Rear Diff Seal Leak???

[HIROLA]

Hey All,
I was looking over my truck this weekend and came upon some fluid leakage from the front of the rear diff. I'm assuming that there is a seal in there which needs replaced (86k miles). Anyone know how much of a pain it is to replace yourself and perhaps the processes?

 

[f5moab]

Drop the driveshaft, pull the yoke and pry out the seal. Carefully tap in the new one, install yoke, install driveshaft.

Sounds easy but...to do it correctly, you must measure the torque, with a ince pount torque wrench, required to rotate the pinion (to get an accurate reading the rear brake calipers should be removed so there is no problem with them adding resistance). Upon reinstall of the yoke, you need to match the same torque when tightening down the pinon nut. Also need to mark yoke to case for re-install.

 

[MUTAINT]

Hey Derrek, I don't have the info on me right now but I will look up the R&R for the rear front pinion seal and post'em up if they are not already posted by the time I get back.

 

[MUTAINT]

Derrek, when I posted I did not see the post above mine.

If you still need the diagrams please let me know and I can email them to ya!

 

[HIROLA]

Thanks, I'll let you know. Since it is cold out there now a days, I'll just add some fluid to be safe and swap things out come April.

 

[Dennis]

F5moab is correct..I remember there was a crush washer or something that needed a specific torque...Mine did the same thing and I drained and refilled both diffs with Royal Purple after it was fixed.

 

[MaxPF]

The torque has to be checked with an inch-pound indicating torque wrench, which few people have and nobody rents. The torque being checked is the pinion bearing preload. Since the carrier bearings and everything else downstream will swamp the reading the proper way to do it is to pull the shafts and remove the carrier. Then, remove the pinion nut, pull the yoke, pry out the seal, remove the outer pinion bearing, and remove the old crush sleeve. Then install a new crush sleeve, reinstall the bearing, install the new seal, install the yoke, and a NEW pinion nut, then tighten in small increments until you hit the spec preload torque for used bearings. The crush sleeve is not easy to compress, so you need a big-ass ratchet with a cheater bar(I have a 2ft long 3/4" drive just for this) and a big-ass pipe wrench to hold the pinion. Alternatively, you can use an impact wrench if you're careful. Also, many sockets are too thick to fit in the yoke, so you need to get a thin one from Snappy or Matco, or have a machinist friend turn down a thicker one to fit.

Short answer: this ain't a job for someone who has no experience

 

[HIROLA]

Thanks all. I ended up calling the dealer and they want ~$420 for it. For that price, it might be worth experimenting with doing it myself!

 

[Steve #1]

I had a local shop replace the pinion seal on my K5 not to long ago for about $150 inc. parts.

 

[MUTAINT]

I would find a local ring and pinion shop and get a "guess-timate". It might only be $100 to $200.

It's worth a try!

 

[Happy Hummer]

Mhop... Ive had the opprotunity to face this on my last 4x4 and the local shop was willing to do it $80hr. & I supply parts.
Chris

 

[Hunner]

I too am now in the need to have mine replaced. I do have an inch pound wrench I use on outboards and other things. I have set up some pumpkins in the past on race cars and replaced seals. We were "medical" about it.
On the H3 with 100,000 mile drive train warranty the GMC dealer told me today that was covered. Hope he is right and does not change his mind. I asked if they were going the tedious route with this and mentioned my axle seals were leaking anyway. They said they would cover it and warranty their work.
I have an appointment Monday.

 

[Dennis]

I have an appointment Monday.

Your dealer wouldn't happen to be Landers would it?

 

[Hunner]

NO, I bought my two H3's I have had from there and like the sales people a lot, they have also left. Led 3 Hummer Happenings for them. Then when I needed service had a horrible experience and they took 6 weeks and still had to bring in a past tech to fix my locker. Duh, I got GM involved and they told them to fix the damn thing!!
Hell I could have done it, but it was under warranty. Looong story. Shortly after that they had a huge turnover in people, for one the woman service manager who told me I was using the H3 beyond it's design abilities. I plopped a brochure with the DVD in it from that era showing the demo of H3's running offroad in GM's advertising media and told her to watch it.
I never went back.
I go to Everett GMC that GM suggested and authorized for me to go there after all that for warranty work. Lovely people and a great attitude towards customers.
Turns out that is where 3 of the guys that had been to the Hummer tech academy went when the dealerships swapped brands.
They were not involved in the fubar at Landers and were my friends and went on the Happenings to service any Hummers having problems, that was before the big blow up.
So if you have to drive over from OK go to Everett. Do you go to the landers in Ft. Smith or Fayetnam? I have no experience with them.
Sorry, hit a nerve.
Everett is like you always thought a hometown dealership should be. Take care of the customer and they will return.
The family has bought 4 vehicles from them that would have come from Landers.
By the way Landers is not owned by Landers any more, Penski owns it now and they better clean house again.
Landers now has opened a new dealership in LR and is in direct competition with the dealership they sold, go figure???

