jerztl

Well today i went to get an oil change at the Oil well and the tech tells me that it looks like my front differential is leaking?
Has anyone experienced this and is this covered on the warranty.
my car is a 2005 with 88k

Here are some pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3891246...n/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3891246...n/photostream/

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Can't see the pics at work, but mine looked dirty too and I think it was caused by a vent.

I'll check the pics when I get home.

oo7spy

You definitely have a fluid buildup, but there is no telling where it came from. The diffs have two plugs, a drain and a fill. The fluid level should be flush with the bottom of the fill hole so that if any more fluid were put in, it would flow back out. Check the level. If it is fine, you could have an oil or power steering fluid leak that is dripping on the diff and building up. Is there a spot below where the car is parked over night?

EL_PIC

Clean it up and determine where leak is coming from yourself.
Oil Jockies are know for saying Replace Replace Replace since it pads their sales and commisions.
Some even fake or increase the leak.
At 2005 and 88K it not be on orig warranty.
Dont Fret - pics look like its slow and you got time to determine
exactly where and what the leak is.

acurod

I had my diff fluid changed and noticed buildup of fluid on the rear diff. Per the other poster, best bet is to clean the area well to isolate where the leak is coming from. Use brakeclean or some such to clean up all the mess that's there. I took the car to the dealer, since I too have a 2005, but as a CPO car it is warranteed until summer 2012 for the powertrain. The dealer found it only needed a new crush washer on the diff drain, and that solved my problem!

Good luck!

Acurod

andrewmr

Clean the area before you do anything else.

A little bit of oil/fluid makes a pretty big mess.

Anyway, once you get it all cleaned then keep an eye on it to see if you can determine where it's coming from,

Oh, and I'd check the fluid level to make sure you have enough.

oo7spy

I did my own rear diff drain and fill and found about 11 drips on my garage floor a month later. When I got under there again, I was able to crank the bolts another 1/4 turn and never saw a drip afterward. I am sure the heat the diff encounters has a lot of play on the bolt and washer.

jerztl

i did get my differential oil changed about 5 months ago so the build up could be from that.. but there seems to be some fresh oil also. ok thanks guys i will look into this.

DanL07RL

Yep, definately check the torque on the fill and drain plugs. It's 35 lb-ft and if you had it done by an indy who didn't pay attention and only got it "snug", that won't hack it. I did the same thing on my first drain and fill and got a nice little weeping drip.

I agree with clean it up, confirm the torques on the plugs, and then watch it.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Ditto

jerztl

ok so i ended up taking the car to the dealer. They ended up cleaning the differential and sprayed a white spray paint that they say it changes colors to see where the leak is coming from. So im suppose to go back in a couple of weeks to see if indeed still leaking.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Good luck