Leaking front axle and changing fluid........

[xxxchevelle69xxx]

I was poking around under my 96 4x4 and i noticed some fluid leaking out of the cover for my front differential.....it looked like a real pain in the butt to do, i was wondering if anyone has ever changed the gasket and fluid out on this..any information would be helpful....thanks guys!

 

[my98nnj]

You have to drop the diff to get the cover off. A bit of a pain in the a$$, but overall not that difficult.

 

[xxxchevelle69xxx]

there's probably a thread on here about how to drop it?

thanks man!

 

[gijoecam]

No gasket either... just RTV.

As for dropping it, it may be possible to drop it far enough to remove the cover without removing the halfshafts, but I don't know anyone that's ever tried... The normal way would be to remove the whell, brakes, and spindle nut, pop the upper ball joint out and remove the halfshaft. Repeat for the other side. Then remove the front driveshaft (don't forget to mark it), and drop the front axle. Shouldn't be too difficult IMHO, but again, I've never tried one myself.