Rear diff cracked, what can/do I do????
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 626
Likes: 1
From: San Angelo Tx
Rear diff cracked, what can/do I do????
hey guys I need some help!!! well my problem started about 6 days ago that I know of, my rear diff has been leaking and we put the car on the lift and found that there is a small crack under the rear cover. I just recently drove the car to get dyno'd and brought it back and that's when I started noticing the problem. the last week consisted of...
Saturday morning - drove 3.5 hours to get tuned
Saturday afternoon - dyno'd the car, it only made 461/437
Sunday - parked at hotel all day, didn't notice and leaks
Monday - drive the car back home 3.5 hrs
Tuesday & Wednesday - the car stayed parked I the garage
Thursday - drive the car, made on wot pull from a dig, drove it around a little them parked it again
Thursdays night - I noticed two different size puddles of oil
Friday - drove car around to heat up the rear diff fluid and and put on a lift and found the leak
for a quick fix we drained the fluid and cleaned it up and put some JB weld to try and stop the leak in the meantime but it's still slowly seeping through
now my question is can I weld the diff in the spot and around it to seal it up again or will it weaken the housing even more??
do I have to get a new diff???
the car is an 07 M6, cam only ls2, no big power, I don't race the car!! yet!!
Saturday morning - drove 3.5 hours to get tuned
Saturday afternoon - dyno'd the car, it only made 461/437
Sunday - parked at hotel all day, didn't notice and leaks
Monday - drive the car back home 3.5 hrs
Tuesday & Wednesday - the car stayed parked I the garage
Thursday - drive the car, made on wot pull from a dig, drove it around a little them parked it again
Thursdays night - I noticed two different size puddles of oil
Friday - drove car around to heat up the rear diff fluid and and put on a lift and found the leak
for a quick fix we drained the fluid and cleaned it up and put some JB weld to try and stop the leak in the meantime but it's still slowly seeping through
now my question is can I weld the diff in the spot and around it to seal it up again or will it weaken the housing even more??
do I have to get a new diff???
the car is an 07 M6, cam only ls2, no big power, I don't race the car!! yet!!
Last edited by Still_Slow; Apr 24, 2014 at 11:39 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 12,934
Likes: 784
From: Huntsville AL
It is just a housing, so if it is easy to remove, I would take it off and weld it. If it is a real pain to remove and I wanted to fix it right the first time, I would get a new housing or a new differential.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 626
Likes: 1
From: San Angelo Tx
do you think I would still be taking a gamble if I weld on the housing, if I get a new diff I would just go ahead and upgrade and get gears, but if not, just wondering what the longevity of the housing will be with it having been welded on!!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 264
From: St. Louis, MO
St. Jude Donor '08
Here's what is waiting for you the next time you jump on the car.
This is my rear - I could show you dozens of these pictures from different cars, the 05 diff always breaks like this. When this happens, every time in my experience (and I can say I'm familiar with several times this has happened) it bends the transmission mainshaft - which means you need to rebuild the transmission and that's not cheap.
Get your car fixed before you need a tranny rebuild too.
A new housing will do the same thing again. I'd suggest a c5 rear, it's cheap and Stanger383 can hook you up with an adaptor you need for the mount. Or you can go 06+, but the rears are more expensive and the transmission adapter is $400.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,019
Likes: 2,712
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
I will warn you to stop driving the car and tow it in and get either a new housing or new diff (setting up the gears is not something the average garage can do, takes special measuring tools).
Here's what is waiting for you the next time you jump on the car.
...
This is my rear - I could show you dozens of these pictures from different cars, the 05 diff always breaks like this. When this happens, every time in my experience (and I can say I'm familiar with several times this has happened) it bends the transmission mainshaft - which means you need to rebuild the transmission and that's not cheap.
Get your car fixed before you need a tranny rebuild too.
A new housing will do the same thing again. I'd suggest a c5 rear, it's cheap and Stanger383 can hook you up with an adaptor you need for the mount. Or you can go 06+, but the rears are more expensive and the transmission adapter is $400.
Here's what is waiting for you the next time you jump on the car.
...
This is my rear - I could show you dozens of these pictures from different cars, the 05 diff always breaks like this. When this happens, every time in my experience (and I can say I'm familiar with several times this has happened) it bends the transmission mainshaft - which means you need to rebuild the transmission and that's not cheap.
Get your car fixed before you need a tranny rebuild too.
A new housing will do the same thing again. I'd suggest a c5 rear, it's cheap and Stanger383 can hook you up with an adaptor you need for the mount. Or you can go 06+, but the rears are more expensive and the transmission adapter is $400.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 626
Likes: 1
From: San Angelo Tx
my car is an 07 but when I order a new diff I will be sure to make sure it's upgraded! I dont plan on driving the car a lot but maybe to shop to start my new build but just seeing what options I have!!
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