I think my oil seal on my rear differential where the drive shaft goes in is blown. I noticed last night 3 decent size oil puddles on the driveway, where I back it in, checked the differential level last night and had some n there, this morning another smaller puddle of oil under it. After work i checked it in the lot and the differential was pretty much empty. I filled it with Mobile 1 75W-140 for now, but its still dripping. It appears to be coming from the front of the case where the yoke thing attaches to the pinion gear. I looked thru the parts catalog and see there is an oil seal, and can buy a replacement for 10 bucks, but it is something that can be done in the driveway without dropping the differential? It looks like if I can dissconnect the driveshaft, the U joint, then remove the forward nut on the pinion gear I should be able to pop the oil seal out and replace it? Anyone ever done it?
1. With vehicle in neutral, position vehicle on hoist.
2. Mark a reference line across the axle flange (3) and propeller shaft flange (4).
3. Remove propeller shaft
4. Remove brake calipers and rotors to prevent any drag.
5. Rotate flange three or four times and verify flange rotates smoothly.
6. Measure torque to rotating pinion flange (1) with a inch pound torque wrench (2). Record reading for installation reference.
7. Hold pinion flange with Wrench C-3281 and remove pinion nut and washer.
8. Mark line on pinion shaft and flange for installation reference.
9. Remove flange with two jaw puller.
10. Remove pinion seal with a seal puller.
INSTALLATION
1. Apply a light coating of gear lubricant on the lip of pinion seal.
2. Install new pinion seal with Installer C-3972A (1) and Handle C-4171 (2).
3. Position flange on pinion shaft with the reference marks aligned.
4. Install flange on pinion shaft with Installer C-3718 and Wrench C-3281.
5. Install pinion washer and a new pinion nut. The convex side of the washer must face outward.
6. Hold flange with Wrench C-3281and tighten pinion nut to 285 N·m (210 ft. lbs.). Rotate pinion several revolutions to ensure bearing rollers are seated.
NOTE: Do not exceed the minimum tightening torque 285 N·m (210 ft. lbs.) when installing the companion flange retaining nut at this point.
7. Rotate pinion several times to ensure bearings are seated.
8. Measure pinion torque to rotate (1) with an inch pound torque wrench (2). Pinion torque to rotate should be equal to recorded reading plus an additional 0.56 N·m (5 in. lbs.) .
If pinion torque to rotate is low, tighten pinion nut in 6.8 N·m (5 ft. lbs.) increments until pinion torque to rotating is achieved.
CAUTION: Never loosen pinion nut to decrease pinion bearing rotating torque. If pinion torque to rotating is exceeded, a new collapsible spacer must be installed. Failure to follow these instructions will result in damage to the axle.
Sweet, thanks Robb. So it can be done in my driveway. It really does seem very easy to do, and will save a hundred or two doing it myself replacing a 10 dollar seal. Plus a day out of work, oh well.
get a big piece of pipe bro. tightening it to 210 FT LBS IS not going to be easy. you'll need about a 4 foot piece of pipe. maybe you can rent a wrench that goes that high, just use ALL your weight to toghten that f'ker
Has anyone changed out a pinion oil seal themselves? Im reading up on it, and keep seeing to use an impact wrench or long breaker bar because the pinion nut is torqued on so high. I have the WK manual, and see it says to torque the nut back to 210ft pounds, then check the rotating torque with an inch pound torque wrench. But is that 210foot pounds if I was installing a new crush sleeve (like it says in the section on replacing the pinion itself w/new crush sleeve)? I have been reading that if reusing the same crush sleeve, which I will be, less torque will be needed since I dont have to seat the crush sleeve. Last thing I want to do is overtighten the nut because of just reading this:
"The pinion preload will be zero until the bearings contact the races but will then increase very quickly. Use an inch-pound torque wrench to check the preload. If the pinion bearing preload exceeds the specified allowable range, install another new crush sleeve and start over."
