Hey guys and gals!

My local dealer said my rear differential is leaking and wants a good chunk of change to do the job. A $15 part and hundreds in labor costs. Ugh!

Has anyone else out there experienced this issue? If so, what did you pay for repair? They told me it's a minor leak and it's not an emergency. (?!?!) I'm scared it'll dry up the diff and cause damage! Strange that they'd tell me it's not an emergency.

anyway, thanks in advance for all replies!

 

Where exactly is it leading? Pics?

 

if you don't want to cough up the money to have it done then you can always lay on your back and replace the seals and reseal the cover yourself.

 

It's leaking from the middle seal.

 

Interesting thought. Is there a write up or video for that?

 

The Majority of the labour involved is removing the pumpkin. If you can remove it yourself (following the DIY on changing the differential bushing) on here you can probably take it to a driveline/transmission shop and have the seal changed for a lot less. you can change the seal yourself if you want at that point as well as its really jsut removing the pinion flange nut at that point and pulling the old seal out and reseating the new seal...the only tricky part is resetting the pinion flange to proper spec as there is a crush collar inside that has to be set to the right tension and you have to set it by measuring the breakaway torque used to remove the pinion flange nut when you remove the nut and torquing it back down to whatever that is. It used to be that you had to change the crush collar (which required taking apart the entire pumpkin) but in the FSM for the newer years they appear to allow for at least one removal and remount without doing so (some shops may still say you have to go through the rear and may not do it otherwise).

Good luck and be sure to post up how you end up dealing with the situation

 

"Hundreds in labor costs" is kind of vague. With service rates between $85 and $125 per hour, it's just math. If you're looking to reduce the cost, then network friends & family for a local mechanic, or call a couple of speed shops and ask for referrals.

Sometimes a leak just means it's weeping and building up crud on the outside, hence the comment that it's not an emergency. Unless you're routinely leaving drip marks everywhere you go, the dealership is probably right about the lack of urgency.

Not the main diff bushing, huh? That's usually the cause when there are streaks running down your diff cover.

 

you can also do it yourself if you have wrenching experience. or do this lol