Is JB weld good for sealing up fluid (oil) leaks? There is a small drip on the seam of my manual tranny (aluminum case) and there is no way in hell I'm taking it out to fix it. The bitch is that the fluid I use in it is about $10/ quart and I want to find something to smear on there as a one shot deal. I don't want to use JB weld and fill it only to find it didn't seal and then have to buy 3 more quarts of this shit and try something else.
I've drained the shit and wire brushed off all the FormAGasket that I had on there, then hosed it off with brake fluid. I'm just wondering if the JB is a lost cause on oil or should I get some other kind of RTV/ silicone?
I would clean the area with carb cleaner or brake parts cleaner. If you can get it clean enough so the J-B sticks good, once dry, it should hold up to the fluids.
We use it all the time at my shop. However I'm not really clear as to where you say its leaking. When you say seam, do you mean a gasket seam? If its in the actual aluminum JB works fine. Gasket type leaks you should really repair w/ new gaskets or use a GOOD silicone sealant like Right Stuff.Like Unkl Ian said tho, it must be very very clean & dry. We use brake cleaner as it leaves no oil film & drys almost instantly. Dave
I meant brake cleaner above, not fluid. Man, I'm such an idiot!!!! Shifts, that is what I was looking for. I used the Right Stuff about 4 years ago as a valve cover gasket and had no luck with it. It is on a seam where there is a gasket. It is my late model all wheel drive Nip job, and because of the AWD it is a super bitch to remove the tranny, or do anything for that matter. The tranny was just rebuilt about a year ago, and there is no reason this should be leaking, so I'm not about to rip it apart if I can cob-job it. I'll try some silicone.
Deyo, You know how much of a fan of the Orange RTV I am. Break cleaner the hell out of it and then press the tube of RTV right up there and try to squeez/force as much as you can up into the seal.
I repaired a cracked muncie case that had a hairline crack from one of the ears down onto the case years ago. I just gouged out the crack a bit to give the JB something to fill then sprayed it clean and put on the JB. Still holding fine last I heard and it's not leaking. If you have a gasket that's a different problem tho. I've used it on radiators too. Always considered it a temporary fix, but it's never let me down.
I am willing to bet......you discover that the "cob-job" will NOT hold........Who rebuilt it? take it BACK and TELL them to repair it under their warranty,OR...Pull the fucker out and fix it right.... All that oil it is dripping? Makes riding a motorcycle a fucking BLAST in the rain.........
The leak really isn't that bad, just a VERY slow drip, but I want to seal it up. The only reason I asked what the best cob-job is, is because it isn't as easy as dropping a driveshaft and removing 4 bolts. You'd have to take out both front axles, and remove alot of other Japanese shit just to get it out, and then if I wanted to call in the "warranty police," I'd have to ship it to Ohio and have that guy replace the gasket, obviously this is not going to happen. If I did it myself, the gasket is probably only available in a kit for $100, and then I'd have to figure out how to get the damn thing back together. The joys of Japanese stuff... everything is so specialized and intricate that there are only a few "guys" around the country that can do certain things correctly for high performance apps. The reason I even asked is because I have to use this special synthetic tranny fluid (see above remark about specialized shit) because these AWD trannies go junk when you start pumping 325 Hp through them. I figure every time I pull the drain plug it costs me $25, so I wanted to get it right the first time. (SKR8PN-- Not like you Turbo Dodge boys running 5w-30 in your trannies!) I went with the High Temp RTV shit, the copper crap and am waiting for it to dry fully until I put any fluid in there.
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