Jason Plato Posted August 12, 2000 Share Posted August 12, 2000 So far this season my diff has been working overtime , how do you go about checking the oil level and / or changing it . There appears to be a bit of oil comming out of the top breather .... is this normal ? The diff is AP Suretrac on 1.6 superlight . Cheers for any thoughts Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 I've had this problem as well. Same diff. I let it breath out till it stopped and it was only about 150ml short of level with the filler plug. I plan to put a bottle on it but I have a feeling these AP diffs just throw out more oil. It didn't seem to come to any harm running a little low on oil (yet!) Alex Wong alex.wong@lotus7club.co.uk www.alexwong.net Home : 44-(0)121-440 6972 Fax : 44-(0)121-440 4601 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted August 16, 2000 Author Share Posted August 16, 2000 Many thanks for your reply Alex , but how did you go about checking that the correct level was in the diff ? , other than emptying it ? Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Green Posted August 16, 2000 Share Posted August 16, 2000 Dave, Get the car reasonably level, with access to the filler plug thingy part way up the back. Take it out. If oil just dribbles out, no problem. If nothing dribbles out, put oil in till it does. Emptying it is a bridge I have yet to cross. Graham Ford on the se7ens list recommends whipping the back plate off. DT do a couple of pump type thingies that might do the job. Let me know how you get on :-) Nick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted August 16, 2000 Share Posted August 16, 2000 I understand that level with the plug, as Nick says, is full. I drive the car onto 2 bricks (front wheels) and then gently jack the rear up by the diff to a similar height. This lets the de-dion tube fall out of the way of the plug. Then fill it from above with the boot floor out. Good luck. Alex Wong alex.wong@lotus7club.co.uk www.alexwong.net Home : 44-(0)121-440 6972 Fax : 44-(0)121-440 4601 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted August 16, 2000 Share Posted August 16, 2000 Dave, For filling up the oil level, use a oil can (with pump ) and extended hose so you do not have to take the boot floor out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted August 17, 2000 Author Share Posted August 17, 2000 Thanks for the advice .... checked it last night it was about 1/2 pint short ! , removing the boot floor and jacking up to drop the de dion tube was a simple method . Many thanks to all . Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted August 21, 2000 Share Posted August 21, 2000 dave, Ignore my comment on the Suretrak being a heavy breather. Something is wrong with mine. It was well over 500 ml short. I've topped it up and added a catch bottle (an upside down 500ml diet coke bottle!) to monitor it. I think it's being overheated, causing the oil to breath. Don't know why it's overheating though.... Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted August 22, 2000 Author Share Posted August 22, 2000 Alex , See you at curborough , I'll show you how the diff gets overheated !!! :-) Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted August 22, 2000 Share Posted August 22, 2000 There's nothing in the bottle! I've changed the diff seal on the right side to see if that helps. (Damned fiddly job getting the old one out!) Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted August 23, 2000 Author Share Posted August 23, 2000 Alex Nowt in my bottle too . I'll have a look in bottle after this weekend . - getting real sad now !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted August 25, 2000 Share Posted August 25, 2000 To change the half shaft oil seal - 1. Jack car up and take wheel on relavant side off 2. Undo 2 bolts holding the brake caliper off. Free the caliper from the disk and tie the caliper to the anti roll bar/rear spring/trailing arm. 3. undo 4 bolts holding the hub assembly to the de-dion ear 4. Remove hub/halfshaft assembly noting which way up the hub is (the curved surface of the bit directly bolting onto the de-dion ear faces up and the stepped surface faces down - this will be obvious when you see it.) 5. You should now be able to see the oil seal sitting in the diff. 6. Measure the amount that it is set into the diff. It should be 1.12cm (I think) - check with a Haynes Sierra manual. This should be consistant all round the oil seal. If it isn't, it is not in square and will leak. If it isn't square, it should be replaced. Incidentally, my oil seal was square and looked fine. 7. To get the oil seal out, I used a tyre iron (!) as a screw driver wasn't up to the job. Ford do have a special tool for it but I didn't have such luxuries. 8. Alternate leverage from under the car and from the boot gets the seal out but it is tedious and time consuming. Don't rush it as there's a bearing directly behind the seal and the case is easy to damage. The seal will be destroyed in the process. 9. Tap the new seal in after cleaning up all relavant surfaces and greasing the oil seal. I used an old section of exhaust pipe to help tap it in square. Be careful not to damage the new oil seal. 10. Remeasure the depth regularly and keep the seal square. 11. Replace half shaft after cleaning the splines and the oil seal surface. Be careful not to force it in. It should slide through the new oil seal. 12. Reassemble the hub/brakes etc. 13. Have a well earned beer!! I swore many times....... But it doesn't look like it's leaking anymore (fingers crossed) Alex Wong alex.wong@lotus7club.co.uk www.alexwong.net Home : 44-(0)121-440 6972 Fax : 44-(0)121-440 4601 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted August 28, 2000 Author Share Posted August 28, 2000 Safe to say the diff had a good workout on sunday !! , I'm blaming the oil being blown from the diff for my moment at the molehill ( drivers excuse # 237 ) , shame to donut didnt go the full 360 !! . Great day was had by all , many thanks Alex , Roger and Barbra . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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