Well, I was out wheeling on Black Friday, and I thought that I survived without any problems. Yesterday I finally took the Jeep to the car wash and sprayed off all the mud. Today, I was poking around underneath and I noticed that my rear diff was seeping. Apparently I hit a rock and it peeled back the rear cover slightly. My question is, how long can I drive it like this without damaging the internals. I heard a rumor that santa is bringing me some Poison Spyder diff covers for Christmas, so I was hoping to hold out until then. Do you guys think that is a wise idea? Any and all input would be greatly appreciated. Here are a couple pics:

 

It doesn't appear to be a bad leak. If it just leaving a drip every now and then you should be fine. If it leaves a puddle you probably should check the level every few days just to be on the safe side.

 

Pull the fill plug and check for fluid level and contamination.

Clean off the residue with some brake cleaner, and keep an eye on it.
If it's not more than a seeping of oil, you will be all set until you get the new covers.

 

mine's the same exact way. ive been driving for close to 25k miles, with no problem. the dealership tells me i should change my oil in there, but that's obvious. next oil change, i'm doing it all: diffs, oil, filter all that. i would agree with the above posts. no puddle, no problem.

 

this is very common on jeeps regardless of what cover you have on and really, unless you're seeing a big puddle under your diff, you should be fine for a long time as is. and, if you're really worried, just check your fluid level from time to time but, i'd bet you'll find it close to full everytime.

 

That happened to my JK on it's first wheeling trip. I flattened it back with a BFH and that stopped most of the leak until I got some armor.