Front diff case-half seal: easy solutions?

[kylesw]

Okay, first off thanks to all the members and their awesome contributions to this site. I've been doing a ton of reading and learned a lot in the past few weeks. I can't thank you guys enough.


My situation: Like many people I have had problems with my front differential leaking oil. I have had the pinion seal replaced recently and the problem persists. I recently had a mechanic verify that my leak is coming from the case-half seal. Additionally I've read several threads about this problem before, so it sounds like this problem is not out of the norm.

My problem is this - my car is fairly old and has a kbb of 6 grand. I've been quoted about $1000 for the job at two shops, and it's a pretty slow leak (about one drop per day). It doesn't really seem worth the $$$ for a relatively minor problem (assuming I keep the fluid topped off).

So I am researching alternative solutions. I could attempt the feat myself, but realistically it's out of my skill range. My other idea is to clean it off and run a bead of RTV where the case halves meet. Kind of a hack job I know, but any idea of this would work?

Anyone else have any ideas or is this something I'll have to live with? Thanks!

 

[Sparky]

Actually sounds like what I was thinking... Drain the diff oil so it stops leaking, clean it real good, then RTV the crap out of that seam

 

[RZAwora]

I'd definitely give it a shot. You've got nothing to lose. If it works, great, only cost a couple bucks. If not then you can decide upon repairs or constant refills. If it were mine, I'd probably not have the repairs done if it's going to cost that much. Turning the wheel left all the way, and topping it off once a week or so seems much easier and cheaper. You can buy many bottles of gear oil for $1000. If it's only leaking the little bit you say, the $1000 worth of gear oil would last probably 5+ years. Do you plan or see having it that long? Now, if the problem got worse, yeah definitely repair time. This is all just my opinion. Do as you please.