Help - Dealer giving me runaround on seal

[John Berger]

Well I guess it was bound to happen. The dealer probably wasn't happy with everything they had to do under warranty. They want to blame the Amsoil and/or the Mag-Hytec for the leak. They made the suggestion that this could void my warranty. I pointed out the finer points of the Magnuson-Moss Act and the mechanic said that they didn't want to get that picky or go that far. The mechanic showed me the old yoke and the pinion seal had worn a groove into it which is why they replaced the yoke. If the Amsoil were at fault the o-ring that came with the cover most likely would leak as well. I know how I'm going to handle the dealer, what I need are posts to this topic from Amsoil users and any problems you have/have not had with your pinion seal. I plan on showing the posts here to the dealer when I follow this up. The mechanic did say that the new yoke and seal may take a bit of time to seat. He also said he drove the truck about 8 miles or so, part of that on I-95 and it didn't leak for him. He saw the film that was running from the yoke to the differential cover, but after drying it off, letting it sit and then test driving it he couldn't see a leak. I checked the truck when I got to the lot and it was dry. Four miles later at my house it was leaking. I'm not really sure what it is he didn't see. The nice thing about this is that they are going to leave the ticket open for a week. I do think they want to work with me, but I think they may be trying to see how far I'm willing to go. The whole problem with the mechanic is that not once did the possibility of the seal being bad or an improper installation ever creep into the conversation. I will be talking to the service manager tomorrow about how they plan on handling this if the leak persists. I've had the Mag-Hytec on this truck since about 13K or so. I'm getting really pi$$ed off about the suggestion that the cover or the Amsoil is the culprit here. Any info and technical specs on Amsoil Series 2000 75W-90 that any of you can provide will be most helpful. This will be taken care of. This is just another good reason not to purchase an extended warranty. TIA

John

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1999 Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab 2wd; 5 spd; 4:10 LSD rear; Mag-Hytec differential cover; US Gear EGT and Boost gauges. Stewart Warner Fuel Pressure Gauge with dual senders, Westach Oil Temp Gauge for differential. Rancho 9000's on order, PowerEdge EZ Box, Amsoil foam air filter and synthetics in the motor and differential. Cummins Power, don't leave home without it

[This message has been edited by John Berger (edited 05-10-2001). ]

 

[Sled Puller]

HEY! I'll be blunt!
If that mechanic is blaming the oil,he is a moron!
92,000 miles,BOMBed,Amsoiled, Mag-Hytec,NO LEAKS.

I had a pinion seal go out on my 1989, on the road, had it fixed, made it 400 miles started leaking again. No Amsoil or Mag-Hytec that time. Poor installation.

Tell them to find the REAL problem, you are not a fish.
Gene

[This message has been edited by MGM (edited 05-10-2001). ]

 

[Mopar-muscle]

they said the cover caused the problem ???? on what planet would something like that happen ??? not the one i live on #ad
#ad
.

did the guy say that to you with a straight face ?

do yourself a favor and find a NEW dealer to take it to , better yet fix it yourself.

 

[John]

John, most likely the seal was bad right from the factory... it was probably installed dry. #ad
The Mag-Hytec differential cover and Amsoil Series 2000 gear oil are not the problem. I have had my Mag-Hytec cover on since about 3k miles (9/98), using Red Line and Amsoil synthetic gear oil ever since. No problems, no leaks (54k mi. ).

The transfer case... that's another story. New Venture Gear (formerly New Process) has never been able to completely eliminate leaks since they went to aluminum TCs.

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John Treibel
'98. 5 2500 QC 4x4 Sport, Glasstite Vision II, 285 BFG A/Ts on M/T Challengers, Warn 4X Boards, Mopar fender flares & tow hooks, NW Custom s/s-rubber mud flaps and accs. , Mag-Hytec diff. cover & DD trans. pan, Edelbrock IAS shocks, Reese Titan V hitch, SPA gauges (3), Dynamat, '00 Sport grille and headlights/PIAA Super White bulbs, PIAA Dual Sport 900 aux. lights, BD exh. brake, Amsoil Dual Remote Bypass w. trick billet block adapter and Aeroquip Teflon-s/s hoses, Optima Yellow Tops, DD3s and DD TTPM, Aeroquip AQP s/s fuel hoses, tricked out Cummins valve cover, tricked out Banks High-Ram intake manifold and 14 cm2 turbine housing w/Big Head wastegate actuator, ATS 3-piece exh. man. , Banks 4" dia. s/s exh. sys. , DTT 93% TC, DTT custom tuned VB, BD modified trans. front pump (enhanced by DTT), Air Bulldog induction hood (with NACA ducts), plus MANY other trick modifications

NRA Life (Patron) member

 

[John Berger]

Originally posted by John:
John, most likely the seal was bad right from the factory... it was probably installed dry.

