I put my drivers side axle seal in over the weekend and what do you know I still have a leak. I dropped my car off today at a local reputable shop. They are going to do the seal and turn the rotors. What should I expect to pay for the seal? I had it tore out in less than an hour so I shouldnt get nailed on labor charges too much.

 

Did you not ask them.?...thats the 2nd best thing you should have done besides dropping the car off.

 

If you're at the shop, get a quote. Usually a shop gives you a quote on the same exact sheet of paper you sign for them to allow your car in the shop.

 

u need the sealant around the seal so it doesnt leak no more, price may vary hope u know somebody, if your in NY come thru i will get u somebody

 

??? sealant??? where? i dont have any 'sealant' and mine doesnt leak at all.....is this similar to blinker fluid?

 

20 bucks says u have bad diff bearings.. thats why ur seal is leaking...

 

I am sure that is a pretty penny to repair huh?

 

Take it to a shop, sure.

Do it yourself, not so much.

 

You wanna come help. I got beer, food, some money, and a pretty wife

 

Don't know about that.

You got an automatic to rebuild, I'm there. Manual? Hate them.

 

She really is hot I promise J/K. I heard manuals were alot easier. I know they are for Ford's anyway. I could probably do it I guess...

 

Pics?

Eh, most people consider manuals to be easier, guess I'm one of the odd ones. I'd take an auto rebuild any day of the week over a manual rebuild. Got my 904 rebuild times down to an hour and a half including R&R of the trans itself. Love those torqueflites.

 

I never seen the insides of a Maxima auto tranny...
As for the original poster, are you 5sp or auto?

 

Have them verify the condition of the differential carrier bearings. There should be zero play in them.

Too much play = persistent axle leaks.

Dave

 

You guys are going to love this. They called me this afternoon and said their mechanic will not do the work because he had a new altima in a few weeks ago and had to put 3 seals in and it still didnt seal. He said it was a factory defect. I told him my car has 160000 miles on it and it just started to leak so how could it be a factory defect? Anyway I told them to replace the seal anyway and he said he would. He called a few hours later and told me my calipers were locked up. He couldnt get them off of the rotor. I explained to him that this past weekend I had the axle out of the car and I had it all ripped apart. To make a long story short I told them not to touch the car. Here is a list of what they told me needed replaced when I picked the car up.

1. Both Axles
2. Axle Seals on both sides
3. Rotors
4. Calipers
5. Muffler

To top it all off this same place just inspected my car from top to bottom supposedly 2 weeks ago. Fuggn rednecks. I dont understand people sometimes. I knew as soon as I walked in there I wasnt going to get service.

 

Teach me how to rebuild please!

 

Honestly it's incredibly easy, most people that call autos extremely hard to rebuild generally haven't rebuilt one. The only tricky parts are the cleanliness and the check *****.

 

Rebuilding a transmission is easy. Rebuilding it without proper tools is hard.

Get an FSM (download and print the trans section), buy a bearing kit, then tear it down and carry the axles/diff to a trans shop and have them replace the bearings. Take the housings to a transmission shop and pay them to wash them in their Hotzie parts washer. Then you put it back together. This works as long as you don't need to replace broken gears or synchros.

Dave

 

this is definatly what it is...mine leaks as well and i've had the seal done 3 time...and sealent? Come on now, it's a CV axel...there can't be any sealent there...I have a feeling it's the bearings as well...when you get up to speed does your axel seem to vibrate a little? Mine does and then fluid leaks...there's play in the cv axel which means a bearing is gone, so I'm just gonna get a new tranny...either way it'll cost $1000

 

My car does have a vibration around 75 mph. I was told both axles are bad. Could this be the culprit as to why it vibrates and why the seal is leaking? When you mean play are you saying that if I pull my wheel off, disconnect the 2 strut assembly bolts and of course take the brake stuff off, if I can move the axle up and down or side to side then the tranny is bad? I can check this out relatively quick since it only takes a few minutes to pull apart.

 

do you have a knocking when changing from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd? If yours leaks, and you have a vibration, then your differential bearing may be gone...if not, thenyour CV axel may be worn...do what you said and check for play in the cv axel (up and down, side to side)

 

No knocking at all. My car shifts as smooth as can be. The told me my CV axle was busted on both sides.

 

No need to disconnect anything, just jack the car up and grab the axle.

 

ok..try that...but I can't see both axels being shot...but ya never know...does it leak fluid? if not, then just check tire pressure or maybe a wheel balancing is needed

 

Yes it leaks fluid. This is the topic of the start of the thread. I will check er out. Thanks for the help...