 

[Dennis]

So if you have to drive over from OK go to Everett. Do you go to the landers in Ft. Smith or Fayetnam? I have no experience with them.

I bought my 06 H3 from Landers in Benton, just south of LR..Actually I have a story to tell too about them and my purchase...Let's just say I was happy in the end after a week long ordeal running to Benton twice to finish the deal and going through two H3's before it all was settled....I get my work done here in OKC though..the service here is like you described with Everett

 

[06 H3]

I haven't had this leak yet...I would call around first. IMO I feel I am capable of doing that repair but if the cost is right I feel its not worth the aggravation. I have used a local ring and pinion shop for other things before and they were top notch in terms of quality, price and knowledge. If I was quoted $420 id be doing it in the driveway but for $150 I feel it's totally worth the money.

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[Hunner]

Just make sure for $150 HOW they are going to do it, the quicky fix or the proper way for longevity, like MaxPF states.

Or if it is under warranty and free with a warranty on the work, wait until next time to figure out another alternative. I just got brought back home after dropping mine off and free donuts and coffee, oh and a dealership labeled water. lol
They covered my front crankshaft seal a while back.
I asked about being at 52,000 that rolled over while out of state to consider the outcome of them checking my upper a-arm bushings and ball joint for wear. I wanted their opinion and decision on the warranty. I hope to get some tubular ones at some point but thought I would give this a try in the meantime.
I have not heard back from the service manager yet as to what they decide after checking them.
Every time I go in the service writers always takes me back to the manage's office and we have a chat about my mods and if any of that is a problem. So far the techs all agree the steering sleeve and tie rods should help not aggravate the problem. Nice to have a second and third opinion.
I'm waiting for the, oh you have 35" tires and and beadlock rims and rock rings when it comes to the a-arms.....................

 

[06 H3]

Lol I love when I hear the warranty stories like no the bad ac resistor pack wont be covered due to the beadlocks. Dealerships can be crazy.

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[Hunner]

Ahhh just picked it up and 0's all the way down the page, warranty covered it all.
They got a kick out of the "experimental vehicle" sticker. I said, well GM experimented on it from 06 up to 2010 and so have I.

 

[Rigid Bobster]

Was working under the truck today and sure as sh#t I have the same leak, and it looks like the diff drain nut is leaking too. Biggest problem now is warranty, because the vehicle was US originally and now in Canada, imported correctly I might add, GM won't provide any warranty unless they change the cluster to read in km/hr instead of miles per hour for $500. What is the efing difference? For that kind of money I could change all the seals front and back.

 

[alrock]

Ouch. Wonder if that's a Canadian law or a GM thing.

 

[4speedfunk]

An interesting crush sleeve story...

Last year I re-geared my rear axle to 5.13's. At only 30K miles...I kept all of the stock bearings and seals in place. I pressed my stock pinion bearings onto the new pinion gear...did all the set-up stuff, including checking the pre-load with an IN-LB. dial guage torque wrench. I can tell you this for sure...FORGET USING AN IMPACT for the final torque. You can't pop the trigger small enough, and you'll blow right past your target pre-load. Once you do this...the crush sleeve is junk, and you must get a new one and do it over. In my case, that involved ordering a new one...waiting a week...blah blah.

So while waiting for the new parts...Mr. Wiseguy Jeep buddy stops by. He asks (very Jeep-ishly).."Why don't you just un-crush it and re-use it?" Once I got done laughing and picked myself up off the floor, I explained to this goober how the crush sleeve works and why I needed a new one. He looked at me with the typical Jeep face (you Hummer guys got too much money), and told me I was nuts. So he grabs a piece of pipe...clamps it in my vice...slides the used crush sleeve down onto it...then slowly hammers it back to its original shape! Of course I'm standing-by, making jokes and calling him a redneck for even considering such a procedure. Five minutes later...he tossed the crush sleeve to me, restored to its original shape and said..."Trust me. This will work perfectly. I've done it countless times with zero issues". Since I already had a new one ordered...I ignored this idiot and waited for the new sleeve to arrive.

Since that day, I have asked around and it seems this is a worthy mod. To my surprise several guys I know have done this, and they say it works. The hammered sleeve has the same crush characteristics and works just as good as a new one! Now...all I gotta do is get up the nerve try it (maybe on an old Jeep). For ten bucks, I would just as soon put a new one in....but, if you're in a jamb and don't have time to wait for one...give it a try.

 

[Rigid Bobster]

Tell me about it. Transferable warranty my ass. I think I might just drive it over to Niagara Falls US dealership and see if they can help me out. What a crock. really wondering if it is something I can do myself. I am a handier, handy man. LMAO


If it were nicer out I would ride my NOMAD around and work on fixing it up. But like you said for $10 I will just buy a new one for the hell of it.