I recently replaced both axles on my 99 SE auto with Napa remans. Went ahead and replaced seals as well although they were not leaking. Now my right (passenger) side seal is leaking. Thought I may have tapped it in a little too far and/or slightly cocked so I replaced the seal a second time trying to be more careful and precise, but still have a leak. I don't think I have any play in the diffential. A trusted mechanic that I have used in the past mentioned sometimes having to sand/polish some remanned axles where they meet the seal in order to stop the leak. Has anyone had to do this? Should I return the axle and try another one?

 

Is the seal oem? A part like that you want to go oem, and probably doesn't cost that much more

 

I actually considered that. The first seal was a Timken seal from Rock auto and the second was from O'Reillys manufactured by Federal Mogul. I figure with that name it would have been as good as OEM. I guess I will try one from the dealer.

 

Based off what you said initially (trying out 2 different seals) I'm not sold that an OEM seal will fix you're problem, however it might and it's a good best practice in the future for this and similar items. Not knowledgeable enough about sanding down an axle...if anything I thought it would remove material which could cause, not prevent, a leak...maybe someone else can chime in.

 

Are you sure that you have the correct seal? The seal is different for each axle.

The inner diameter of the seal (the opening for the axle) is 1.535 inch for the driver's side and 1.299 inch for the passenger side.

 

are you sure you didn't damage the ol' girl trying to hit the hole with the shaft?

 

Sig'ed.

 

Pretty sure I compared the old to the new on both sides during the initial replacement (been a couple months and tossed the originals). The passenger side (leaking) seals were different than the driver side and the driver side is dry. I would however like to compare a new OEM seal to the leaking seal. I am a little skeptical as well of polishing the axle although at this point nothing would really surprise me.

 

That is funny. If we are still talking about the seal and axle, I thought maybe that could've happened the first time so I went easy on her the second time. Really don't think that's it.

 

Ordered an OEM seal from the dealership today. It was actually $2 cheaper than the O'Reilly's seal. I also need to further investigate exactly where the leak is coming from. Not sure if it is coming from inner part of the seal where it meets the axle or the outer part. If I find that its the inner part then I will inspect the axle a little closer this time and see if there are any burrs or anything that may be breaking the seal.

 

Having a hard time determining where exactly the leak is coming from. I wiped it clean and checked back a few times but it only seems to leak noticeably after it has been driven and by then its hard to tell.

I did also check for any differential play and noticed a tiny bit of up and down/front to back on passenger side. It is so small it can barely be felt. Is this normal? I just can't see how that can be the cause when it wasn't leaking before replacing axles and seals about a month ago.

Also, is there a dust lip/cover that should be swapped out from the original axle to the aftermarket typically?

 

The original axles had a dust shield on them that sits about a half inch away from the oil seal. It is there to help protect the oil seal. If you don't have it, maybe rocks or something could hit and damage the oil seal. I wouldn't worry about it. I've replaced 3 axles and the replacements came with the shield.

There is supposes to be a little bit of play in the differential gears, but I don't know how much play you have. I thought I had a bad differential because I could wiggle the axle part that went into the differential. Upon closer examination, I realized the the play was in the axle slip joint, not the differential.

 

Thanks for your reply. I am just trying to decide what to try next. I am picking up an OEM seal this week. I guess I'll try it a third time. Did you replace the seals when you replaced your axles? Is the passenger side seal placement more critical than the driver's side? My driver's side seal is counter sunk a little past (inside) the outside lip of the tranny and is not leaking. I installed the passenger side about the same depth as the driver's side the first time. The second time I left it just slightly outside the lip of the tranny (fraction of a mm). How exact does it have to be? Would it be worth trying another axle? Also, is there a part number for the dust cover/shield? If I pull the axle I guess I might as well install that too.

 

The dust shield for the left side (driver) is part # 39752-10E0A, MSRP $4.55
For the right side (passenger) the part # is 39778-10E0B, MSRP $3.02

I don't know if replacing the axle would help stop the oil leak. You said you used re-manufactured axles. That puts you at the mercy of the company that re-builds it. You hope they do a good job.

I replaced the seals. I consider replacing a seal as part of the complete job. The seal is a bunch of years old, has a lot of mileage on it, it should be replaced even if it isn't leaking.

When you put the seal in, it should be flush with the differential case. If you drive it in further, I really doubt if it makes any difference as long as the axle yoke (or whatever it is called) has a smooth, polished surface. You can't drive the seal in where it would fall into the differential because there is a lip in the differential case to stop it.

Having the seal protruding out a little bit and not flush, similarly shouldn't make any difference. But if you left it sticking out too much, this could allow the seal to work its way out of the case.

But one thing about the seal is that you don't want to have it in backwards. They seem to have a tendency to leak then. The axle seal should have its flat surface facing out.

this would be the back side of the seal that should face inside the differential case.


this is the side that faces out