Diff leak

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Mar 5, 2010 | 06:04 AM

5280

Thread Starter

More Turbo

Joined: Jun 2009

Posts: 510

Likes: 1

From: South Park, Colorado

Diff leak

I noticed a gear lube smell around the back of my 2WD Ex yesterday afternoon - crawled underneath to find signs of major leakage at the pinon seal. Checked/filled the fluid, 1.5 qts low. I hope I did not damage anything running it low? It was last checked about 7k miles ago at which time it was full and did not show any signs of leakage. How hard is it to change a pinon seal? I'm not very mechanically inclined

Mar 5, 2010 | 06:34 AM

serviceguy

Junior User

Joined: Feb 2005

Posts: 92

Likes: 0

From: Michigan

If you are not very mechanically inclined this might be best left up to a good mechanic. On the surface changing the seal is not that hard but if done incorrectly you will change the mesh of your ring and pinion potentially destroying them. as far as being 1.5 quarts down on lube if it is not howling on deceleration it is probably ok have the shop that changes the seal inspect it at the same time.

Mar 5, 2010 | 07:03 AM

robs01f250

Elder User

Joined: Oct 2007

Posts: 935

Likes: 1

From: Bowling Green, KY

The pinion seal isnt that bad. Just remove the driveshaft and pinion nut, cant remember what size it is but its big. Then just rent a seal puller from your local auto parts store and rip it out. Make sure you pay attention to how tight the pinion nut is so you can refer to that for installation. Then stick the new seal in. You will have to place a block of wood on the seal and use a dead blow hammer to tap it in. put it back together and drive it and check for leakage

Mar 5, 2010 | 09:55 AM

rebelchevy02

Posting Guru

Joined: May 2006

Posts: 2,274

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From: Milroy, PA

Be sure to re-torque the pinion nut correctly. Ive seen too many threads that end up with rear end troubles, and in the beginning they say they fixed their pinion seal XX months ago. The crush sleeve is not exactly a re-useable thing, but I dont remember the torque spec on it. Just find it. When I lost a spindle, I had the new differential installed with shims, instead of the crush sleeve. The crush sleeve is the biggest point of failure in the sterling IMO.

Mar 5, 2010 | 11:09 AM

Izzy351

Post Fiend

Joined: Feb 2007

Posts: 14,541

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From: Dallas-Ft. Worth

For single rear-wheel trucks, count the turns on the nut (it's a 1-1/8th, IIRC) when you take it off. When you put it back on, go on an 1/8th of a turn further. That's what I did last year and no issues. I marked the nut, socket, and the housing so I could count the turns carefully. It is important to get it right...

Mar 5, 2010 | 11:17 AM

miller_feed

Hook it, I'll pull it.

Joined: May 2007

Posts: 15,037

Likes: 4

From: Grand Lake, La.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Izzy351

That is exactly what I did on a friends truck a few weeks ago. Count the turns and go the same amount plus a little bit more. No leaks on his pinion seal.