find the bolt. It was turning yesterday no problem. I haven’t worked on that part at all. When I turn the wheel now- the small gears inside turn but they’re not catching to turn the big gear. So now I can’t spin it to find the bolt. This is weird because it was turning freely yesterday without any issue and I covered it last night so no dirt or degree would get into it. Any ideas?

Try turning the driveshaft. If it In park, the driveshaft will not turn.
Sometimes when you remove the pinion shaft the spyder gears Move out of place.
? 1. Did you remove the axle?
? 2. Did you replace the seal?
I look too too see what the weather was in your area. 37°f is little too cold for me.
Just a note. You can't do anything wrong at this point. Don't try too force or hit anything.
I think its the lock driveshaft. I just leave the car in neutral and rotate the driveshaft. I never though about rotating the wheel.
? Do you have the vehicle on jack stands?

 

[CarcleR]

It was in neutral. I hadn’t touched the pinion shaft yet. I turned it to find the bolt, and it was turning fine, but I wasn’t sure if I needed a backup replacement bolt and I was really cold so I shut it down for the night, covered the differential housing housing in some plastic and went in for the night. Went back out today and now the ring gear won’t engage - everything else turns (the wheels, every other gear in the diff housing) only the ring gear stopped spinning. I can’t figure out why it would turn yesterday but not today even though nothing was done to it yet.

 

[Pete Deering]

It was in neutral. I hadn’t touched the pinion shaft yet. I turned it to find the bolt, and it was turning fine, but I wasn’t sure if I needed a backup replacement bolt and I was really cold so I shut it down for the night, covered the differential housing housing in some plastic and went in for the night. Went back out today and now the ring gear won’t engage - everything else turns (the wheels, every other gear in the diff housing) only the ring gear stopped spinning. I can’t figure out why it would turn yesterday but not today even though nothing was done to it yet.

Try turn the differential case by hand.
I can't remember, how I rotate everything around.
All I remember, the spider gears fell out, when I remove the pinion shaft. don't worry about it.
you need to remove axle, keep your eye on the prize.
This is your first time experience.

 

[Pete Deering]

just rotate the driveshaft by hand, too get the differential case too rotate. Transmission has too be in neutral.
Did you try that?

 

[C420sailor]

If you’re saying the carrier (big metal assembly attached to the ring gear) doesn’t turn when you spin one of the wheels, that’s normal with both wheels off the ground. That is because you have an open differential, not an LS or locker. Spinning one wheel will make the other spin the opposite direction without spinning the carrier/ring gear.

With both wheels jacked, spin both wheels forward or backward simultaneously. Or, as mentioned, turn the driveshaft. It shouldn’t take much force if the transmission is in neutral.

 

[CarcleR]

Try turn the differential case by hand.
I can't remember, how I rotate everything around.
All I remember, the spider gears fell out, when I remove the pinion shaft. don't worry about it.
you need to remove axle, keep your eye on the prize.
This is your first time experience

Thank you so much for all the help you’ve been giving my husband (this is his wife and I’m now reading the replies to him while he’s under the vehicle working on it). He’s never worked on the rear of a vehicle before. Done lots with engines and even changed out head gaskets with nothing but some cheap hand tools. But this is new to him. We can’t afford a mechanic so he’s doing this even though he has end stage COPD and CHF and is hooked up to his supplemental oxygen while doing all this. Having this vehicle is so important for our daughters health (all her specialists and his are pretty far away and there’s no public transportation around here). Sorry for the long reply but I wanted you to know how grateful we both are that you keep coming on here to talk him through this.

His reply - thank you so much - I spun it by hand like you suggested and it worked. Thank u!

 

[CarcleR]

If you’re saying the carrier (big metal assembly attached to the ring gear) doesn’t turn when you spin one of the wheels, that’s normal with both wheels off the ground. That is because you have an open differential, not an LS or locker. Spinning one wheel will make the other spin the opposite direction without spinning the carrier/ring gear.

With both wheels jacked, spin both wheels forward or backward simultaneously. Or, as mentioned, turn the driveshaft. It shouldn’t take much force if the transmission is in neutral.

That’s good to know - thank you for your help. I was starting to get worried. I do have a question though - when you said it’s and open differential and not an LS - is the LS for Limited Slip? Because the tag on the differential housing said LS on it so I just wanna make sure.

 

[J_C]

^ What else is on the tag? These might be the codes:

Axle Tag Codes for Ford Explorer, Ford Ranger and Ford Bronco II Axle Identification

Axle codes for Ford Explorer, Ranger and Bronco II. Axle identification Ford Explorer, Bronco II, Ranger.

www.explorerforum.com

Also you can get your VIN and input it on the VIN lookup site linked in my sig to see what it's supposed to have, for example my '98 shows:

Axle Front Rear Wheel Drive 1
D042A
Axle Rear RWD
3.73 Ratio Limited 8.8 Ring Gear Parts List 26

 

[CarcleR]

^ What else is on the tag? These might be the codes:

Axle Tag Codes for Ford Explorer, Ford Ranger and Ford Bronco II Axle Identification

Axle codes for Ford Explorer, Ranger and Bronco II. Axle identification Ford Explorer, Bronco II, Ranger.

www.explorerforum.com

Also you can get your VIN and input it on the VIN lookup site linked in my sig to see what it's supposed to have, for example my '98 shows:

Axle Front Rear Wheel Drive 1
D042A
Axle Rear RWD
3.73 Ratio Limited 8.8 Ring Gear Parts List 26

