Rear Diff leak

[thatdude305]

My rear diff seems to be leaking now. I've already talked to a shop about doing the FT5001 kit from full tilt boogie which includes a Ford Rear Diff cover. Is this something I should worry about or will it be fixed when they do this? Also I'd it safe for me to drive it about 20 miles to the shop?

 

[03Sssnake]

You should be fine, unless it's just pouring out, leaving huge puddles etc.

 

[Skitzerman]

If it is just an occasional drip, you should be fine. I have to put my FTBR cover on, one of these days. My seventy year old bones are balking at dropping the IRS for the third time, once for FTBR bushings and once for GT pumps/PPRV delete.

 

[98 svt]

Depends.
Is it leaking from the diff cover, or is it leaking from the pinion seal?

 

[thatdude305]

Depends.
Is it leaking from the diff cover, or is it leaking from the pinion seal?

I am not really sure. I noticed it last night. I took a quick look underneath and the diff looked kinda wet and there was a nice amount on the ground. When I get home this evening, I'll take a pic and post it up

 

[Coosawjack]

Do you smell it on the exhaust when you stop??

Leaking pinion seal usually slings fluid EVERYWHERE and onto the exhaust where it burns and smells quite strong!!

Hope it's just the cover.....Good Luck!!

 

[thatdude305]

Do you smell it on the exhaust when you stop??

Leaking pinion seal usually slings fluid EVERYWHERE and onto the exhaust where it burns and smells quite strong!!

Hope it's just the cover.....Good Luck!!

I drove it Saturday and didn't notice any smell, but I didn't notice any leak until last night when I got home. When I get home this evening I will take a picture and post it up.

 

[98 svt]

Yeah def post a pic.
I had a very slow leak from my pinion seal many years ago. Never could smell it on anything as it was just a drip or 2 every few hours.

 

[speedoflife]

I've had both leaks. If you clean the area up, drive a bit, and let it sit you should be able to easily tell if it's leaking from the pinion. It will leak all the way down the case if so. If it's just the cover, gravity predicts it will almost all drip towards the back of the differential. Might as well confirm which one is leaking before fixing.

It's probably just the cover - my $0.02

 

[ITSTOCK]

Unless it's pouring out, I'm sure you will be just fine driving it. It's very well known that the stock diff cover leaks.

 

[deletednow2017]

Always fix leaks as soon as you can but if it is just a slow leak, you'll be more than fine.

 

[thatdude305]

Here are some pictures. It is on the exhaust pipe and it's pretty wet. Now I will be doing the bushings using the Full Tilt Boogie kit with the Ford Racing diff cover. So maybe that will fix it. What do you guys think

 

[03cobra#694]

Messy, and polish that exhaust. Have you tried snugging up the bolts?

 

[thatdude305]

No I just noticed it yesterday. I guess when I bring my car to do these bushings I'll just take care of it then since I was doing the full tilt boogie kit with all the bushings and ford racing diff cover

 

[thatdude305]

Messy, and polish that exhaust. Have you tried snugging up the bolts?

I will be changing the exhaust very soon. Going to throw Mac LT headers, pro chamber mid, borla atak

 

[thatdude305]

I just dropped off my car to get the Full Tilt Boogie IRS/Rear Diff done

 

[Hotwire]

When I bought my car, it was leaking. It had coated the exhaust pretty good at the bends where the pipes are closest together. I drove it home from Atlanta, GA to Raleigh, NC and didn’t have any issues. I got a quote of $450 in labor to have the Ford Performance rear differential cover installed. I decided to do it myself. It is time consuming, but isn’t terribly hard. When I drained it, it still had plenty of fluid in it. Mine was only leaking at the rear differential cover.


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[Chrome98Cobra]

I had a small leak on my last 03, the cover bolts were all just a little loose. I tightened them and the leak went away.

 

[thatdude305]

Well the leak cant be nothing major because the shop called me today and said they are almost done and will bring it tomorrow to get aligned. If the leak was something to worry about then they would have mentioned it. I WOULD ASSUME AND HOPE THEY WOULD