Permatex RTV on rear differential
 

Instructions say to "Finger tighten bolts until material begins to squeeze out around flange. Allow to dry for one hour then retighten 1/4 to 1/2 turn. Silicone dries in 1 hour, and fully cures in 24 hours. Allow more time in cold or very dry conditions." Torque specs on the rear diff bolts are 33 ft/lbs. When do I torque the bolts back down? I'll obviously refill after the RTV has cured, but a bit confused on when I can button everything up back to torque specs. FordTechMakuloco has a video on doing this and he pretty much torques everything down right away.

Follow FordTechMakuloco's instructions.
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If you use RightStuff, you can torque in 1hr and keep the film layer.

If you use a gasket, you can torque it once and move on.

Exactly, Ford now has a dispensable rubber gasket with steel backing.

With RTV, I torque down after 1 hour (lower than the specs, 28 lbs-ft)

Thanks for the responses. No gasket on hand, and I'm tackling this tomorrow morning. Already have the Permatex RTV, so that's what I'll be using. Should be a pretty straight forward job without much drama, I hope!!

I've always used Ultra Black and torqued to full value immediately. Let it sit undisturbed for a few hours (longer if cold) and refill the oil. I've probably done 20 or so this way and never had a leak. I am very interested in seeing the newer rubber over steel gaskets. It would be nice to have a good gasket option (paper gaskets are useless here) and avoid the silicone completely.

Here it is for 3.73 diff. Not sure if available for other diff ratio.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...2a38d5d44.jpeg

The ratio has nothing to do with it - it's the axle model (ring gear size).

Got everything done with no drama. Removed the cover, cleaned up inside the differential to get as much of the old gear oil out as possible. Then used a wire wheel to clean up both the housing and cover surfaces. Sealed back up easily with the Permatex RTV. I tightened down until I got some "squish" out of the RTV. Then torqued down after an hour. Refilled 24 hours later with Valvoline full synthetic 75W-140 and 4 ounces of Motorcraft friction modifier. No leaks so far.