Thank you! The Im gonna attach a pic of the tag but I’ll also write what I THINK it says:
TOP LINE: S615E
BOTTOM LINE: 4L10 88 0B05 (the B might be an 8) / (that last number is possibly a 6. It looks like a 5 but it kinda looks like a 6)

 

[CarcleR]

Thank you so much for all the help you’ve been giving my husband (this is his wife and I’m now reading the replies to him while he’s under the vehicle working on it). He’s never worked on the rear of a vehicle before. Done lots with engines and even changed out head gaskets with nothing but some cheap hand tools. But this is new to him. We can’t afford a mechanic so he’s doing this even though he has end stage COPD and CHF and is hooked up to his supplemental oxygen while doing all this. Having this vehicle is so important for our daughters health (all her specialists and his are pretty far away and there’s no public transportation around here). Sorry for the long reply but I wanted you to know how grateful we both are that you keep coming on here to talk him through this.

His reply - thank you so much - I spun it by hand like you suggested and it worked. Thank u!

So I’ve got it all back together - I just wanna make sure 33 foot pounds isn’t too little or too much torque for the bolts on the rear diff cover

 

[Pete Deering]

So I’ve got it all back together - I just wanna make sure 33 foot pounds isn’t too little or too much torque for the bolts on the rear diff cover

The service manual states 15-20 ft#. Don't do anything , leave it as is. You lucky, if that higher torque was a issue, the bolts would pull out or the bolts would break. You have tight seal.
Great job!!

 

[C420sailor]

Then it’s a LS. Actually, I think the open and LS diffs should behave similarly in this regard…apparently they need torque input from the driveshaft before they start doing their limited slip thing. I could be wrong though…I’ve never rebuilt a LS rear

 

[CarcleR]

The service manual states 15-20 ft#. Don't do anything , leave it as is. You lucky, if that higher torque was a issue, the bolts would pull out or the bolts would break. You have tight seal.
Great job!!

IM SO RELIEVED - ITS FINALLY DONE! Man getting that gear oil in there was a pain I was NOT prepared for! I tried to rig a pump but some nodules underneath the pump handle caused half a bottle of oil to leak out. I ended up running back down to the parts store and purchasing a pump for the job (and another bottle of gear oil to replace the spilled one).

Man I am beyond grateful for all your help, and everyone else’s help on this! Seriously I couldn’t have completed this without all the help and all your patience with my endless questions.

For a bit of irony- as soon as I went to pull out of the driveway, celebrating my win - I had to see a decent sized spot on the driveway of either transmission fluid, or power steering fluid. Pretty sure I didn’t have a leak before this job. It’s crazy cuz it’s coming from under the front of the car. Not sure how messing with the rear would cause something to leak from the front. I finished around 2 am last night and figured I would investigate it today, but it’s been raining, so I’m gonna have to wait on that. I’m wondering if having it jacked up in the back for a few days caused the leak. I also don’t know if the leak is really from the transmission, and it just rolled forward before dripping down, since it was at that angle for a few days.

 

[Pete Deering]

IM SO RELIEVED - ITS FINALLY DONE! Man getting that gear oil in there was a pain I was NOT prepared for! I tried to rig a pump but some nodules underneath the pump handle caused half a bottle of oil to leak out. I ended up running back down to the parts store and purchasing a pump for the job (and another bottle of gear oil to replace the spilled one).

Man I am beyond grateful for all your help, and everyone else’s help on this! Seriously I couldn’t have completed this without all the help and all your patience with my endless questions.

For a bit of irony- as soon as I went to pull out of the driveway, celebrating my win - I had to see a decent sized spot on the driveway of either transmission fluid, or power steering fluid. Pretty sure I didn’t have a leak before this job. It’s crazy cuz it’s coming from under the front of the car. Not sure how messing with the rear would cause something to leak from the front. I finished around 2 am last night and figured I would investigate it today, but it’s been raining, so I’m gonna have to wait on that. I’m wondering if having it jacked up in the back for a few days caused the leak. I also don’t know if the leak is really from the transmission, and it just rolled forward before dripping down, since it was at that angle for a few days.

I purchased a gear oil bottle pump from walmart. The prices are lower than the parts store and even the gear oil.
The leak in the front has nothing to do with the work you did in the rear. It could just be water.
Now your pro at it.

 

[Turdle]

IM SO RELIEVED - ITS FINALLY DONE! Man getting that gear oil in there was a pain I was NOT prepared for! I tried to rig a pump but some nodules underneath the pump handle caused half a bottle of oil to leak out. I ended up running back down to the parts store and purchasing a pump for the job (and another bottle of gear oil to replace the spilled one).

Man I am beyond grateful for all your help, and everyone else’s help on this! Seriously I couldn’t have completed this without all the help and all your patience with my endless questions.

For a bit of irony- as soon as I went to pull out of the driveway, celebrating my win - I had to see a decent sized spot on the driveway of either transmission fluid, or power steering fluid. Pretty sure I didn’t have a leak before this job. It’s crazy cuz it’s coming from under the front of the car. Not sure how messing with the rear would cause something to leak from the front. I finished around 2 am last night and figured I would investigate it today, but it’s been raining, so I’m gonna have to wait on that. I’m wondering if having it jacked up in the back for a few days caused the leak. I also don’t know if the leak is really from the transmission, and it just rolled forward before dripping down, since it was at that angle for a few days.

Could it have been coolant?
Need to know what leaked out .

Your earlier posts indicate leaking brake fluid. Eliminate that first.
Good job on your part. Not sure my patience would deal with those extra hoses for breathing. Hope you don't get any worse.