Honda Ridgeline Owners Club Forums banner

Rear diff leaking

5K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  Ourfarm09 
#1 ·
So, I changed my oil today, and while doing so I was doing some general inspections on the RL. Couple of small items, no biggie initally (a/c fan on the rad had both bolts go missing, front control arm bushings barely starting to tear. Then I got to the rear. Oh no, the rear diff is leaking. It's not major (never had a drop on the ground where I park), but it's wet for sure. Look into it closely to see if I can see where the leak was coming from. Input shaft is dry, axle seals are still good and dry. It seems to be leaking from the seal between the center carrier where the clutches are (when looking at the VTM-4 cutaway diagram). I'm assuming that this is probably a silicone seal and now at 130k, it's starting to seep though finally. Now, what I want to know is if anybody else has had the same leak and if I can just drop that diff, open it up and just reseal it with a nice bead of Hondabond. Thus far, I haven't been able to find anything in Alldata, and on the Honda parts diagrams, there's no individual parts for the internals for sale, just the complete diff and a complete assembly. So, has anybody ever torn these things down and resealed them up or am I assed out of a few grand getting a whole new rear end?
 
#2 ·
I seem to remember seeing on here the same issue about not being able to find a break down of the VTM itself. However there has to be a way to take it apart and reseal it. Being an automotive technician and if it were mine you can bet I would be taking it apart.
 
#3 ·
Yeah, exactly. That's what I'm thinking, however I don't exactly want to be the guinea pig either
 
#5 ·
Well, the issue really is more so since the truck is my daily driver, it's hard for me to have extended downtime with it if I were to do this on my own. So, unless I have a spare diff that I can throw in there, I'm kinda assed out unless I can find out if this can be done with success.
 
#6 ·
JMHO but I would clean it REALLY good and just monitor it. You can easily check the fluid level and top it off as needed. Right now, with it just appearing to be "wet" with no dripping evident it's just not worth spending $$$ on resealing it. Again, this is JMHO but with that many miles minor leaks here and there will crop up. Just a fact of life...
 
#7 ·
OK, so I sprayed as much of the unit as I could with some brake cleaner (get all the gunk and oil off). Looks like it's either coming from the input seal or from up top (leaking breather?)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top