[njdangelo]

Hey all,
Looking for some input/help on the leak I have coming from my front diff support bracket. It's leaking enough that a drop falls on my garage floor through the skid plate about 300miles.
Skid plate had about a half teaspoon on it.
Has anyone had something similar? The bolts holding it on are currently torqued to 16nm which seems kind of low but I don't know the torque specs and I don't want to over tighten and cause damage. If it's not loose bolts I think it's the internal seal, how big of a job is that to tackle? I've done my fair share of car repairs but never anything with an axle or differential.
Sorry for the bad pics, tight quarters under those jack stands.

Any help or input would be greatly appreciated![IMG][/IMG]


Thanks,
Nick

[Billfitz]

Look up the gasket replacement procedure at www.newtis.info. If the bracket can be loosened enough you might be able to fix it with RTV without removing it.

[zeikei]

Since that bolt is a low point for a drop to develop you want to double check that it is indeed coming from inside that bracket and not somewhere else. The bolts are 19Nm I think but the o-ring that is in there is in a groove and not affected by the torque of those bolts.

[njdangelo]

Originally Posted by zeikei

Since that bolt is a low point for a drop to develop you want to double check that it is indeed coming from inside that bracket and not somewhere else. The bolts are 19Nm I think but the o-ring that is in there is in a groove and not affected by the torque of those bolts.

Thanks for the info zeikei that's very helpful. I'm pretty positive it's coming from there. I checked everywhere above and it's all dry. I wiped everything down a couple days ago and the oil is only on the bottom of that piece. Nothing come down the sides or from above... that I can see at least I did have my front suspension and steering rack replaced recently under warranty, any chance they had mess with this piece during that work?

[AlpineX]

Big difference in aroma of engine oil and gear oil.... I'd start there.

[njdangelo]

Originally Posted by AlpineX

Big difference in aroma of engine oil and gear oil.... I'd start there.

Yea it smells very very sweet and is almost clear...like a nice reposado tequila

[zeikei]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

Thanks for the info zeikei that's very helpful. I'm pretty positive it's coming from there. I checked everywhere above and it's all dry. I wiped everything down a couple days ago and the oil is only on the bottom of that piece. Nothing come down the sides or from above... that I can see at least I did have my front suspension and steering rack replaced recently under warranty, any chance they had mess with this piece during that work?

There should be no need to remove this part during that work but who knows what has happened. Did you see any marks from tools on the bolt heads?

In any case what holds the oil inside is an o-ring that is in a groove of that part in your photo. It seals it to the oil pan on this side and the actual front diff has similar seal on the other side. Assuming that the bracket itself has no cracks then the leak must be from the o-ring.

[njdangelo]

Originally Posted by zeikei

There should be no need to remove this part during that work but who knows what has happened. Did you see any marks from tools on the bolt heads?

In any case what holds the oil inside is an o-ring that is in a groove of that part in your photo. It seals it to the oil pan on this side and the actual front diff has similar seal on the other side. Assuming that the bracket itself has no cracks then the leak must be from the o-ring.

Thanks again zeikei. That's what I am thinking myself. Looking up the repair procedure it seems this might be one to bring to the dealership as it looks as though I would need to remove the wishbone suspension component which then leads to an alignment.
I'm sure it'll be a cheap repair lol!