[Heideisadog]

So I discovered this new leek out of my rear diff near the uni joint. Does anyone know the name of the seal that needs replacing so I can order a new one ASAP. And does anyone know the difficulty of replacing this?


You can see it's sprayed diff oil everywhere.


Thanks guys!
Thomas

[SierraDan]

Pinion seal.
When you remove the flange you should put a new crush sleeve in there to maintain proper bearing preload.

[droverdave]

I just replaced mine. I pulled the centre out of the diff and took it to a diff shop. Cost me $110 including a new seal and for them to set the preload on the pinion bearings. I would avoid trying to change it yourself, if you get that preload wrong you'll be up for way more than $110.

[Heideisadog]

Thanks for that! Is that something I order specifically for this car or something different? Sorry not too sure what it is, haven't pulled one apart before.

[Heideisadog]

droverdave wrote:

I just replaced mine. I pulled the centre out of the diff and took it to a diff shop. Cost me $110 including a new seal and for them to set the preload on the pinion bearings. I would avoid trying to change it yourself, if you get that preload wrong you'll be up for way more than $110.

This sounds like a safe option. As I have minimal knowledge about diffs!

Is this the type of seal that just dies after time?
Would you/anyone recommend replacing any other seels that usually go around the same time as this?

Thanks!

[droverdave]

No other seals really, it's a lip seal that just wears out. You could replace the lip seals at the wheel end of the diff but generally with lip seals if they aren't leaking best to leave them alone.

Just let the diff shop supply and install the seal.

[Heideisadog]

Okay too easy! Thanks.
And also, I shouldn't drive it right? It's sprayed a fair bit of oil don't want to cause damage

[droverdave]

The only issue is the diff running out of oil. If you are happy with the mess there's no issue with short trips and just top up the oil if required.

[Heideisadog]

Alright so as I thought! I'll probably just leave it to be safe anyway!
Thanks heaps for the help!

[droverdave]

Did the leak start after you let the car sit for a while? Mine was interesting in that it started leaking like a siv after the car sat for 2 months or so, then when I started driving the seal came good. I changed mine anyway and the diff shop reckoned the seal looked fine. I suspect the seal dries out and starts leaking. Then when you start using it again the seal "un dries" itself. This sAme thing happened on the axel lip seals on my old corolla. Weird things the ol' lip seals.

[atari4x4]

*seal

[Heideisadog]

Haha wow.. thanks Atari! (:

And nope. Been driving it pretty heavily actually, so maybe that's why! Good to know that though. Strange things for sure!