Fix Your Leaky Butt for Good!!!
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6th Gear
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6
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From: Simi Valley California
Fix Your Leaky Butt for Good!!!
Hi all,
I have been fighting this problem scene 2000. I have a 1999 Z51 coupe with 85000 on it now. I have been changing the Diff seal & o-ring every time I changed the oil. Must be 10 times at least. I tried a new Diff cover & that did not work. I went with the TSB procedure & followed it exactly. Still Leaked! So my leak was the o-ring on the left cover. You can tell this by looking at the Axle & the bottom of the car if the seal is leaking you will see spray coming from the axle and hitting the bottom of the car. If the Diff cover is leaking you will see it on the cover. So my problem is the o-ring not having enough squeeze. All the sealant in the world will not stop this. You need a different o-ring that has enough squeeze. I fixed this with a 1/8" Square Section O-ring instead of the 3mm round section o-ring. This gave me .007" thousands of an inch more press per side on the o-ring. I have driven 3000 mile and no signs of seeping around the cover. This is the longest it has ever lasted.
I found the O-ring material at McMaster Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com)
O-ring material Viton, Part #2542T22 $1.50 per foot (Get 6 to 7 feet)
Loctite 404 Glue, Part #7569A22 $23.63
There are a lot of procedures posted on how to remove & install the cover. I would go with one that just remove the Axle not the cross member.
Once you have the cover off & clean you can use it as a jig to make the new o-ring. Cut the o-ring material a little long so that you can fit it. Cut a little bit at a time until it is just right. The edges need to be cut square. Now you need to hold the cover in a vise. You need to put a piece of masking tape 1" wide in the groove were the seam in the o-ring will be. Now clean the o-ring before bonding. Bond the o-ring.
Let it sit for 5 min. Remove the o-ring & tape. Using some emery cloth or sand paper clean the extra glue off the o-ring. Now you are ready to stop your leak for the last time. Make sure you put some grease on the o-ring & inside Diff to aid in assembly. I hope this helps a lot of you guys out. This was driving me crazy!! Also be sure you don't over fill leave gear oil 1/4" below fill hole!!!!!
P.S. The sealant is up to you. It might help.
I have been fighting this problem scene 2000. I have a 1999 Z51 coupe with 85000 on it now. I have been changing the Diff seal & o-ring every time I changed the oil. Must be 10 times at least. I tried a new Diff cover & that did not work. I went with the TSB procedure & followed it exactly. Still Leaked! So my leak was the o-ring on the left cover. You can tell this by looking at the Axle & the bottom of the car if the seal is leaking you will see spray coming from the axle and hitting the bottom of the car. If the Diff cover is leaking you will see it on the cover. So my problem is the o-ring not having enough squeeze. All the sealant in the world will not stop this. You need a different o-ring that has enough squeeze. I fixed this with a 1/8" Square Section O-ring instead of the 3mm round section o-ring. This gave me .007" thousands of an inch more press per side on the o-ring. I have driven 3000 mile and no signs of seeping around the cover. This is the longest it has ever lasted.
I found the O-ring material at McMaster Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com)
O-ring material Viton, Part #2542T22 $1.50 per foot (Get 6 to 7 feet)
Loctite 404 Glue, Part #7569A22 $23.63
There are a lot of procedures posted on how to remove & install the cover. I would go with one that just remove the Axle not the cross member.
Once you have the cover off & clean you can use it as a jig to make the new o-ring. Cut the o-ring material a little long so that you can fit it. Cut a little bit at a time until it is just right. The edges need to be cut square. Now you need to hold the cover in a vise. You need to put a piece of masking tape 1" wide in the groove were the seam in the o-ring will be. Now clean the o-ring before bonding. Bond the o-ring.
Let it sit for 5 min. Remove the o-ring & tape. Using some emery cloth or sand paper clean the extra glue off the o-ring. Now you are ready to stop your leak for the last time. Make sure you put some grease on the o-ring & inside Diff to aid in assembly. I hope this helps a lot of you guys out. This was driving me crazy!! Also be sure you don't over fill leave gear oil 1/4" below fill hole!!!!!
P.S. The sealant is up to you. It might help.
Last edited by DynamicMAS; Jan 8, 2014 at 12:04 PM.
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Good info! 
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