Rear differential gasket leak

[hdgapeach]

Does anyone know of a gasket manufacture that produces / sells a differential cover gasket for the AMC corporate rear axle that ain't made of cork and won't leak like the cork one is prone to do? I'd like to stop the diff leak once and for all!

Thankee for any suggestions.

VOTE today, please.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Use a good grade of silicon sealer and dump the gasket.
I prefer Aviation Form A Gasket.
Gasket Sealants : Permatex® Aviation Form-A-Gasket® No. 3 Sealant Liquid

LG

 

[Torxhead]

Make sure the mating surfaces are clean also.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Use a good grade of silicon sealer and dump the gasket.
I prefer Aviation Form A Gasket.
Gasket Sealants : Permatex® Aviation Form-A-Gasket® No. 3 Sealant Liquid

LG

Make sure the mating surfaces are clean also.

 

[elwood blues]

I used this stuff as well as the cork gasket

 

[82Laredo]

Reused the old cork gasket that was in mine (after a good cleaning) and coated it in grey rtv. No leaks

 

[hdgapeach]

Thanks, y'all, for all the suggestions and info. Think I'll take the advice and do the Permatex thing. I used the replacement cork gasket with the blue goo that I had in the tool box. Put the cover on finger tight and let it sit for a while to set up. Then went back after about an hour and put another turn on the bolts and let it sit overnight. Torqued it down today, filled with rear end dope and five minutes later............DRIP!

I can't ever remember getting a good seal with a friggin' cork gasket, no matter how I dress it up. Guess I was hoping some genius finally produced one of those compression able type rubber reusable gaskets. As much as I change the rear lube, I reckon I'll just dump the gasket and put a nice bead of gasket maker silicone on it like I do for intake manifolds.

 

[caveman]

http://www.4wd.com/search.aspx?kw=lube+locker
I've been using these for years with good results.

 

[Posi]

I used this stuff as well as the cork gasket

Best stuff out there.

 

[Hedgehog]

This is what my Jeep guy does and it works.

First clean off the differential, no grease or oil, do the same with your cover. This is where things get different. Use a belt sander on the back of the cover where the gasket will be, your goal is to remove just enough material to make the surface smooth. I used a bench belt sander and was skeptical, the cover loked and felt flat and smooth to me. WRONG! the area arounf the bolts were deformed, even the flat area had a slight cup in it. Sand until smooth, it doesn't have to be perfect, don't go over board.

Use one of the silicon sealers on the cover, (I like the black) a nice bead and set it asside for an hour. Put an engine type gasket seal on the differential. The diff. is a cast item and will rarely move orn change shape. Use a good paper type gasket.

With relatively dry silicon sealer on the cover, then a paper gasket and automotive gasket sealer on the differential housing bolt her up using proper technique which surprisingly enough is to start one bolt then chase it either clock wise ot counter clockwise around. semi tight at first, JUST tight enough for a final.