Sigh.... leaking Moser 8.8" again

[33fromSD]

Well S**t!

2nd time the chrome cover on the Moser 8.8" rear end is leaking. That last time I even sanded off the chrome on gasket surface and applied Ultra Black RTV. Talked to a neighbor yesterday who is a car nut as well and he mentioned no matter how well you sand / prep / clean a chrome cover in time it's gonna leak.

It's not a big deal to change it, I'd just rather be cruising right now than having it up on the lift working on it. I ordered an Aluminum Ford Racing 8.8 cover last night, should be here Wednesday, it also has the main bearing adjuster bolts for better stabilization of the bearing caps.

Ford Racing 8.8 Rear End cover --> https://www.amazon.com/Ford-M-4033-G2-M4033G2-Disc-Cover/dp/B004VQNMQS/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3AD5YBI46CZWQ&keywords=Ford+Racing+8.8%22+cover&qid=1658742559&sprefix=ford+racing+8.8+cover%2Caps%2C72&sr=8-6

I guess the positive in this is last time I fixed the cover I put Royal Purple 75W90 synthetic gear oil in it since some folks rave about Royal Purple, but to me, the rear end seems noisier, nothing alarming, just noisier (hard to explain). I'm going to switch to Torco 85W140 w/ GL6 this time around with 4 oz of their matching friction modifier.

I had a similar situation in my Currie 9" rear installed on my 69 Mustang and after talking with Currie tech support last year they noted these Ford 8.8" & 9" rear ends need the thicker gear oil especially if tracking the car and they recommended 85W140 w/ GL6 either their Currie brand (of course) or Torco. I went with Torco and it immediately took care of the noise in the 9" rear end, hope it will do the same on the 8.8" rear on the 33 too. Time will tell I guess.

Jim

[Mastertech5]

I had the same problem with my aluminum girdle cover. Two different gaskets, the good stuff grey sealer and it still leaked. Take a good look at the threads on the end of your cover bolts. Mine looked a little gauled. I cut off about an 1/8 of an inch on each, ran a thread die on them to clean them up and also bought a Mr. Gasket (Holley) ribbed gasket and no more leaks. It was so slight it took several days to show up. The bolts had bottomed in the holes.

[edwardb]

My Moser in my truck build leaked too. Talked to Moser. They sent me another paper gasket. :mad:

Took it apart. Got both surfaces thoroughly clean. And used Permatex 29208 The Right Stuff Gasket Maker exactly per their instructions. Except I let it set up a couple days vs. the 90 minutes or whatever from the instructions. No leaks since and seems rock solid.

[egchewy79]

Yup, the chrome surface got me too. Drained the brand new gear fluid into a clean container so I could reuse it and got it sealed with the “right stuff”

[33fromSD]

New Ford Racing aluminum cover installed last night. I'll wait a day to fill it to allow the ultra black sealant to cure, then I'll add the 85W140 Torco gear oil with Torco friction modifier and I should be good to go for plenty of miles with smiles.

Much nicer looking than the chrome cover

Jim

170540

[J R Jones]

I assume the original cover is a steel stamping. The chrome is actually three layers of metal, chemical-electroplated in a dip process. 1-copper, 2-nickel, 3-chrome.
As long as the steel is flat and the vat anodes located effectively the metal layers should be a consistent thickness.
Placing the cover face down on a surface plate and probing with a feeler gage will disclose any gaps. (gasket sealer has a gap filling specification)
Absent a surface grinding machine, I question the ability to maintain a flat surface hand grinding.
A potential contributor is fastener spacing, head/flange size and rib design between the fasteners.
The new machined aluminum cover eliminates the stamping problems.
jim