Rear Axle Seal?
Thread Starter
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More Turbo
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 677
Likes: 118
From: Ontario, Canada
Rear Axle Seal?
Hey All,
The other day I was taking a routine look around the underside of my truck and noticed that the inside of the left rear tire had oil sprayed all over it. At first I thought that perhaps my brake line fitting had come loose and it was brake fluid, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be fine.
I removed the rear tire and brake drum/rotor and the emergency brake area was covered in a thick oily fluid. I looked between the backing plate and the axle housing(?) and noticed what appeared to be a leak. Would this be the rear axle seal or is it located further into the housing?
I cleaned everything up and put it back together for now as I will do the repair this weekend. Are there any special tools needed to replace this seal? Should I replace anything else while I am in there? How difficult of a job is this (I am very capable, mechanically speaking)? Any special precautions?
Thanks for any thoughts on my issue.
The other day I was taking a routine look around the underside of my truck and noticed that the inside of the left rear tire had oil sprayed all over it. At first I thought that perhaps my brake line fitting had come loose and it was brake fluid, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be fine.
I removed the rear tire and brake drum/rotor and the emergency brake area was covered in a thick oily fluid. I looked between the backing plate and the axle housing(?) and noticed what appeared to be a leak. Would this be the rear axle seal or is it located further into the housing?
I cleaned everything up and put it back together for now as I will do the repair this weekend. Are there any special tools needed to replace this seal? Should I replace anything else while I am in there? How difficult of a job is this (I am very capable, mechanically speaking)? Any special precautions?
Thanks for any thoughts on my issue.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 783
Likes: 1
From: Chicago Area, Illinois
Mine sprung a (bad) leak on my last trip to florida. Took it to the local dealer in orlando and they ended up having to replace the axleshaft as well as the seals and bearings. The shaft had groove cut into it by the seal. I saw it myself and havent seen anything like that on any modern car or truck. The shaft ended up costing about 350. All in all it would have cost over 800 dollars if i didn't have an extended warranty. I dont think that it would be any different than any other car if you have done this type of repair before. Just make sure you inspect the surface on the shaft where the seal touches it. If its grooved and you just change the seal, it will begin to leak again sooner than you would expect it.
