Question on rear diff leak from the spring mount bolts
Guys,
I recently took about a year off from working on my 69 frame-off resto to tackle some other projects. I put a new motor in my 70 GTO (I'll never forget to loctite the carb air cleaner stud again that's for sure!) and I rebuilt the 5.4 mod motor in my 2006 F-150. With those projects done I'm back on the corvette and hoping to finish a two decades (almost) long restoration on it.
Anyway, I had the rear rebuilt during the resto and then put the new spring bolts in and tightened them. Unfortunately, I didn't see the warnings about these bolts being too long until it was too late. I thought I got away with it, since I didn't fully torque it (because the car wasn't on the wheels and at ride height) and I first installed those bolts already a couple of years ago and never saw any leakage after the rear was filled, but with the car sitting for a solid year in the same exact spot sure enough it has a small collection of oil under the diff and one of the bolts is wet. I long ago shortened the bolts as recommended (although the rear wasn't full when I pulled them out or it would have pissed gear oil out) but it's clear now that I must have cracked the case when I initially put the bolts in.
I realize the proper fix is to replace the cover, which I will do, but I can't stomach the thought of going in reverse on this project like that until I at least get the car finished and drive it a little. So, my question is can I use some thread sealer or something else on the bolt to try and hold it off so I can get the rest of the resto done and put off changing the cover for a while? The car is 90% done. The leak currently is not that bad, I'm just looking for a temporary fix/improvement, but knowing it's cracked means I would have to fix it at some point just to satisfy my OCD. Until then, is there something I can use to seal the threads?
Mike
I recently took about a year off from working on my 69 frame-off resto to tackle some other projects. I put a new motor in my 70 GTO (I'll never forget to loctite the carb air cleaner stud again that's for sure!) and I rebuilt the 5.4 mod motor in my 2006 F-150. With those projects done I'm back on the corvette and hoping to finish a two decades (almost) long restoration on it.
Anyway, I had the rear rebuilt during the resto and then put the new spring bolts in and tightened them. Unfortunately, I didn't see the warnings about these bolts being too long until it was too late. I thought I got away with it, since I didn't fully torque it (because the car wasn't on the wheels and at ride height) and I first installed those bolts already a couple of years ago and never saw any leakage after the rear was filled, but with the car sitting for a solid year in the same exact spot sure enough it has a small collection of oil under the diff and one of the bolts is wet. I long ago shortened the bolts as recommended (although the rear wasn't full when I pulled them out or it would have pissed gear oil out) but it's clear now that I must have cracked the case when I initially put the bolts in.
I realize the proper fix is to replace the cover, which I will do, but I can't stomach the thought of going in reverse on this project like that until I at least get the car finished and drive it a little. So, my question is can I use some thread sealer or something else on the bolt to try and hold it off so I can get the rest of the resto done and put off changing the cover for a while? The car is 90% done. The leak currently is not that bad, I'm just looking for a temporary fix/improvement, but knowing it's cracked means I would have to fix it at some point just to satisfy my OCD. Until then, is there something I can use to seal the threads?
Mike
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