Hi Scotty, love your channel.
I have a 2009 F250 2WD 5.4L with 83000 miles that I just bought.
I want to change the differential fluid. I have checked out a bunch of YouTube vids (you don’t seem to have one on it), but it seems like a lot of them use a special sealant when they put the cover back on. Some of them use a gasket. Then some put adhesive on the gasket, some use sealant on the gasket, and some just use the gasket by itself.
I’m a bit leery of the sealant as when they tighten the cover you can see the sealant coming out the sides, and it seems that the sealant would also be squeezed out inside the crankcase and would pollute the oil.
I would think the easiest would be to just use the gasket by itself. What would be your advice?
If I remember correctly, I used a rubber gasket from the parts store on mine and painted both sides with lacquer or clear coat or whatever I had laying around, just to give it some stick. I also made sure the mating surfaces (cover and diff. housing) were super clean! (A rag with brake clean or rubbing alcohol or similar will work.) that was about 80,000 miles and 7 years ago! Still no leaks! 😆
Thanks
Sealant in the crankcase shouldn’t be a problem. If you choose to use sealant and no gasket. You could put the sealant on and place the cover on, lightly torque the bolts, let it sit a while to cure some, then fully torque the bolts after it’s somewhat cured. Just make sure the entire mating surfaces on both sides (cover and diff. housing) are on the sealant before letting it cure some.
I did this with valve covers on a 1987 Ford Ranger 2.9L that kept giving me a hard time. I’d change the gasket and it just would seal quite right. Still leaked some.
Thanks
You are probably seeing them use a sealant like this:
As you said, some guys use a gasket and sealer, some one or the other.
I use a very minimal amount, making sure to cover the entire contact area and I still use a gasket. The important thing is you have to let it cure.
Thank you
You're welcome.
I use just the gasket, because the sealer is a pain in the rear to remove. My current truck actually comes with a reusable rubber gasket for the rear.
Or save yourself the trouble. Use an inexpensive transfer pump to remove the fluid from the fill hole.
It FOR SURE is a pain to remove. You got that right. Lol.
If you only remove the fluid from the fill hole, which I’ve done, too, realize you won’t get it all and there’s usually a magnet inside that catches metal flakes, that you won’t be able to clean unless you remove the cover.
you wouldn't want to use this method every time.
Maybe do it every other time, if you keep up on changing the oil.
Thanks y'all