Sure fire way to find oil leaks

[GrandpaFord]

I rebuilt my Ruckstell and was careful to use sealant, but still have a small oil leak. It is really hard to find oil leaks because they are hard to see. I found mine by puffing colored chalk dust, the kind use for chalk lines, over suspected areas of the differential. The leaking oil washes away the chalk dust so that it is easy to see. I washed the whole differential with solvent and dried it before applying the dust. I used a new plastic bottle of the chalk dust and just puffed onto the differential by squeezing the bottle while upright. Shaking the bottle before puffing the dust helps. I suspect you can use any kind of dust, like flour, but the brightly colored chalk dust used for chalk lines is really easy to see. A very small leak, like coming through a bolt thread, just wets the chalk dust and doesn't wash it away, so it can still be seen. I hope this helps.

[SurfCityGene]

Grandpa, Hey Thanks that's sure a great way to find those pesky leaks. Thanks for posting a great idea!

[Scottio]

My friend uses powder deodorant spray. Must be the powder spray. Works great.

[Alan]

Hey Grandpa, Great tip, that's one I haven't used. Thanks for posting it.
-Al

[Hal]

Oh, for mine to be so small.........

[Eck]

In the shipyard we mixed chalk with water to make a paste and brushed in on inspection area. Time or a little compressed air dried the paste and a leak would show up big time thru the chalk.

[baltrusch]

The powder sounds like a great way to find leaks. Another method is that auto supply houses sell a dye that you add to the oil and then use a black light to find the leak.