Pumpkin gasket question

[jsgold]

I am going to change the fluid in the pumpkin on my 93 S-10 Blazer (already did front one) but I had a question on the gasket. I have seen people use silicone only and have seen on posts here where gasket was used too. Is it a problem to put some silicone on the cover to help hold the gasket in place or best to use the gasket by itself?

[Crasen]

I would use a gasket adhesive instead of silicone to hold the gasket in place during installation it will probably hold a lot better and be less messy

[OverBoardProject]

I used high temp gasket goop only on mine, but highly recomend also using a gasket. I don't have any leaks though

[tom3]

I usually put on the gasket and a real thin layer of silicone, really stops leaks and seepage, and this is a part that will not be touched for years.

[drdd]

Originally Posted by jsgold

I am going to change the fluid in the pumpkin on my 93 S-10 Blazer (already did front one) but I had a question on the gasket. I have seen people use silicone only and have seen on posts here where gasket was used too. Is it a problem to put some silicone on the cover to help hold the gasket in place or best to use the gasket by itself?

is your diff leaking? if not, and you just want to change the fluid, why not just siphon out the old fluid and refill?

[OverBoardProject]

Originally Posted by drdd

is your diff leaking? if not, and you just want to change the fluid, why not just siphon out the old fluid and refill?

That method does work, but leaves a lot of the contaminants in. They all settle on the bottom and I usually like to wipe everything clean from such areas.

Plus it's the best time to inspect everything and make sure that you don't have any wear. And you'll also know then if you have a posi that isn't working. Often a diff fluid change to the right fluid will get a posi working again. I had this last situation with mine.

[jsgold]

The reason I am going to change it is that I found I was a little low on the front one, and I did not like how it looked. The truck has 103K on it and I am pretty sure it is original fluid. Not leaking that I can see but just do not want to start any. I was tempted to use my hand pump but I doubt if I can get all of it out of the rear one and if there are any metal particles I want them out. I should have changed it when I bought the truck (64K) but I just did not think about it. Maybe at 150K I will simply pump it out. Thanks for all of your replies.

[OverBoardProject]

If you've got some springs in there you've got posi which requires a different oil, or an additive.

It would sort of look like this

[jsgold]

That is good to know, thanks. I assume the front ends are pretty much all the same (80-90W std. gear oil)?

[OverBoardProject]

I believe that the front ends are the same. I wish that they had posi listed as an option as well