 

well if you have vibration and a leak, then it's your differential bearing...let me know...mine leaks out through the driverside seal(cv axel) and i'm pretty sure it's the seal...i'm getting a tranny shipped to me...not worth the hassel unless you know how to take apart a tranny

 

mechanics just want your money

 

If the carrier bearings go bad, do you get a constant leak or will the leak be intermittent?

My I30 has a trans leak. I recently had the axle replaced. I can go for a few weeks without losing a drop of fluid. But sometimes, there will be a puddle of trans fluid under the car after it has sit for a few hours.

The car is at the mechanic again and he is planning to replace the seal on the trans housing.

 

Leaks can behave in funny ways. How much it leaks when parked may depend simply on how hot the transmission got during the drive and how far the oil had expanded because of that. Given that there are simple things to look for if the carrier bearings go bad, I would not suggest the leak will give useful diagnostics.

Grab the big part of the axle where it enters the trans. If it moves up/down more than the thickness of a hair, it's probably related to bearing wear.

Also try to pull that part of the axle away from the transmission, you should not be able to get more than a tiny wiggle in/out. If it moves more than that, the axle stub is not clicked in and it needs fixed before it pops out completely.

Dave

 

Dave, I have this problem with my 01 AE. My axle does move more than a hair and makes this rubbing noise when I accelerate. not so much at high speeds. Took it to the shop and mechanic told me it might be a bearing or somekind of bushing inside the tranny. He is going to call his guy monday and let me know more about it. My question is, if the bearing or whatever he is talking about is bad, do I have to get a new tranny like some of these guys on here are saying? and this might be a stupid question but I'm assuming you have to open up the tranny to fix this bearing or can it be done where the axle meets the tranny? Just wondering b/c they just replaced my clutch and it cost a pretty penney. just hate to pay for some more labor cost to rip apart my tranny again.

 

You do not need a new transmission in most cases. (The longer this repair is not done, the more likely you will need a new transmission).

The excess play does indicate worn diff bearings. You must remove the trans from the car to change them. Personally I rebuild all of the transmission bearings given that the extra cost is not too much, but you can replace the diff bearings only.

Dave

 

Thanks Dave. Would I need a new axle also?

 

Only if there is groove in the axle that you can feel with your fingernail where the seal lip rides. That's usually not the case.

Dave

 

Dave, I took my car to A transmission shop and they drove my car to listen to the noise. His first reaction was that I have some broken gears. Gonna take it back tomorrow for them to put it on the lift to see if it's actually coming from the tranny. I'm almost positive it is. So I'm debating if I should have the tranny rebuilt or just order a used tranny that has low miles. Either way it's gonna be pricey. This sucks.

 

I have seen chipped gears. (I've also seen broken gears where all the teeth are stripped off but you'd know that right away).

One reason for chipped gears is excess wear on the bearings. If the bearings wear and get loose, the differential will have room to shift back and forth and the gear teeth come out of alignment. Gears must be aligned so that the teeth press evenly across the tooth face, otherwise they can chip or just wear aggressively.

Most transmission rebuild shops have no used parts on hand to rebuild a trans with bad gears affordably. (Nissan gears cost a LOT of money per piece). I can do it and a few others on this forum probably can but not many others. (If you're near PA send me a PM)

I do suggest shopping carefully for a used transmission. Maxima 5 speeds unfortunately do not have a great record of reliability even if you buy low mileage. If you buy from a shop or junkyard, buy one with a 30 day warranty and take it directly to a transmission shop to open it up for inspection. That shouldn't cost much and will protect you in case the trans is already worn out because I've seen that happen. Your 01 AE transmission is identical to any 4th gen trans with VLSD, so that should help your shopping effort.

Dave

 

thanks dave for the offer to do it. if I was closer i would bring it to ya. but I live here in nashville, tn. I took it back by the transmission shop today and he put it on a lift and showed me how much movement i had on the drivers side axle. He said that the bearing right there was totally shot. it was also leaking fluid. I'm gonna have them replace it probably next week. He won't know if i broke any gears until he opens the tranny up, hopefully i didn't. either way it's gonna cost probably bout 1100-1200 bucks to fix this thing. I'll keep you updated. thanks for all the help.

 

How can I tell which manual transmission I have? I have looked for an axle seal on Autozone's website and there are several different driver's side output seals listed for several different models of transmission. My car is a 1999 Maxima GXE with a five-speed manual with an open diff. How can I tell which trans model I have? Is there an ID plate on the transmission somewhere? Can it be decoded from the VIN? Thanks

 

You answered your own question. You have an open diff 5 speed manual. There is only one driver's side axle seal part number for open diff 5 speed manuals (open diff is sometimes referred to as "non-locking" if that verbiage is what is confusing you).