So I noticed this yesterday when I was changing my oil. Is this something I can fix myself or am I going to need to take it in to a shop?
So I noticed this yesterday when I was changing my oil. Is this something I can fix myself or am I going to need to take it in to a shop?
There are 2 ways to fix this. That is your pinion seal.
The proper way would be to tear down the entire axle and re-do all the gears. The pinion gear is supposed to have a pre-load that can only be properly attained when the axle has no gears in it. That is a lot of work and a shop would charge a huge $. Basically labor to re-gear the axle.
Other option is to simply pull of the driveshaft, unbolt the yoke, pop the seal out. Pop in a new seal, replace the yoke, and put in the driveshaft. Will likely wear the gears a bit faster if they are used a lot. Since it is a front diff it clearly doesn't see as much use as a rear diff.
I would opt for this option, especially if you think you might go with gears, lockers, or a complete different front axle at some point. No sense in throwing $ at it now only to change it out again in the near future. I assume this is a Dana 30 in a TJ... Will likely be seeing a replacement axle or at least upgrades in the future if it gets wheeled hard at all.
Fred
Just go with what Jeff suggested and replace the seal. The way you wheel and want to wheel, you are going to do an upgrade on the 30 anyway. You might try throwing some 140w into it instead of 90w if you haven't already.
Good point that Brody made. I had forgotten about the oil weight. Easy trick. ALSO, make sure the diff breather is clean. I had a rear diff that seemed to always leak at the pinion a bit. Turns out the diff breather was clogged on the inside. Removed it and it worked great. There was a rubber stopper inside it that was stuck. I took off the cap and removed the rubber stopper. Only risk doing that is during water crossings the diff will take in water. Never drove this through water so not an issue. It was also a temporary fix as it was getting re-geared shortly after that.
Well its obvious you havent looked under my truck Path thought she had a leak till she looked under Lucy.
My rear seal was leaking a bit and I just removed the shaft and had the yoke seal changed.
well remember pathrat we drive toyota, fluids generally stay where their supposed to. rovers feel the need to mark their parking spots.... heavily.
I think Rover calls it controlled seepage. Jeep calls it marking territory...:lol:...