Rear axle seals leaking

chupathingy901 · 03-25-2011, 03:44 PM

I have two seals leaking on the rear axle, one on the differential where the driveshaft connects, and one is leaking onto the brakes of the rear passenger wheel. I have a picture of the driveshaft seal:

I'm just not sure how to fix these..I repair everything on my Jeep but i'm a little stumped at how to go about these repairs.

timmay5309 · 03-25-2011, 04:15 PM

I had the same leak on my 98 ZJ with the driveshaft going into the axle. I was going to try and change it, but it involved an impact gun and large impact socket to loosen the large nut and that is one toy I do not have. It was under $80 to have a shop do mine, parts included, and they had it done in about an hour. Not sure on how much the wheel axle seals would be labor and parts wise??

freakinheep89 · 03-25-2011, 04:42 PM

the one you have posted is the pinion seal, replacing it requires removing the pinion nut, followed by the pinion yoke itself then replacing the seal. the other seal leaking onto the brakes would be an inner axle tube seal. That requires removing the carrier to replace them. since you have 2 seals going out that means the others arent that far behind. i would either do a master bearing/seal rebuild on it($150 in parts if you DIY) if you dont want to swap axles, but honestly, its a D35, i would just go get a D44a out of a 96-98 V8 ZJ and bolt it in, way stronger, and since you have the 3.73 ratio it will not require any regearing.

mudruna · 03-26-2011, 05:44 AM

Really? you would change a whole rear end just for the fact that it needs $30 worth of seals? you do not need to drop the whole carrier out to change the wheel seals, just need to pull the center pin and pull the axles out. Really not a big deal as you probably need to change your diff fluid anyway. The pinion seal isn't that hard either, just need to put a pipe wrench on the yoke and zip off the nut holding it on, pop out the old seal then drive in the new one and reinstall the yoke, good time to change your worn out U-joints while you have the driveshaft out. This can easily be done in an afternoon for less than $50.

freakinheep89 · 03-26-2011, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mudruna

Really? you would change a whole rear end just for the fact that it needs $30 worth of seals? you do not need to drop the whole carrier out to change the wheel seals, just need to pull the center pin and pull the axles out. Really not a big deal as you probably need to change your diff fluid anyway. The pinion seal isn't that hard either, just need to put a pipe wrench on the yoke and zip off the nut holding it on, pop out the old seal then drive in the new one and reinstall the yoke, good time to change your worn out U-joints while you have the driveshaft out. This can easily be done in an afternoon for less than $50.

How exactly do you go about pressing in the axle tube seals without removing the carrier? Unless you're talking about the outer seals?

FucusJeep · 03-26-2011, 01:30 PM

I have the same problem with the axle seal leak, my passenger rear brake area is covered in gear oil and everytime i get in my jeep it stinks like gear oil.

To change the seal do i really just need to pull the pin and slide out axles a bit or is there alot more to it then that?

mudruna · 03-26-2011, 02:35 PM

wheel seals or outer axle seals are right behind the axle shafts, no need to remove the carrier.

TallyZJ · 03-26-2011, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakinheep89

The other seal leaking onto the brakes would be an inner axle tube seal. That requires removing the carrier to replace them. since you have 2 seals going out that means the others arent that far behind. i would either do a master bearing/seal rebuild on it($150 in parts if you DIY) if you dont want to swap axles, but honestly, its a D35, i would just go get a D44a out of a 96-98 V8 ZJ and bolt it in, way stronger, and since you have the 3.73 ratio it will not require any regearing.

This is not correct. You only need to pull the rear diff cover, remove the center pin and c-clips to slide the axle shafts out. There are no inner axle seals on a Dana 35.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mudruna

wheel seals or outer axle seals are right behind the axle shafts, no need to remove the carrier.

This is correct. Should take only a couple or three hours if there is no damage to the axle shaft itself if the bearing is also bad. If I were doing this for myself I would go ahead and plan to install new bearings as well.

TallyZJ · 03-26-2011, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FucusJeep

I have the same problem with the axle seal leak, my passenger rear brake area is covered in gear oil and everytime i get in my jeep it stinks like gear oil.

To change the seal do i really just need to pull the pin and slide out axles a bit or is there alot more to it then that?

You have to remove the rear brake calipers and rotors, then open the differential and remove the center pin and c-clips. then slide the axle shafts all the way out.

freakinheep89 · 03-26-2011, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TallyZJ

This is not correct. You only need to pull the rear diff cover, remove the center pin and c-clips to slide the axle shafts out. There are no inner axle seals on a Dana 35.

Gotcha.. for some reason I was picturing inner axle seals.

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