Pinion Seal leaking

[John Berger]

Pinion Seal leaking - Update

I made a 930 mile round trip yesterday, moving my son and his fiance from Athens, Georgia to Orlando, Florida. I saw pretty good temps in the rear end, maxed at about 202. Anyway, I've got regular old Valvoline 90W lube in it and it leaked pretty bad. Cleaned it up this morning after we got back and it still leaked while sitting. The truck goes into the dealership Monday and I'm leaving it there until they tell me to pack sand or the problem gets fixed. I've got more than just a seal problem here!! I've tried everything that I can think of. Went from synthetic to dino lube, lowered the level to the factory specs, etc. , now I want to know just where the problem is? The service manager thinks my seal problem is the oddest thing he's ever seen. I agree. Any ideas on what the problem may be? Drive shaft? Axle housings? Differential housing? Not torqued properly? This will be the sixth time I've had a seal problem. Thanks. This is frustrating as hell. I just want to know what the problem is. I'm sick and tired of this guess work.

 

[Texas Diesel]

Seems to me I have read about your pinion seal before. When I have a chronic seal problem it has always been due to sloppy bearings or an out of balance shaft or an out-of-round shaft that the seal rides on. All the above will cause excessive flexing on the seal lips. I'm no Dana 70/80 expert but I have replced many seals before. Hope this gives you some ideas. Good luck, please post the solution when you find it.

 

[MidwestMotorman]

Here is THE solution...

John,



If you want THE solution to fixing your problem, here it is. You have already passed the sixth repair for the same problem, so tell the dealership that if it is not fixed you will file against them under the "lemon law". That will get their attention and they will do whatever is necessary. A call to the Star Hotline with this info will also get you instant results.



There may be a hangup if they know you are running aftermarket equipment, as they will try to blame this as the cause. But, they have to prove that your aftermarket goodies are causing the leak. If there are any lawyers out there or anyone else with legal expertise, please clarify what I have said as I am not a lawyer and would be interested in knowing the legal details.



I wish you the best of luck in finding the problem. I would ask if the same mechanic has been working on the seal leak. Maybe a change of routine (mechanic) would solve it if it is an installation problem.

 

[YA_TO_UPA]

I also have pinion seal problems. Had the truck into the dealer last week for rear pinion seal number 4. Told them that they'll keep seeing me until they can figure out how to get it right. I asked the service writer about it and he said I've mostly been getting bad seals, ya right!! This time he told me the replacement warranty on this seal is 12,000 miles or 12 months, what a joke!! If they could fix it right the first time I wouldn't be so pissed about it.

 

[Mr. Brewski]

I too had seal problems - they finally replaced the yoke with a different part that had a shield. No more leaks in 8000 miles, knock on wood... ... My brothers '93 Ram also had chronic seal problems both fore and aft. I am beggining to think it is a Dana problem, and Chevrolets are not the only trucks that are externally lubricated .

 

[JJW_ND]

It should not leak!

I just had my pinion seal replaced due to leaking on my 96. It had 192,000 on the original seal. It did not even weap until the seal finally failed. If eveyting is correct they should not leak.



I run Amsoil BTW with changes ever 40 - 50K.



jjw

 

[Extreme1]

6 Seals? And you keep going backto the same place?

Seriously, it is 1 of 3 things:



They aren't applying sealant around the outside edge when they install the new seal. (Because they like to see you!)



There is bearing play. Joe D. wrote about this several issues ago. (You DO have all the back issues, right?) He stated that this is the leading cause of leaking seals in his experience. Be sure and have them put a dual indicator on it and check for clearance. It should be at or around 0. 000!



There could be lube coming through around the spline. Make sure all the parts are there. I did mine last fall but don't recall how it sealed. I just did my T case fron output, it has a rubber washer.



If dino oil (or synthetic) leaks, the other will too. Changing might in some case help consumption in an engine but for different reasons all things being equal.

 

[John Berger]

Update

The bad news is that I still have a leak. The good news is that it's not the pinion seal... exactly The metal part of the seal that fits into the housing around the yoke is where the leak has always been so the service manager wanted to try some sealant on a new seal. I get this done and drive home and holy bat farts Batman, there is gear lube all over the underside of my truck, on the bumper and the tailgate. I knew then that the mechanic screwed up the seal install. The rubber part of the pinion seal has never really been the problem. So anyway, they replaced the seal and now I'm back to square one on the leak. This service manager and dealership are not the problem. They let me under the truck to talk to the mechanic and were very friendly and helpful. They found the leak by putting some dye into the housing. After I drove it around for about a half an hour they put a black light to it and traced the origin of the leak, which as I said was the metal part of the seal that "mates" to the differential housing. So there we are. I'm calling them today to take the truck in and this time I'm leaving it until they fix the problem. This may sound odd, but I get the impression that these guys are stumped by the persistance of this problem. They aren't trying the same thing twice and the service manager mentioned the possibility of a replacement rear end yesterday. One thing I know for sure: potential solutions are being eliminated one at a time. I'll keep all posted.



Note: I have not had the truck back to this dealer for all six repairs. Yesterday was the third. The original dealer denied my warranty based on the Mag-Hytec cover. This dealer will not do that. They know the cover isn't the problem.



Update: I talked to the service manager this morning. They want to try one more seal and put something called Indian Head on the metal ring that fits into the housing. If that doesn't do the trick, they are going to Chrysler for a resolution of the problem. I will mention the bearing clearance to them this afternoon when I take the truck in.

 

[John Berger]

Chrysler has authorized a new differential housing for my truck after the last repair attempt failed. Nice thing about all of this is that I can run the truck until the parts arrive and they have to take everything off which means any other problems should be found out.