Rear differential leak

[dluyk]

Well where do I start? Rewired the Willy's, getting the generator rebuilt and was looking to enjoy some rides in the Adirondacks this summer. Better checked the rear differential. It was a bit low so we topped it off. Now I have a nice puddle to soak up. I did not drive it after filling the differential. Seems I'm spending more time under it then in it.� I hope this is just a bad seal. The leak is just behind the drive shaft/U-joint. Is this an easy fix or best taken in? Your thoughts ( and prayers) would be appreciated. On another note, love the new look of the forum.�

[garage gnome]

It is a pretty easy fix. Take the drive shaft off from the rear differential. The part it connects to is the Yoke. There is a big nut on the end. Remove that with an impact wrench. You may have to use a 2 jaw puller to remove the yoke. Then pull out the old pinion seal (the pinion is the shaft that goes into the differential). Then reassemble.

Your yoke may have a groove in it from where the seal was riding. If that is the case, you will either need a new one or a speedi sleeve.

[gmcjr]

More than likely its a bad seal, the worst part of changing it is getting the yoke off, the nut is supposed to be 200 ft/lbs if I can recall, and sometimes it's take a puller to remove it. I think I was able to use a harmonic balancer puller. (again, it's been a few years) The seal just pops out. Maybe someone else will chime in with a seal part number. One more thing, try to move the yoke up and down to check for play before you loosen the nut, just to check for bad pinon bearings.



Edit: looks like garage gnome posted while I was typing

Dang kids these days!!!    [smiley=s11724.gif]

[Macgraham]

My rear pinion seal was no. 5778 from CarQuest. The speedi-sleeve is 99155. This cured my leak.