Still checking out the 00 Coupe that I brought in December......

I found out that my butt had a leak, cleaned and pressure washed it yesterday, then on rechecking it today , could see a drop of oil at the bottom of the diff and a couple of drops on the floor. Jacked up the car again to see if it was from the top or the bottom. Could not find any evidence of it from the top. So I am attempting what another member suggested, tighten all bolts about 1/4 to 1/2 turn as they may have loosened up. As I have found that many bolts are more lose then they should be.

Low and behold I found that the top right side bolt has been apparently broken off...............over torqued. I do believe that the car went into service for a recall in 2002. I do plan on checking what type of recall and warranty work has been performed.

Now my question, although I have tightened up all the bolts, if it still leaks, should I check to see if any service was done on the vehicle for the leaky butt and if it was do I contact the dealer that did the service and attempt to get them to fix this. It is clear that the bolt was broken off a while ago by the amount of corrosion on it and being such a hidden spot, who would check. Or just suck it up and get it properly repaired if it is still leaking......By the way the car has 16,000 miles on it,.

This is not the first time that I have had a vehicle at a dealer and it was damaged during the repair process and was given to me as good.....Two years I had my Mercedes at the dealer for leaking valve cover gaskets. I picked up the car on a Saturday, and something told me to check under the hood.. Heavens to betsy I found scratches on the front bumper and half the air cleaner assembly missing and what was on the car, one of the mounts fell off as I showed the service manager. He then brought back the other half and said, Oh I guess they forgot to put this on, on further checking it became clear that the mechanic attempted to pull off the whole air cleaner assembly and apparently dropped it causing all the damage. Car would not even idle right because the cleaner did not seal properly.
Got them to repair the paint damage and replace the broken air cleaner.....WHAT IF I HAD JUST DROVE HOME...... Sure they would have said, caused elsewhere.........

 

Unfortunately, your chances of getting a warranty repair on this problem are pretty slim if non existant. The repair was a LONG time ago. Find a "good" repair shop and have the problem fixed. A leaky differential could cost you big $ further down the road.

 

Who ever told you to do this gave you BAD advice. Properly torqued bolts don't need retorquing unless called for in the manual or if something had been taken apart. Rotating as you mentioned would surely over torque the bolt.

The left side diff cover and output shaft are known to leak. Changing these seals isn't all that hard with the newer updated factory seal. A DIY with the proper tools should have it done in about 4 hours or less of work.

 

Thanks, I thought that it might be a long shot to get a shop to own up to their mechanic snapping a bolt..

As far as loose bolts, I have found bolts and screws almost to the point of being able to turn by hand, so I have re-torqued many of them. A lot of them were on the transmission oil pan (no leaks though) and the oil pan. With others sporadically throughout the car. Also noticed that my rear sway bar end links had cracked seals. So I will be replacing those and the bushings as well. Guess father time caught up to some parts....