That was a possibility that I considered as well. Or that the mechanic didn't torque it properly. The service manual states that the seal install is no good if the nut is not torqued to 210 ft. lbs. But we all know that the mechanic never screws up, right?!? #ad
I would like to install it myself, however I don't have the tools. Maybe that's a good reason to go get more toys #ad
What are some things to avoid when installing one of these seals?

[This message has been edited by John Berger (edited 05-11-2001). ]

 

[CCollar-OLD]

I had my rear pinion seal start leaking at about 30K, with stock diff cover and fluid. The tech that replaced the seal claimed that a groove had been worn in the yoke, and that he couldn't guarentee that a new seal would work. He replaced the seal anyhow, and now I am at 55K an no leaking so far.

I question how a seal could wear a grove into the yoke? I would bet that the seal was installed incorrectly at the factory, and it was just a matter of time before the leak started. Especially when you consider that I don't tow anything, so there is very little heat generated.

Craig

 

[Red360]

John,
Believe it or not, that a rubber seal can cut a grove into a steel race. There are cheap but effective ways to fix it called readi-sleeves. These are very thin pieces of steel that are pressed on to the old yoke. They come in every size possible. They are usually held in place by "red" loctite. Anyway, if your yoke was worn "before" putting in AMSOIL... it will probably leak due to the synthetic being thinner than normal gear oil. Thats why it'll pour at temps below freezing and the regular stuff wont. But there is NO way in hell that AMSOIL caused the problem. I have been running the same gear oil as you for over 20,000 in this truck and over 60K in my 98 CTD truck with no leaks. I hope this helps.

 

[Great White]

OK John, Twenty years as mechanic.
Amsoil is not the culprit.
Lack of dust shield maybe.
Poor installation (repeatedly) likely.
Excessive run-out of pinion gear VERY Likely.
If the same problem manifests several times "the fix" is just a cover-up. LEMON is the word to use.

Find a good axle shop and have the side to side play on the pinion checked. If you have to get the axle dissembled have the pinion set up between centers on a lathe and check the bearing and seal surfaces are concentric with the centerline of the pinion. Check the pattern on the ring gear and see if it is consistant. Look for differences in the "Footprint" both coast and drive sides.
Something else is causing repeated failures. Check the bearings for contact pattern, lack of bearing pre-load. Lack of pre-load will allow shaft wobble and wipe a seal. Another guess would be driveline out of balance, bent or yoke on driveshaft Twisted or pinion have damaged registers. Have mechanic assemble pinion in case without seals or ring gear and check rolling torque to verifiy preload. Do the same thing with the ring gear.
DO NOT BACK AWAY FROM DEALER, Find the problem fix it and go to court. Make Dodge/dealer work harder to refuse your claim and they will less likely to screw US.
Best of Luck, Rich

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2001. 5 2500 ETH/DEE 4x4,Patriot Blue over Silver,Camper pkg, Trailerpkg,3. 54LSD, Agate Leather,Stainless Smitty Bars,Tow hooks,Amsoil,Window Fix... ... ... #ad
Except snowplow!

[This message has been edited by Great White (edited 05-11-2001). ]

[This message has been edited by Great White (edited 05-11-2001). ]

 

[Great White]

Once upon a time I purchased a set of Goodyear tires. They just hopped and skipped everytime I cornered on mountain roads. Not nice. I complained to the dealer, I complained to regional Rep... To no avail.

My Dad said," Pick a day go to the dealership and personally greet every new customer that enters the door. Explain why they should not spend their money there. "

The dealership kicked me out after an hour. so I stood in the driveway (public property) and continued till lunch. After lunch they put four new tires on my truck. Problem solved.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Rich

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2001. 5 2500 ETH/DEE 4x4,Patriot Blue over Silver,Camper pkg, Trailerpkg,3. 54LSD, Agate Leather,Stainless Smitty Bars,Tow hooks,Amsoil,Window Fix... ... ... Except snowplow!

 

[JJW_ND]

John:

My pinion seal just was replaced. It had wore a grove also. I have always ran Amsoil, changed ever 30 - 50K.

I just turned 191,000. Good oil and properly installed seals last a long time.

But not forever!

jjw
ND