I got back from a trip to Baja (lots of bad roads towing a trailer) and noticed oil leaking from the rear differential of my '99 ML320. At first I thought it was coming from the drain plug but, after cleaning up the case it appears that the leak is coming from the vertical gasket between the two halves of the case. I also found a small "dent" in the forward half of the case, which might have been caused by hitting a rock. Before I replace the differential, I want to try torquing the bolts in the case. Does anyone know the torque specs for the rear differential case bolts?
first off why would you replace a diff for a leak? for one its not cheap and 2 the diff can be resealed. the cover is sealed with sealant, no gasket, if you remove the diff, you remove the cover and reseal it
I was considering replacing the rear differential because it looks like it was hit by a rock and I thought the case might be warped or cracked. That still may be the case, but I want to make sure that all of the bolts are correctly torqued first. I have the Mercedes repair-manual CD, but I can't find the torque values for the bolts on the differential case. Does anyone know the torque values for these bolts?
After careful examination I've concluded that my differential has a crack in the case. I can get a replacement on eBay but I don't know if I can do the job myself. Have any of you replaced a rear differential on an ML? If so, do you know where I can find reasonably good instructions?
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