AAM 11.5 leaking after lube change

[DGFoster]

Hi all,

I changed my gear lube on the Dodge day before yesterday,I put AMSOIL Severge Gear in it,but now it seems to be leaking towards the bottom,I made sure I cleaned the gasket good and the surface area before reinstalling cover.

Could I have over filled it??

It was right up to the fill hole.

I tightened the bolts with a half inch ratchet,I got them tight but not to tight. .

Any ideas??



Thanks

 

[EMD-Run8]

You may have overfilled it. I've had Amsoil 75w90 in since 1,000 miles and it was a big improvement so don't worry about the oil. I remember it was real easy to overfill it. I was on a slight grade in my driveway and forgot to compensate for it. The only other thing would be the gasket. It could be too tight or not tight enough. It also could have gotten pinched or rolled. Dodge's setup with these axles sucks. They should have a drain plug AND fill plug.

 

[DGFoster]

It didnt leak yesterday,only when the truck was parked on an incline coming up the drive that it leaked.

 

[DJamrose]

i did mine last weekend according to the manufacture you don't fill it to the hole on my cover it has a fill line. reuseable gasket is great no leaks no problems also be sure and only torque the bolts to 30ft lbs you might be overcrushing the gasket Oo.

 

[Jengle]

When I did mine at 15k, with Amsoil, I had a slight weepage going on around one side of the cover. I had torqued the bolts with a torque wrench, so I knew they were right, but put a wrench on the ones on the side that was weeping, and no more leak. I now have 46k on it, and no leaks. I would say to put a wrench on them and snug them a little more. And yes, the new ones have the fill line a little below the hole , so filling to the hole is over.

 

[JHardwick]

i did mine last weekend according to the manufacture you don't fill it to the hole on my cover it has a fill line. reuseable gasket is great no leaks no problems also be sure and only torque the bolts to 30ft lbs you might be overcrushing the gasket Oo.

I did mine last weekend and 30 ft/lbs felt like too much for me!!



I've never been a torque wrench person (unless it was heads or rods or something), but I wasn't sure about this re-usable gasket, so I broke out the torque wrench ... ... ... ... ... 30 lbs seems too tight, but I did it and no leaks so far Oo.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

30 ft lb is way too much. The bolts are M8 or 5/16, I forget which, so about 18 ft lb is enough. You may have distorted the cover or gasket too much?? I am running the Mag Hytec cover with a little RTV, no stock gasket, LE607. No leaks.

 

[DGFoster]

Is there an over fill tube on these trucks?

I could not find one.

I retightened the bolts and wiped it clean and so far no leaks today,it is dry and it is still full,I am going totake a bit out just to be on the safe side.

I didnt even think of putting on a MAG or something along that line,something to think about. .

 

[DJamrose]

dodge srvice manual states rear axle bolts 30ft lbs. filler bolt 24 ft lbs. works great why argue with the manufacturer they built they know.

 

[JHardwick]

dodge srvice manual states rear axle bolts 30ft lbs. filler bolt 24 ft lbs. works great why argue with the manufacturer they built they know.

Thats what the service manual says ... ... ... ... . but, I stilll thought it was too much. I'd probably have a more peachy feeling if I'd just "torqued for feel"

 

[QWaller]

I torqued a thermastat housing bolt on my 99 to the book and sheared the damn thing off. Sometimes there must be bad metal etc, It can happen, these are machines after all.

 

[JHardwick]

I torqued a thermastat housing bolt on my 99 to the book and sheared the damn thing off. Sometimes there must be bad metal etc, It can happen, these are machines after all.

Most generally if you "torque to feel" you'll be okay. Every bolt needs to be stretched a tad or it will fall out. 30lbs on the rear end housing bolts didn't scrare me as much as the gasket

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

I know they say 30 ft lb and that might be a mistaken carry-over from the Danas that used 3/8" bolts on the cover. They also say 207 ft lb on the diff cap bolts, and that can't be right for their size and grade. The introduction in the Service Manual shows 120 ft lb would be correct for that size and grade bolt in cast iron. . I haven't checked them on a truck yet, but the one I took apart needed nothing like 200 ft lb to loosen the bolts.

 

[Bill Stockard]

I know they say 30 ft lb and that might be a mistaken carry-over from the Danas that used 3/8" bolts on the cover. They also say 207 ft lb on the diff cap bolts, and that can't be right for their size and grade. The introduction in the Service Manual shows 120 ft lb would be correct for that size and grade bolt in cast iron. . I haven't checked them on a truck yet, but the one I took apart needed nothing like 200 ft lb to loosen the bolts.

Joe,

Yep, reminds me of the Cummins oil pan drain plug torque spec listed in the Service Manual several years ago...



However, I've used the 30 ft-lb torque spec on the rear axle cover bolts on my truck and on a couple of friend's trucks. No leaks.



Bill

 

[Yo Hoot]

Too tight is not good. I personally would stick to 20-25

 

[dnitzel]

You may have overfilled it. I've had Amsoil 75w90 in since 1,000 miles and it was a big improvement so don't worry about the oil.

How did you determine the Amsoil was a big improvement over the stock synthetic lube? I gotta change mine.