Currie 9” Rear-end

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Dwayne Fairchild

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I have a question… In May 2021, I had a brand new 9” Currie Rear-end/differential installed in my 66 Barracuda, so I could install new 15” rims/tires. In less than 2500 miles since installation, all of the seals and gaskets are leaking. Is this normal?
This is just a Sunday driver; not a racer. Appreciate any input anyone has on Currie rear-ends::
Thanks
 
How much leaking?
You need to post photos of the problem areas. What fluid(s) did you use?

So by "all" you mean ends, front and housing ?
 
^^Agree- what fluid are you using? Some people don't want to hear this but some synthetics just don't like to play nice with original style gaskets and seals. What fluid did Currie recommend?
 
Today's quality parts sorry to say.
If you have to replace and if they are the same look for Ford NOS seals
 
I had friends (one passed, one retired) who used to supply oem parts to currie, before they developed their own new castings and housings. They were also in competition with currie.
In my opinion.... Currie makes and sells quality stuff, but at very high prices. When my friends were in business, their prices were about 2/3 of curries prices.

Forgot to mention: my friends shop NEVER used synthetic gear lube. If the customer insisted, warrantee was 6 minutes or six feet, whichever came first.
 
I got the car in storage, but I’ll try and get some photos this weekend. From what the mechanic told me, it’s leaking from all of the seals. And no synthetic oils were used.
I appreciate all of the responses.
 
i have a hard time believing that it's leaking from *all* the seals. generally fluid will take the path of least resistance.

because that's not typical, i'd be asking questions. was the unit complete from currie with a warranty? or was it pieced together and the installer sourced gaskets and seals?
 
If the housing does not have a vent on it, then yeah, it's to be expected. Otherwise, it ain't normal.
 
by chance was the axle overfilled with gear oil ,, had a similar issue with a rebuilt complete 9 inch axle i sold , all seals were leaking , turned out the customer overfilled the the unit ,,, not the 5 pints required. pull the fill plug with the car level to see if any leaks out. if not check the vent to see it it is clear. Currie does build quality axle assemblies and synthetic oils are not the issue.
 
Also, FWIW no one hardly ever thinks about, but depending on WHAT you used in it.......some gear oils and additives do not react well together, I don't care WHAT the labels say. I've see some mixtures sorta "boil over" and force their way out. Course they ain't really "boiling", it's a chemical reaction, but you have to watch what all you mix together. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Either not being vented, OR the vent not working properly I think is a more probable cause.
 
I appreciate all of the replies. It was 100% complete when it was installed. I was just told it only had 30 day warranty and since they couldn’t determine “how I drove it and it was past the 30 days”… basically it sucks to be you…
I’ll look it over this weekend and send some photos.
Thanks everyone
 
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Here’s a few photos showing the leaks. The vent is clear. No fluid leak out when plug is removed. The rear-end arrived complete from Currie but the custom auto shop installed it. Have some automotive knowledge; I’ve swapped out engines in the past. Never had to deal with the rear end which is why I had a new one installed that would accommodate the new wheels. I’ll post a photo of my 66 Cuda next
 
That doesn't look like it's leakin a river.....so maybe it was overfilled just a little? A lot of folks fill till it drools out of the fill plug, but in most instances that's too full. Most axles have a fill capacity and usually, that's below the bottom of the fill plug.
 
Currie has done the fab 9” in our race truck for years. They do nice work and your experience with their customer service is exactly the opposite of mine. Looking at your pics, it’s not leaking from “all” the seals because the pinion seal is dry as a bone. The fluid running down the back is indicative of fluid coming out the vent, ie overfilled. The fluid coming out of the backing plates, could be brake fluid but you’d have to disassemble to really know. Just one more point, the amount of silicone squishing out around the pumpkin is suspect to me because I haven’t seen Currie be sloppy in their assembly like that. If that were mine, I’d be driving it down to them to have a look, but they’re only a few miles from me. Good luck.
 
my thoughts were in the same vein as TT5 & RRR in that it wasn't pouring out all over the place and pooling on the floor.

the betty crocker job on the pumpkin is sus to me; but i've seen (and done) worse.

i'd probably clean everything up really really well and see what time it is. maybe it's a one time event from an initial overfill. or, at least then you'll have a better handle on what's wrong and what direction you need to move in.

but if you had somebody install this, you're kinda SOL on any kind of guarantee in that it's been so long. if you're on good terms with the shop, you might be able to roll back and ask them to take a look with the caveat that they did the work and maybe they do some corrective work and cut you a break on it.
 
Appreciate all of the information and I’ll clean it all up and make sure the oil level is right. Thanks for the help!!
 
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