Leaky Front Diff!

[majorlag]

Hello, all! As usual, I'm posting with a problem with my baby. I've noticed my front diffy is leaking fluid from what appears to be the driver side axle shaft. Fluid runs down the inner part of the TTB beam housing and drips off the bottom. I checked the level, and it was low (though not empty, even though I'd been noticing a thin layer of oil on for several weeks). After adding fluid, leak rate seems to have increased, now leaving a pancake-sized splatter when parked overnight.

How big of a pain in the a$$ is it to replace the axle seal? Can I just squirt some high temp RTV in there and pray for the best? Anybody else come up with an easy, cheap solution? Disassembling the front end and the TTB is beyond my meager skills and limited tools, and I don't really relish paying someone else for the time involved.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom and insights!

 

[410Fortune]

No its not that hard to replace. however the drivers side is more difficult then the passenger side just because you have to reach further into the beam to get to the seal.

It goes like this"
remove wheel & caliper
remove hub, spindle nuts, rotor
remove spindle
pull out axle shaft assembly (now is a great time for a new U joint)
Now you will see the seal in there, they are about $15 at Ford or Carquest. Ask for an outer axle seal, dana 35 TTB, drivers side (they are different drivers /pass)

Now the hardest part is getting the old seal out, because it is pressed in and its about 12" from the end of the knuckle. You can rent a seal puller and make super quick work of it, or you can fight it...I bought a seal puller.

New one goes in easy, line it up, get it started, tap it in with a block of wood and mallet.

Put the axle shaft back in and re assemble.
Its not that hard....

Make sure before you go through all this trouble that the leak is not coming from the diff/beam seal. However since you said the leak increased when you topped off the fluid, my $$$ is also on the axle seal.

 

[majorlag]

Thanks!

410Fortune,

Thanks for the info! I'll probably give that a try soon, after all my relocation moving stuff settles down. I really appreciate the step-by-step description. Sounds like a good project for an upcoming weekend!

majorlag

 

[majorlag]

Problem Solved

Diffy started to leak really bad, and I didn't have time to take a crack at it myself before a big road trip. Had my local mechanic take a look. Turned out to be exactly as 410Fortune described; the driver's side axle seal. Following replacement, it's doin' just fine.

Thanks again!

 

[ohe_boy]

how much did it cost you to take it to a mechanic? My front diff has a small leak that just started.

 

[majorlag]

Well, since you asked . . .

. . .it was actually pretty dang expensive. But then again, they did choose to do it the hard way by actually taking a bunch of stuff apart. I noticed afterwards that it appeared the driver side suspension components looked unusually clean and had a "fresh" coat of gear oil spilled on them. It cost $165 or so. About $12 in parts, the rest in labor. My suggestion would be to have them replace every seal imagineable on the front diffy when they're in there. That's apparently a mistake I made when I had them put my gears in. Still had the original axle seals. . .

Best of luck!