Diff leak at locker wiring grommet (1 Viewer)

[doru]

Made an L bracket to mount to that longer stud on the left side. I'll move the wiring over to the left side and use zip ties or something (not sure) to secure the wire and connector to it. (I'll take recommendations other than zip ties)

I would protect the wire against the bracket using a short section of pvc hose (Home Depot/ACE/etc) that fits tight on the wire - slightly smalled inside diameter than the wire is best. Then cut it lengthwise to fit it over the wire. If you want it even better, you can first tie the hose to the wire at both ends and tie it to the bracket in the middle.

Oh, sorry now I realized that you can secure the connector instead as you moved the wire. In this case I would use a harness clamp with a screw to the bracket. There are metal clamps of different diameters that may match the connector circumference. They usually have a inner plastic or rubber sleeve or you can cover them with electrical hose. That will prevent the conector from sliping out of the clamp.
Here is what I'm talking about:

https://www.amazon.com/LOKMAN-Stainless-Cushioned-Insulated-Installation/dp/B01HPE185Y/ref=asc_df_B01HPE185Y

You can find it at hardware stores, or local auto parts.

 

[linuxgod]

It's been a minute but this seal shouldn't require any RTV. It's possible they drilled the hole too large for the seal to do it's job.

I agree where you're headed is what I would try. Clean as well as possible and apply RTV externally is about all you can do short or tearing it down.

Yeah I would think the grommet from Nitro would suffice. I thought the shop was being overly cautious with using RTV but it's possible the diameter was off. I suppose it's also possible with vibration, flex, wind, etc that the grommet has split or cracked just a bit form wire movement.

Aside from gear oil-resistant RTV, I suppose once I pull off any existing RTV and clean off all the grease I could apply JB Weld around the opening, then once that hardens use RTV to seal it all.

 

[linuxgod]

Cleaned up the area with non-residue degreaser, removed the old RTV (which was pulling up). The “grommet” for this really just seems like a rubber sleeve. Fortunately it’s intact. But it’s definitely not crazy tight.

I used some high temp JB Weld around the base, pressed it pretty good in the hopes it would make its way into any gaps, let it dry for an hour, then coated the whole thing in Permatex “green - for gear oil” (which incidentally is light gray, but whatever). Man that stuff is tacky. The JB Weld supposedly fully cures in 8 hours and the Permatex in 24, so I’ll wait until tomorrow to drive it.

I did make a bracket to secure the harness but the 3rd member studs are not a normal thread size or pitch. I picked up M10 and M12 standard and fine thread but M10 wouldn’t thread on correctly and M12 was too large. So either the studs are SAE (which seems odd), or they’re an ultra-fine pitch, or they’re some weird M11 size. Either way I’m going to order a proper nut but I probably won’t receive it in time to mount and move the harness before I leave for Cruise Moab. That said I don’t think the wires were the reason this leaked, I think the RTV just gave up sticking to the diff, probably because it was RTV black for engine oil not RTV green gear oil. Time will tell

 

[Sandroad]

Looks gooey enough to me! I bet that seals it up. Odd about the nut size.

 

[linuxgod]

Looks gooey enough to me! I bet that seals it up. Odd about the nut size.

Yeah the nut should be m10x1.25 I thought but the one I bought only goes on one rotation before I feel like it’s cross threading. No matter, I ordered a proper Toyota nut and if that doesn’t engage right at least I know it means I need to chase the threads with a die rather than bugger then with an incorrect nut

 

[Sandroad]

Yeah the nut should be m10x1.25 I thought but the one I bought only goes on one rotation before I feel like it’s cross threading. No matter, I ordered a proper Toyota nut and if that doesn’t engage right at least I know it means I need to chase the threads with a die rather than bugger then with an incorrect nut

One the members on here has a signature line something like cross-threading is as good as Locktite.

 

[linuxgod]

One the members on here has a signature line something like cross-threading is as good as Locktite.

Heh. Funny I have a buddy who used to drag race mustangs who says “cross-thread is loctitle-once”

 

[linuxgod]

Figured I'd post one last follow-up on this topic. After letting the JBweld and RTV set for almost 24 hours, I did a couple short trips around town and then we did about 100 miles round trip yesterday. Checked this morning and everything looks super clean around that spot. I'll see how it holds up over time but seems promising for now.

At some point I'll have to drop the engine skid and see if I can make out how the front locker grommet looks. Hopefully the rear is a one-off issue...

 

[linuxgod]

Thought I’d follow up for posterity. Did a trip to Moab and back, so about 4k miles since fixing this. The fix seems solid, no evidence of a leak so far. We’ll see how it looks in a couple years I guess

I did mount a bracket to the diff and strapped the wire plug to it to reduce vibration of the wiring at the entry point. I may try a different method for securing the harness in the future but the low temp, UV stable, HD zip ties seem to hold it securely for now and still leave lots of wire to ensure it doesn’t come apart on full flex. Ignore the dirt… this was clean until Moab…

 

[bicycleagent003]

This is the stuff I picked up:

Permatex® Gear Oil RTV Gasket Maker, 3 OZ - Permatex®

www.permatex.com

Because gear oil has friction modifiers that break down normal RTV and cause leaking, this specialty silicone has been tested to OEM specifications to ensure complete sealing.

I used that exact same stuff when I repaired the rear diff locker on my 80 Series. It's serious stuff, very thick and tacky. I think it calls for a long cure period (24 hours?). It has held up perfectly (4 years now or so), and I think it will be the perfect sealant/adhesive for what you are looking at there. Good choice.

 

[linuxgod]

I used that exact same stuff when I repaired the rear diff locker on my 80 Series. It's serious stuff, very thick and tacky. I think it calls for a long cure period (24 hours?). It has held up perfectly (4 years now or so), and I think it will be the perfect sealant/adhesive for what you are looking at there. Good choice.

Nice to know. 4 years is much longer than the original RTV lasted, so that’s a good sign

I could not believe how tacky it was compared to regular RTV.

Yeah it called for a 24 hour cure. I think mine officially got 20 hours but there’s also some 4 hour cure JBweld underneath.

If I don’t report back that it’s leaking again any future reader can assume it’s still holding strong