1. And is a special socket needed to remove the pinion nut, and can the flange be removed by whacking it off gently with a hammer from side to side or is a puller needed (I dont currently have one).
2. Instead of useing Wrench C-3281 for holding the pinion flange while removing the pinion nut, can I set the parking brake to keep it from rotating? I also read: " use a long breaker bar and brace the yoke (bolt it to a long board) so that it can’t move" So, what, I bolt a 2x4 to the flange somehow?
3. And in the manual it says if rotating torque is low after the 210foot pounds setting, use Holder 6719 to hold the flange and retorque the pinion nut in 5lb increments. Can I just buy that and use it from the beggining instead of the listed wrench? I have no idea what those two tools look like, and if I need someone else holding them while I break my back trying to remove/install the pinion nut. 210foot pounds wont be that hard to manage, if I can get under there basically bench pressing the end of the torque wrench and the car doesnt fall off the jacks.
imo, as easy as it sounds, i might ask a shop how much. look for a diff place, maybe trans. they do these all the time. they have ALL the tools, they stand behind their work.
it might prove to be cheaper than you think.......and it'll be done with. by the time you buy tools and such, it may be the best option. now if they come back with some outrageous price, then have at it.
^^^ Thats what I was thinking also, just to get a price. Is there/where is the vent on the differential case? Ive been reading if the vent is clogged the built up pressure will push the oil out the seal, which is exactly what appears to be happening. The thing is leaking steadily, just being parked in my driveway. It leaked all last night until it was almost empty this morning. Ive been parked for 2 hours now and its still leaking.
Yeah it sounds like a PITA job to me, i'd check out a shop also, i've been trying to do all the work I can by myself but some job's are just annoying to do in a driveway. Someday i'll have a nice big heated garage with a lift so people dont keep throwing crap on my compressor and welder and taking my tools without replacing them...Sorry for the rant haha=D
Yeah it sounds like a PITA job to me, i'd check out a shop also, i've been trying to do all the work I can by myself but some job's are just annoying to do in a driveway. Someday i'll have a nice big heated garage with a lift so people dont keep throwing crap on my compressor and welder and taking my tools without replacing them...Sorry for the rant haha=D
I hear ya. But the oil seal costs only 10 bucks, so if it takes two hours to do i save that much more money. What I realized is the first time ever doing something takes along time, took me and my cousin 12 hours to swap out my stock springs with lowering springs, but then it only took me an hour by myself to change a blown front strut, simply because I have already done it before and know what to do. I like learning.
If I were you, I wouldn't do this job myself because although it is pretty simple, if you use an impact wrench on the pinon nut, you risk destroying the pinon bearing. I did this job on my mom's '04 Explorer last summer and I couldn't get enough torque on the nut by hand (when you're under the car, even with a 2 foot long breaker bar, you're not going to have enough leverage to budge the pinon nut), so I used my impact wrench. I made sure that I recorded the number of turns and everything so that the preload wouldn't change when I reassembled, but I ended up replacing the whole front diff with a used one because the pinion bearing ground itself into bits. If you had a lift where you could use your whole body weight to loosen/tighten the pinion nut by hand, I would say go for it, but if not then I highly recommend that you have a competent shop do it.
Its not a hard job and you can do the job in your driveway, but the biggest PITA is small space you have to work with to be able to make the 210lbs of torque. Find a local garage and pay the hour of labor it will take to change the seal.
Mine was leaking too..... really just weaping not a dripping yet but my GC was due for the 30k service plugs, fluids in diffs etc.... That portion of the bill for fluid and seal replacement in rear diff was 105.00. Work was done by a local Indy shop.
As others have suggested some things are worth paying for IMO.....
Thanks for the help and responses, esp Robpp. I got it fixed at the local Jeep dealer, only cost me $144. I called for a quote and they said one hour labor plus parts, I was shocked it was so cheap.