Diff leak - back plate

[TomB]

While Ive got the fuel tank out, I thinking of trying to resolve a problem Ive had for at least a couple of years. I seem to have a permanant drip of oil appearing on the bottom rear left (near side) corner of the diff which tends to blow back over the tank and A frame.

 

I gather from searching that oil from the breather tends to gather on the RHS of the diff, and there doesnt appear to be leak on either drive shaft or prop end of the diff.

 

Has anyone ever removed,cleaned and resealed the back plate with the diff in situ? I have the Ford rebult manual and gather its just sealed with RTV Silicone. It sounds fairly simple - crack bolts, loosen, drain diff, remove plate, clean surfaces and reseal. Is it this straight forward? I dont want to open a can of worms so close to Spring!

 

 

[charlie_pank]

I guess there's no reason why you couldn't do it, there's no magic to replacing the plate (I had mine off quite recently) The access is the only thing that would make it difficult, why not take the diff out, it's not a difficult job if you can manage to drain it first...

[TomB]

Ease of access while the fuel tank is out is why Im thinking of doing it.

 

Problem with these cars is that as access improves as things are removed, the list of things to do increases! What started as a fuel pump gasket job has extended into rear end de-rust & clean, new fog/ reverse lamps & rivnuts, high level brake light and fuel hose. Its nearly Spring!

[John Hughes]

Hurry up Tom, you've already missed the first Blat of the year *smile*

[c7trp]

I think it would be easy enough, *but* on mine the bolts were mega tight, and you need a really good quality torx bit that fits nicely as the bolt heads are quite shallow.

 

I ended up using a breaker bar on some. My cr@ppy torx bit mullered a couple of the heads, so I had to weld nuts on to get them off 😔

 

Chatting with Phil at R&R he recommended a good torx bit and an air gun and apply plenty of pressure to the bit to keep it in the bolt head.