Differential Cover Repair

Hi all,

Just noticed today that my rear differential cover was leaking oil. I drained the diff and cleaned up all the surface rust. The leak is coming from what looks like an impact--there's a small dent near the bottom of the cover, with a pinhole in the middle of the dent. The rest of the cover looks to be solid.

This is an old truck (2003), so I've been thinking about trying the JB Weld/POR 15 fix to see how long it lasts. Or, soldering seems like it would be a bit more permanent. My concern is, would it be okay to solder the pinhole while the cover is still on the truck? Or, would the heat potentially damage gears or seals?

 

If you search around this has been done before. I can’t remember if they used JB weld or not but it was a similar issue but may have used something else. But they definitely painted some stuff on it

 

Personally, I would take it off the truck. It will be easier to do, and allow for a much better fix.

 

Weld it

 

It all depends just what you want to do.

look for an epoxy the will resist gear oil . The prep work is the critical part .

Fix one pin hole come next spring you will have a few more .

Gotta Love Liquid Brine .

If your going to weld a new cover some have done it without pulling the differential the heat input must really be controlled .

You can get away with doing this if your welding it yourself . Because it is your bearings your cooking .

I would never try on a customers truck my luck would never be that good.

Does the rear axle need anything else now would be a good time.

 

Several choices. Drain, clean well with degreaser and remove all paint, rust, gunk, and any coatings and weld up, replace axle with one with the same diff ratio, or buy a replacement cover, cut the old one off and have the new one welded on.

I'd try the welding first but you need to make sure the cover isn't dented enough to contact the ring gear and that wasn't the reason it is leaking. The heat isn't going to transfer enough to do any damage, and anything that could be isn't close. Even a tiny air gap is enough to limit heat transfer to the actual gears.