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Front Diffy leak (2nd gen IFS)

sk1er17

My "Jeep Thing" itches...
Joined
September 19, 2002
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City, State
NJ
Year, Model & Trim Level
'98 Sport
Well it seems that this isnt a common problem for the 2nd gens cause every front diff leaking thread is 1st gen axel seals...

Mines leaking from where the front driveshaft enters the diff, i assume there's a seal in there. Just wondering:
1) what's that seal called
2) how hard it is to replace
3) replace the universal joint joint at the same time since i need to take the driveshaft off?
4) front diffy take the same fluid as the rear (minus the LS additive cause its an open diff)?

Thanks guys.
 



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its more common that you think. its called the pinion seal and mine leaked. fixed it and now it leaks again! you have to set an exact amount of torque on the pinion nut when you do it so the bearings operate correctly and the seal is pressed correctly. i had my diff out at the time so it wasn't too bad. i actually let a mechanic friend do it but i was there to watch. i didn't have a inch lb torque wrench and didn't want to buy one just for this. if its in the truck, i think you will just remove the driveshaft from the diff, measure the preload on the pinion nut which is a 1 1/8" nut, then remove it. remember the position of everything you remove because it is all balanced and will vibrate if not put back together the same way.
front diff takes 80w90
 






^^^What he said^^^

If you have everything apart, it's not a bad idea to replace the u-joint. Keep the old one as a spare (unless you know it's going bad).
 






I have a 1999 Explorer that leaks in the same place. It leaked there after I had it about 2 years so it was fixed under warrenty, this time. Now it leaks again. It is very slow and I can't tell that the fluid level is changing yet, but it puts a drop on the floor every few days. I'll fix it when it leaks more.
 






Tell us how it goes Matt. Now that I have read this thread, I bet that mine starts to leak soon... Damn the luck :rolleyes:
 






it might be a while before i get to mine... school/working takes up my whole week... so maybe during winter break. unless next week when i change my oil i find that the fluid is really low in my diffy... then ill do it really soon.
 






mine looks wet on the pumpkin but isn't actually dripping. Well take pics to help ease my install!
 






Did you ever complete this fix? I'm having the same leak and was wondering if you know the exact torque for that pinion nut??? Thanks.

Arnie
 






not yet... other things have had priority.. (still trying to figure out the engine noise :( )
 






Both of my second gens have leaked at this seal.
 












Mines in the shop right now. The seal was replaced when I regeared so this should be a free trip.
 






I let the one leak until i traded it off, and this one seemed to stop leaking by itself. The diff has fluid, and the diff hasn't been oil soaked in months, since I pressure washed it off. I suppose the seal could have been replaced, and the oil was leftover.
 






Well I've got her back. The shop told me there's a normal version of the seal and there is also a HD version. They put the HD in this time free of charge.
 






Had mine done this summer... the Ford dealership keeps a few in stock b/c its a fairly common problem. changing the seal is supposed to take 1.1 hours according to the Ford service manual

I could've done it myself but I was in charleston and didn't have all my tools
 






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