My 06 H3 developed a leaking radiator last week and I had it replaced. While the truck was on the lift I took a close look at the underside and everything else looked ok. Atfer towing my 3000lb boat to the lake this weekend, I smelled what seemed like rear end fluid. So today we put it back on the lift, and quite a bit of fluid has blown all around the underside of the truck.( substantual leak). It appears to be coming from the front diff cover gasket. We are going to change it out tomm, but it seems odd to me for a gasket to go bad so quickly. Like it was pressurized and blew a leak. Does that sound right? Maybe I overheated it by towing the boat? I hope this is the fix. Im not trying to be cheap but the cost of a diff gasket is over $40 for a fel-pro aftermarket. LOL. The truck has 101,000 miles, and is a highway queen. Any ideas?

Thanks Jeff

 

should be a vent huh?

 

Front diff and rear diff both have vent tubes. They have been known to get clogged and the pressure needs to go somewhere. Usually it ends up blowing the diff. seals not the cover gasket.

You will see a little tube on top of the front diff. When you remove the cover to inspect the diff clean it out (pull the vent hose off of the tube first). Then clean the entire vent line and check the actual vent at the end of the tube. Some people just replace the entire hose with something longer for wheeling.

 

Thanks guys. We will take the cover off today when the gasket arrives, and check the vent. Hopefully that will do the trick. I think that I overheated / overstressed it by driving too fast with a load. Gonna go ahead and replace the fluid in the rear end also.

 

@ 100k it's a good idea to replace ALL the fluids. Diffs, tcase, trans, PS, brakes, coolant, etc. Might as well change the engine oil as well.

It will keep it running stronger for longer!