Leaking front diff?

[BlairB]

I was curious if anyone else here has had problems with their front diff leaking? I went under my truck today and saw my skids had some oil on the outside of them, and when I dropped the skids I noticed the inside was covered in it. I started looking at the diff and saw that it was covered in oil, dirt and grime. I was very confused and when I started looking at the diff it looks like it was seeping out of the rear and bottom (but it was hard to see since it was covered in so much grime).

I started checking the bolts and the front few were very tight but the bolts towards the rear were loose (from about 6 o'clock to 11 o'clock), which really surprised me. I tightened them back up and checked the level on the fluid in the diff, which did not seem too low, also the color looked fine, so I am 90% sure that I fixed the problem.

My truck is a 2008 with 36,000 miles. Has anyone else had this problem? Also, anything else I should be checking out?

 

[SportRunner]

Sounds like you fixed the problem.....have u ever changed your diff fluid before this happened?

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Were you "tricked"? By that I mean did slung grease from the joints and front prop shaft fool you? Mine, which I keep well lubed, slings some grease and makes a bit of a mess which could be confused for fluid? I did check my bolts a while ago and a couple took a 1/4 turn but there were no leak's from it. Just a thought...
:cheers:

 

[Mike07SE]

Other than what CJ suggests, I think it's more than highly probable that due to your loose bolts that oil seeped through those channels and coated up your diff. Hopefully you've brake cleaned the hell out of there, maybe even leave the skids down, and check it over the course of a week or two. And since you're also a V6, maybe even run in 4Hi for a while to get things heated up and churning in there on top of that.

 

[gm350reratliff]

Other than what CJ suggests, I think it's more than highly probable that due to your loose bolts that oil seeped through those channels and coated up your diff. Hopefully you've brake cleaned the hell out of there, maybe even leave the skids down, and check it over the course of a week or two. And since you're also a V6, maybe even run in 4Hi for a while to get things heated up and churning in there on top of that.

:iagree:

 

[mjos]

Could be a messy Lube place that didn't clean up the underside after changing the oil/filter too. Then it dripped down and coated your diff. Check to see that the drain bolt and filter are tight.