I'll be heading down the leaky lubelocker path. If I have to return to the RTV, I gotta learn to be less heavy handed with it.
Showing my ignorance again regarding diff cover
- Thread starter Bighammer
- Start date
I'll be heading down the leaky lubelocker path. If I have to return to the RTV, I gotta learn to be less heavy handed with it.
We saw it long ago which is why we can't use them. A few smacks of the cover into some rocks and they start seeping.
AND.... I learned something new today. I'm not a rock crawler, so it doesn't matter - but its good to know!
I too don't use a gasket just good 'ol Permatex Ultra grey gasket maker. Never have had a leak....
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How often do you change out the gear lube to justify the addded cost of the lube lockers? I had mt TJ for about five years and only changed it when I bought it and during the gear swap and breakin.
I follow schedule B. I think it’s every 12-13,000 miles. I use the LL with a hardhat for a diff guard. I have had one LL go bad, but it came with the rig, so I have no idea what it went through.
Vtx531
TJ Addict
I've reused a $3 gasket multiple times without issue. No rock crawling though.
Drain and fill can be as easy a loosening the bolts, pry/pop the bottom of the cover, let it drain, retighten bolts, fill. Takes only a couple mins, no gasket scraping necessary, don't even need to remove the cover.
Drain and fill can be as easy a loosening the bolts, pry/pop the bottom of the cover, let it drain, retighten bolts, fill. Takes only a couple mins, no gasket scraping necessary, don't even need to remove the cover.
FYI, if you have the 30, there is a recess in the bottom of the housing that holds about a cup of oil. I like to remove all of the old oil and clean out any debris before refilling.
I'd rather have a drain plug - rock crawling notwithstanding. There's one bolt on the rear cover - 1 O'clock position *IF* I remember correctly - that is a real pain to get at. What sold me on the LubeLocker was a used one coming with the used ARB rear cover - and it worked fine! From Blaine's remarks, I can only assume that a LL becomes compacted after multiple rock hits.
Anyone who isn't beating up their diff covers can get away with almost anything. 
Anyone who isn't beating up their diff covers can get away with almost anything.
Always easy to tell who wheels in the rocks. Those that use LL and those who don't.
We only use gaskets for the first install after a gear job due to pulling the covers after 500 miles. After that it is always Mopar Gear Oil RTV.
Makes sense. My covers were RTVed on when I got the Jeep. Apparently, an entire tube of RTV - "The bigger the glob, the better the job!" The front cover was stuck on so good that I threaded a pipe into the fill hole to get enough leverage to pry it off! The usual screwdriver pry technique wasn't getting me anywhere.