Found some girdle seepage!

[tmac1337]

I noticed some oil seepage coming from the housing around my rear gears.

Got underneath and found that four of my bolts had loosened up and required some tightening.

Anyone else have this problem?

[Agent M79]

Most likely, yes. I get a new spot on the driveway at about the rate of 1 per week. I have the Ford Racing girdle.

Frdwrnch has my fix and we'll be addressing it shortly.

[fastblackmerc]

Locktite on the bolts?

[SergntMac]

I'm rebuilding my rear end right now, moving up to 31 spline Moser axles and an Auburn Pro diff. But, I broke my rear end real bad back in '03, and the Ford Racing girdle and Dana 60 stud kit were added in that overhaul.

Ever since then, I've had some seepage, and it's not a lot. Maybe one or two drops about the diameter of a pencil eraser, and the housing always looks wet, but this is usually after a long highway drive where I imagine things get real toasty. I just check to make sure it's not the pinion seal, and spray everything clean with brake cleaner. I open it up every spring for pre-season inspection and fluid change, and I've never found anything loose.

I believe my seepage is normal, and due to two different metals (ferrous housing and non-ferrous girdle) expanding from heat and contracting from cooling, at different rates. Girdle bolts shoud be ARP quality Grade 5 or better, installed with the red Loctite and torqued in place with a pattern similar to mounting tires, cris-crossing the girdle in stages, and stepping up on the torque. In the end, they get 80 lbs. of torque to the bolts.

My FRP girdle came with the required bolts, if you are using something else, Tim, they may not be up to the task. The girdle is designed to control flexing and add support, and OEM bolts are going to come loose over time. You're not going to like my advice here, but I suggest that you loosen all the girdle bolts and reinstall with Loctite and torque. IMHO, just checking the torque on some bolts while tightening others, will leave you with a weak spot that may come loose again. Hope this helps.

[Bowman9]

...me too.
A month or so after getting my 4.10's installed I noticed oil in my driveway, I took it back and they tightened it back up.
But I have noticed new drops in my driveway since then.

Have any of the stock (untouched) Marauders had this problem???

[Agent M79]

Locktite on the bolts?

He'll correct me if I am wrong but I think the bolts may be the area of suspicion.

The amount of seepage is minor and a check showed the proper levels so the rate is very s - l - o - w.

[tmac1337]

thanks for the advice Mac. Since I'm going to mess with the girdle anyway I'm going to call up Wes and get a Stud and Girdle kit, torque it down with loctite like you suggests.

[Agent M79]

thanks for the advice Mac. Since I'm going to mess with the girdle anyway I'm going to call up Wes and get a Stud and Girdle kit, torque it down with loctite like you suggests.

Don't swim right after eating or you'll cramp up, sink, and drown. Oh, and don't forget the friction modifier.

[Brutus]

I had this problem but it was the drain/fill plugs on the back of the cover. Put some thread sealer on and no more leaks!

[SergntMac]

Don't swim right after eating or you'll cramp up, sink, and drown. Ummm...If this is a way of saying "don't buy into Mac's reply", well Hell yeah, I agree!

Tim...Please absorb everything I've posted here with a proverbial "grain of salt". Consider it, debate it, but take another peek at all of it tomorrow too. Please? I don't mind, not for an instant. I'd rather see you back on the road healthy, than worry about who told you how to get there.

[tmac1337]

I hope noone is getting into a hissy fit over this. If I knew the answer I would not have asked. I noticed that the bolts on the bottom had loosened up and I tightened up. The oil is at the very bottom around those bolts and the lower casing, nothing above that. Maybe problem is solved now. I know that a stud and girdle kit maybe overkill as I have not heard of any of the rear ends blowing out in any numbers.

Any info. from those who have had this problem and solved it is appreciated, Mac included, there may be a couple of ways of stopping the seepage.

[Agent M79]

Ummm...If this is a way of saying "don't buy into Mac's reply", well Hell yeah, I agree!

Nope.I was just being a bafoon trying liken my 'friction modifier' advice as a salt-of-the-earth good-momism.

I am not sure I have ever openly disagreed or discounted anyone elses advice or opinion even when stating my own that might be counter. If I have learned anything here, it is that good information gets lost in a lot of bull**** posturing by people who far to greatly emotionally invest themselves in this medium. They end up saying a lot of polarizing crap, tear each other down to build themselves up, all in an effort to leave the bigger puddle in a pissing contest that doesn't amount to a steaming pile anyway.

Now make sure you have clean underwear on. You never know when you might be in an accident.

[Donny Carlson]

Now make sure you have clean underwear on. You never know when you might be in an accident.

Or have an accident in your clean underwear.

I can figger out M*****, it's the B thingy that puzzles me.

[David Morton]

We used to run into the problem of different metals with different rates of expansion at the Chevrolet store with the 6.2 L diesel, the front timing cover was aluminum and had a very thin gasket, about the thickness of a dollar bill.

My experience is that the thicker the gasket, the longer it takes to pop that leak. Also, dressing the gasket with an anaerobic sealer like Teflon(R) thread sealer works well to prevent leaks. On a job like this one I'd use the Teflon(R) thread sealer on all parts that can leak out the oil, cover gasket, cover bolts and the girdle nuts making sure all parts are cleaned with a brake parts cleaner first. Torque everything down to specs and let the whole assembly sit for 24hrs to cure the sealer.

That Teflon(R) thread sealer is great stuff and holds the bolts fine, as good as Loc-Tite(R). Have used it on Chevy small block head bolts for years and never had a comeback.

Oil leaks are only normal to the guys that don't know how to fix them. Now you know.

[FordNut]

When mine was first installed it was put together with a gasket. It leaked and I took it back, they put thread sealer on the drain plugs and it still leaked. I then discovered a shop that knows their sh** and they fixed me up. No gasket, just silicone. Torque everything down. No leaks ever again, even after the rear end rebuild last year. About 60k miles or more.

[Haggis]

When mine was first installed it was put together with a gasket. It leaked and I took it back, they put thread sealer on the drain plugs and it still leaked. I then discovered a shop that knows their sh** and they fixed me up. No gasket, just silicone. Torque everything down. No leaks ever again, even after the rear end rebuild last year. About 60k miles or more.
^^^What he said^^^

That is exactly what my dealer did after putting on the girdle.

[Dragcity]

Anybody do the obvious and check to see that both mating surfaces are perfectly flat? I would guess that this may cause the problems encountered in this exercise. The metals of today need De-Torquing when disassembling, just as they need proper Torque patterns/schedules when assembling.

If proper de-torquing was not done upon disassembly, you may have a warped mating surface, maybe ever so slight, but that's all it takes with the thin gasket material used on Ford Rear Ends.

Just the thoughts from the Son of a Machinist...

[Mike Poore]

I had the same seepage issue with the Shiney Hiney, that had been installed by my L/M dealer. It seems you should be able to just slap the damn thing on, which is not the case. Using the gasket my buddy, Wes, sent me, the Ford mechanic coated the threads with silicone, then used a sealant spray on the finished housing, once it was all back together. Ford has an installation procedure for the SVT/Ford Racing stud girdle kit, and they re-installed mine using that protocol. End if problem. :D