Rear Differential Crack?

[Mike akaRedsfan]

Hey Guys



I took my Trac for the winter tire changeover today and in the area of the spare, one of the guys told me it looks like I have a small crack on the rear differential? Not having a clue on what this is he showed me a bar at the rear of the truck and on it's surface was a small crack. I assuming this is the rear differential as he says?



Is this a part that needs to be replaced, or can it possibly be sealed safely?



Thanks for the responses.

 

[Keola P]

Rear sway bar possibly? If so, it would be a good time to upgrade to a larger, more stable bar like one from EE. Never heard of a rear diff. cracking though...

 

[Travis Munday]

Yeah, probably the anti-sway bar. The differential is the big thing in the middle of the rear axle. Better to replace the bar then "fix" it, as fixing it could make things worse.



You can crack a rear diff, but unless you make a habit of jacking the truck up by the diff or bashing it on rocks or something, a differential cracking isn't a normal thing.

 

[Mike akaRedsfan]

okay, it is not the sway bar. I thought I saw a crack but went under and it is dirty. It is indeed the diff. and it looks like it's pealing, not necessarily a crack? I posted a pic on my profile and will try to post it here too.



Cheers



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Shaun Tucker]

it looks like its peeling due to rust

 

[Mike akaRedsfan]

nothing to worry about then?

 

[Dreman]

No oil coming out of it. Doesn't look like it's into the thickness of the metal. Probably nothing to worry about.

 

[Travis Munday]

I'd hit with a wire brush then spray some Rustoleum on it and call it good.

 

[Mike akaRedsfan]

good idea Tiger, I may do that. The guy at the tire place had me worried, but it doesn't look major. My lease is up early Spring and not sure what I will do with the truck. I have 130,000 kms on it, but love it!! Have the Blizzaks on now, so waiting for a major snow dump again!

 

[EddieS'04]

My diff cover has a hairline in it. Looks like a crack. But it is not. Just a casting flaw. A crack would leak oil.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Or, you can replace it with a Trick Flow differential cover w/ Royal Purple MaxGear oil. It's a good thing.

 

[Martin]

The tire place wasn't Goodyear was it??



Just curious since years ago I took my car to them to have the tires rotated and he wanted to sell me a whole new brake system. Tried to tell me it was leaking, but found out later he put oil all around the master cyl. to make it look like it was leaking.



I refused the service, took the car home and wiped up all the oil.....no leak.