So i replaced the driver's side drive axle seal this weekend and the friggin' tranny still leaks. i'm so sick of that burnt gear oil smell eminating from the front of the car but that's another story.
i'm thinking about trying another seal before admitting that it's the diffy bearings and taking one up the bum from the tranny shop.
For those who have replaced seals, how do you set them even with the tranny case. I mean, what is the best method?
I'm holding to this glimmer of hope that i just bent the seal during the install and the second time around will work like a charm.
i know we've beat on this topic like a red headded stepchild, but i still had to vent about this piece of shiite tranny.

 

I replaced the seal 3 times just hoping it was a bad seal and not the bearings and well.......it was the bearings.

The seal should not sit totally flush, it should stick out just a tad. Next time you have the wheel off, check to see how much play you have in the axel. The reason your seal keeps going bad is probably becuase your bearings are so shot the axel moves too much to keep a seal.

 

what kind of freeplay are we talkin about? up/down and/or back/front? how much movement? thanks

 

thats hard to tell because you have to remove the tranny and take a measurement with a Gauge. If your bearings are shot, they are shot time to drop the tranny and replace them. clik on the sig is not that hard, removing the tranny is about the hardest part and cutting the bearaings off the stock diff. What I use to install a seal is an old bearing race, I place the seal at an angle and hit it hard with a metal hammer ensuring it sits evenly and not all the way in like he just said up there.

 

to check freeplay just get under your car. if you can move the axle where it goes into the tranny, your bearings are shot. You should not be able to wiggle it up or down, or in any direction. It should sit solidly in the tranny. If it moves, feels loose, u need new bearings.