VetteJohn

The '63 I purchased recently had a small leak in the rear end, the guy I got it from said it was the pinion seal. Well I got up under the car and the diff had several leaks, the pinion seal (very minor), the cover gasket (again minor), the fill plug and fluid from someplace near the top (major). I replaced the fill plug gasket with the right type and that cleared that up. I tighten the cover and that took car of that leak. The pinion seal leak was hardly worth messing with. Each time I worked on this problem I cleaned the fluid up and I ended up having to pull the diff in order to get to the leak on top.

After getting the diff out (loads of fun ) and seeing that this diff has been leaking for many years (from the amount of grease, oil and dirt built up around it) I found that the leak looked like it was coming from the crud that was built up over and around the vent. I cleaned up the case and cover and then pulled the cover off. I've looked at everything and can't find any cracks or bad spots where the gasket mates up.

Could the problem be that the vent was plugged and that when pressure built up inside the case that it forced vapor out the vent that then hardened and started the cycle again?

I'd hate to put this back together to find I still had the problem. Any ideas would be helpful.

Powershift

Short of being overfilled, I can't think of a reason for this to be a major leak/lube source. I would clean up the old vent fitting and make sure it works and breathes okay.....and then re-install.

You could also just replace it, as the cost is minimal. But unless you have other parts to order, this item is to minor for a separate order.

Larry

dirkdaddy

I know from reading up on other cars I've worked on, I think it was a '36 Lasalle that the manual said the vent has a tendency to get clogged up over time, and that can cause the rear end to leak out of other places. It could have been overfilled, I have seen engines and transmissions overfilled before, on all sorts of cars - Corvettes, Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, etc.

VetteJohn

Thanks for the two replys. The read end was nor over filled, that one of the first times I checked. I have new vent ordered, since I have the whole mess part I'm checking out everything.

Thanks for advice.

John

Nowhere Man

if it makes you feel better when I first got my Chevelle done with a rebuilt 12 bolt I forgot to put a vent on the top. when I drove it, it slung oil out the pinion seal. I replaced two of them before I realized it needed a vent on the top. put one on and now no leaks. talk about dumb

VetteJohn

NoWhere Man,

I wish that was the dumbest thing I've ever done! the list is too long to review here .

John

Nowhere Man

well that wasn't really one of them just a example