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Reusable Diff Gaskets

M

mudpuddle

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Bristol, TN
I have the opportunity to get in on the developement of reusable differential gaskets for common units, the Dana 29, 30, 35, 44 and Chrysler 8.25. These will be aviation quality silicone rubber and virtually indestructible, and meant to be used over and over without any silicone sealant, therefore no more scraping and no more cussing with the cover and the mess when it decides to break loose. My first thought was of the 4 wheelers who regularly submerge their diffs and change fluids. What do you think, would there be a market? Any feedback / input appreciated.
 
IMO silicone is pretty simple to use, and super cheap.

what kind of price range are we looking at for the reusable differential gaskets ?
 
Sounds like a great idea to me. We use LubeLockers on both axles on both our rigs, and sell a ton of them (@ $16.95/ea) through Jeepin' Outfitters, and technically they're not even reusable...

edit: If you develop them, I'd be interested in testing them and possibly becoming a distributor.
 
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Jeepin Jason said:
Sounds like a great idea to me. We use LubeLockers on both axles on both our rigs, and sell a ton of them (@ $16.95/ea) through Jeepin' Outfitters, and technically they're not even reusable...

edit: If you develop them, I'd be interested in testing them and possibly becoming a distributor.
Click to expand...

Duly noted. Once we have the dies, we'll test them out out and see what happens. Probably looking at around $20 each. Well worth it if you ask me, I spend more time scraping off the old silicone from the covers and housings than it takes me to change the fluid. With a reusable gasket I could have it changed out in about 15 minutes.
 
if they worked good it would be nice because i hate having to take the time to clean off all the silicone
 
Ramsey said:
if they worked good it would be nice because i hate having to take the time to clean off all the silicone
Click to expand...

+1 Its just a big time waster scraping that shat off there.
 
mudpuddle said:
These will be aviation quality silicone rubber and virtually indestructible, and meant to be used over and over without any silicone sealant,
Click to expand...

The aviation industry detests Silicone and is doing everything possible to get rid of it. There have been attempts for years to try to use silicone products for sealing all sorts of things (usually antennas and such) with very little success.

I have all sorts of samples of these products and have thought of similar uses. In my research it was not worth the effort. Not to say there is not interest, because I believe there is. But cost is critical for "most" people. If you go to the parts store and they have multiple choices "most" will go for the cheapest. Only those of us who so the particular advantage of a particualr name brand, quality, re-usable, etc really consider the added cost.

this is not meant to be negative, just informative.

Michael
 
I think it's a great idea but a bit too pricey. If it was more like ten bucks I would consider it. I hate scraping diff covers. ;)
 
its only 20$ and if it is reuseable wahts the problem. of course reuseable might be 2 uses
 
The aviation industry detests Silicone and is doing everything possible to get rid of it. There have been attempts for years to try to use silicone products for sealing all sorts of things (usually antennas and such) with very little success.
Click to expand...

OK we're not flying airplane so maybe in this application they'll work.

Build it, test it, and if it works, people will buy it.
 
Its not only scraping the old sealer off. I have Crane covers and what a PITA to get the cover off with the old sealer holding it on.
 
dont pull the covers enough to warrant anything more than a $3 tube of silicone
 
Wire wheel the silicone off in about 3 minutes...

Mike #300
 
A silicone only seal would probably not work,it would probably compress "indefinately"!Most newer re-usable seals are steel with a small area of "elastomeric" material that only provides sealing and not holding/maintaining torque!
 
Here's my thoughts...

For durability, I'd stay away from silicone rubber - go with butyl or nitrile instead. Include a "crush core" or "crush sleeves" to prevent "oversquishing" the gasket (nice technical language, no?)

I seem to recall that a conventional paper gasket (for those of us that prefer them) goes for about a buck and a half, so I'd expect to get a minimum 10 cycles out of a $20 gasket - the rest would go to the convenience of not having to scrub the old gasket or RTV off the case or cover. Again, MINIMUM ten cycles to recover purchase cost of $20 or thereabouts.

Make sure the gasket can survive heating and immersion and still have a clean separation from the surfaces. The idea here is that you don't have to clean everything - just pull the cover, drain, and reinstall & refill. (It's a poor substitute for a cover with a magnetric drain plug, but it's a start.)

Perhaps extend the "crush core" to form a "pull tab" near the top of the cover or at the side, you can loosen the bolts and pull the tab to loosen the cover. Might as well make the job that much easier.

Any other ideas? I'd be willing to test D30/D35 units - I've got two XJ's using that axle set...

5-90
 
2xtreme said:
The aviation industry detests Silicone and is doing everything possible to get rid of it. There have been attempts for years to try to use silicone products for sealing all sorts of things (usually antennas and such) with very little success.

I have all sorts of samples of these products and have thought of similar uses. In my research it was not worth the effort. Not to say there is not interest, because I believe there is. But cost is critical for "most" people. If you go to the parts store and they have multiple choices "most" will go for the cheapest. Only those of us who so the particular advantage of a particualr name brand, quality, re-usable, etc really consider the added cost.

this is not meant to be negative, just informative.

Michael
Click to expand...

I know what you are saying, but we are not talking about your conventional silicone sealant. The company I am talking to already makes valve cover gaskets for several aviation engine manufacturers. Their product is FAA approved for aircraft (read that as super reliable, who wants a blown gasket at 12,000 ft) and a pit bull can't chew through it. I appreciate your comment and realize that the product may not be "mainstream", but could offer significant time savings to those of us (me included) that hate wasting an afternoon scraping off the old RTV. I don't have a product in-hand yet, we are waiting on the dies for cutting the gaskets. When I have a sample, I will try to post pics and see what you guys think.
 
These are 17$!All I can say is that they work good,if you curl the cover on a rock you can just beat it back into place and it will seal!
http://www.nthdegreemobility.com/LubeLockers.htm
44-1.jpg
 
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