Well, I guess we are supposed to learn something everyday, and today I did
just that. My question last week was about my pinion leak under the pinion
nut through the splines, not at the seal. Here's the story.
Saturday I had her up on jack stands running at moderate RPM in 3rd gear
for about 20 minutes. Of course, it was a 104 degrees too. Over night the
leak seemed to get worse and I was fearing the worst, but the new seals
seemed tight.
Tonight I took out the bottom bolt on the rear cover to drain out the
grease and was surprised when it squirted out about 3 feet under pressure!
Very soon it slowed to a trickle. I was confused since I had just filled it
a few days before and new there were almost 3 quarts in there. When I opened
the large fill plug, it started to drain normally. When I put the fill plug
back in and it all but stopped. The light came on, it was a plugged vent.
Sure enough, when I took off the vent cap, the vent was plugged tight with
dried gear oil, dirt, etc.
Diagnosis: As the gears and oil heated up, it created pressure and was
forcing oil out the easiest place it could find, past the splines. I used
some sealer under the washer and pinion nut and will refill the rearend and
test tomorrow night. I will keep you all posted on the progress.
I guess I proved that my new wheel and pinion seals work well though.
Mike Klepp
'48 3100
Wichita Falls, TX
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