i replaced my drivers side seal where the cv axle enters the transmission (5 spd) and now that its winter it leaks, ill make sure it has enough tranny oil but could the leakage harm anything down there? im kinda reluctant to change teh seal again for a while since seating the seal is such a pain in the butt.

thanks

 

it may be your bearings wearing down inside of your tranny...check for any play side to side in the inner shaft of the axle..other than that, keep it full...

Bearings wearing down are bad...metal goes throughout the tranny and slowly messes up your trans. disregard for too long, and your lookin at a full rebuild

-matt

 

matt speaks the truth. the seal is probably only a symptom of a failing differential bearing. i replaced mine 2x before i started having the tranny slip out of third gear. the freeplay from the bad bearing caused one side of the 3rd gear to lose it's diamond shape and viola!- rebuild time.

 

how do i check for play in the differential bearing do i just grab my axle and try to move it around? can i do this without putting it up on a jack or removing the wheel?

 

yes...side to side movement should not be alot

-matt

 

It's best to put it up on jackstands or a lift.

Like was mentioned before, grab the inner axle & try to move it forward & back or up & down. There should be no "play" whatsoever if all's well inside the gearbox. If you have play, diff bearings are likely on their way to the grave.

 

Oh shucks, i just did this and about a mm total on both acles was present. then compared it to my friends vw jetta 5spd and no play was present. so now i am definetely scared. so i should definetly get these bearings replaced asap
? how much will it cost? i already looked at the how to on motorvate and it seems like it may be out of my league for a do it yourself project.

 

I just checked mine today too, there was no play. PHHHEEEWWWW....
My sencond trans had bad bearings, so my mechanic just replaced the tranny with a rebuilt trans good thing it was still under warranty and got it replaced.

 

Dont jump to conclusions, bring it to someone and have them look at it...You dont have the knowhow to know what is too much play and what isnt

-matt

 

I had a leaky seal and just a few days after I realized it leaked, I realized that a noise I had been hearing since I bought my car, was coming from my input shaft bearing. I took it to a tranny shop and the guy said that I had about a pint of oil left in there where there should be several quarts. All of my bearings had seized up due to a lack of lubrication.
I needed a complete rebuild. ALL new bearings, a new gear (one of the teeth was missing?) and new seals. Grand total came to $1,200!
That came at a terrible time too. I was getting ready to get a Y pipe and CAI.
These things always happen at the worst time. As long as you make sure the tranny has plenty of gear oil in it, you should be fine.