New idea for addition to the savage diff mod

[ParadingLunatic]

I got my savage SS back in October and so far I love the truck, even though I've hardly gotten to run it. I've been looking at all the mods to eventually do to the truck and everyone says how the 4 gear diff mod with diff oil helps for off road use (similar to limited slip). I've also heard how after a while the diff oil tends to leak out and you have to refill it.

This is where my idea comes into place. I was looking at a picture of the diff cups and tried to think of a way to form a better seal between the cup and the main bevel gear. Obviously there really isn't much room for error if you tried to dremel a groove for an o-ring of sorts. So I thought to myself, self...if you needed to make a seal on a regular vehicle, what would you use. Then it came to me. You can buy gasket material from pretty much any automotive parts store. What if you made a gasket to go in between the cup and the main bevel gear.

I would imagine to do this you could trace the outside of the diff cup on the gasket material, then cut it out. Then put something on the diff cup that will basically transfer an image of the diff cup to the gasket (like use a marker or something that dries slowly), then cut out the inner part of the gasket. Don't forget to cut out the holes for the screws.

Unfortunatly I won't be able to try this for quite a while. But if someone else is willing to be a guinea pig and test out the idea, they are welcome to it.

[atm92484_3]

HPI beat you to that idea; theres already a gasket in the diff. :p

[ParadingLunatic]

:D Whoops. Well I guess thats what happens when you're not required to build the diffs in the SS kit. I was just going on the pics I saw. I'm wondering if there is a better way to make a seal then. Besides using a silicone sealant, which is a just a little too permanent for my liking. A different material or something maybe. Ah well, can't say I didn't try :)

[PLKMONSTER2]

Permatex silicone isn't permanent. It would work very good too, i.e. on the tmaxx. You'd put a very fine layer on both sides of the case. Then, make sure the cases are dry. Put them back together, and let it dry. You can pull it apart now, and you will have made a gasket. It should work.

[atm92484_3]

From personal experience with buggy diffs, 10-12mm machined threaded screws are the first step towards keeping diffs from leaking. It seems like self tapping screws love to back out a little, allowing the oil to seep out with the forces created from high rpms.

[ParadingLunatic]

Originally posted by PLKMONSTER2
Permatex silicone isn't permanent. It would work very good too, i.e. on the tmaxx. You'd put a very fine layer on both sides of the case. Then, make sure the cases are dry. Put them back together, and let it dry. You can pull it apart now, and you will have made a gasket. It should work.

After I was corrected about the gasket, and thinking about different materials. I also thought making a gasket using dried silicone sealent would work as well. I would imagine it would work very well considering it is soft so it would squish and create a nice seal with no place to leak out, and it also can handle high temps. The only thing I'm wondering is how well it will handle the increased pressure from the air and fluid expanding within the diff when it heats up.

Originally posted by atm92484_3
From personal experience with buggy diffs, 10-12mm machined threaded screws are the first step towards keeping diffs from leaking. It seems like self tapping screws love to back out a little, allowing the oil to seep out with the forces created from high rpms.

I would imagine that would also work pretty well. Especially if you purchase the aluminum diff cup that Maximizer has for the savage (or tmaxx since this really is all about keeping the oil in the diff). This way you could put some thread lock on and you would never have to worry about the screws backing out.

[savagepicco26]

i rebuilt my diffs after about 2 gallons. i was quite disturbed by how chewed up the inside of the diff cases were already. before doing the mods, i picked up a set of new cases at the LHS, "just in case." well, i'm glad i did. they were in pretty bad shape. the new diff cases come with new gaskets too, but they're paper, just like the stock gaskets. some type of rubber gasket would be better. both my front and rear diffs got modded and i noticed that on both of them, a couple of the screws were not tightened all the way. i'm sure they worked themselves loose while running, but it might not be a bad thing to take out and inspect every half gallon or so. i'm running 7000wt in both front and rear and handling is so much better than with the stock grease.