Rear pinion seal leak

[SolidusJ]

So like the tittle says, she's leaking and just wanting to know if I need the seal or the kit. Rockauto has two kits and one has a crush sleeve, wanted to know which one I should get and the torque specs on the job, thanks!

 

[Mr_Rich]

In my world that doesn't qualify as a leak; it's barely seepage. I'd give it a shot of engine cleaner and scrub it off and call it done. Just keep an eye on it. It's not a show vehicle.

 

[4speedfunk]

Looks pretty minor to me. Leave it alone.

 

[Mr_Rich]

As a comment on this related issue; I had a leak on the pass. side front axle of my K1500. It's a well known problem on those trucks and I was leaving silver dollar sized spots of oil on the ground wherever I parked overnight. When the spots became palm-sized and larger was when I decided I had to do something. There were You tube videos on the subject which helped tremendously. I replaced the seal and it hasn't been a problem since.

 

[SolidusJ]

51K on the clock with a spot on the ground about 3 inches, so about that kit?

 

[4speedfunk]

Okay. If you must.

Technically, you should replace the crush sleeve anytime you disturb the pinion bearing. This is a very big job to stop a small leak. You must pull the shafts, and pull the carrier, to properly crush the new sleeve to set the pinion preload. Long story short...tear the entire thing apart.

Lots of people (myself included) will sometimes cheat. Simply leave everything in place and replace just the seal. The problem is that you will be “guessing” on your the preload. The crush sleeve is a one-shot item, so when you re-tighten the pinion nut...there will be no “crush”. Also, because the carrier is still in the housing, you will not be able to measure the preload on the bearings. So you will need to do it by “feel”. I do A LOT of setup work, so I feel pretty comfortable doing this. But if you are not familiar with the inner workings...take it to a pro.

Also...the H3 8.6 10b uses a two piece seal. The yoke has a replaceable sleeve on it. AAM sells a pinion deal kit with everything you need #74020007
http://www.demandaam.com/resources/pdf/file-20150130101833.pdf

 

[08H3]

I know this may not necessarily be the "right" answer, but wait a little first. I had a leak that looked the same. Like you, I started weighing my options, and in a week, it was gone. Not just better, but 100 percent gone. That was 70000 miles ago and its been bone dry ever since. I still can't explain that self curing leak. Makes no sense to me, but sure enough it went away.

 

[SolidusJ]

Military reprogrammed me with all the I,II and III leaks, I just don't want to kill my rear axle.

 

[Mr_Rich]

Military reprogrammed me with all the I,II and III leaks, I just don't want to kill my rear axle.

I don't think there's a chance of destroying your rear axle. One of the chronic problems on my '98 Firebird was that leaking pinion seal. It's mainly messy and doesn't drip so I just keep it cleaned every so often. I've got 158K on that car and everything looks good inside the housing on the last gear oil change.