Front axle seal leaking - how do I replace?

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alamantia

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I did an oil change on my 2005 Z71 today and noticed the passenger side front axle shaft leaking by the 6 bolt flange. I am going to pick up a seal this week and fix it next weekend. How do you remove the shaft from the diff housing?

I read this post but it doesnt tell how to get the shaft out:

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=629&highlight=front+axle+seal

I also read here that the 2003 and earlier models you have to take part of the diff out but 2004 and later you can pop the shaft out with a hammer... does anyone know?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzNPHkMGekA



WHo has sucessfully removed the passenger side shaft without taking 1/2 the diff out?
 

ntxstallion

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I can post the instructions from Alldata if that will help. I've never done it before but Alldata is usually pretty good when it comes to helping you fix stuff and figure out if you need to do it at home or elsewhere.
 

denalianyone

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The driver side is easier because you dont have to take 1/2 the diff out. After removing the cv axle on the pass side, I think you have to remove that long tube to gain access to the seal. The seal just pops out though.
 

ntxstallion

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Looked at Alldata and all I found was rear axle shafts. Nothing listed for the front.
 
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alamantia

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I did it last night on my back in my driveway, wasnt so bad but wasnt fun either. I set the e-brake and jacked the front of the truck up and supported the front wheels about an inch off the ground with jackstands under the frame rails. I then drained the diff and then I marked and removed the six 15mm bolts from the CV shaft and pushed the CV shaft out of the way, then I removed the for 15mm bolts for the skid plate, then I lossened the two 21mm bolts from the clutch fork shaft leaving them only on a few threads. Then I removed the wire for the 4WD actuator followed by removing the six 15mm bolts that hold the clutch fork tube to the diff. The only difficult part was getting the tube off. As I went to pull the tube out of the diff it wouldnt come far enough out to get it off. On the bottom of the diff is a eyelet for what i dont know. I tool a long screwdriver and placed it thru this hole and pulled down on it to angle the diff just enough to sucessfully remove the tube. Once out I inspected the inside of the diff to see there was the fork spring and a washer inside. I took them out along with the tube and brought it over to my work bench. I removed the snap ring and the flat washer and the tab washer and smacked the shaft out with a rubber dead blow. I then carefully pryed the seal out, wiped out the tube, inspected the bearing, oiled up the inside and outside of the new seal and tapped it in. I wiped down the shaft and put it back in. I placed the tabbed washer and flat washer on and installed the snap ring I took off. I referenced the exploded view of the shaft and stacked theclutch fork spring and washer. I wiped down the face of the flange that mates with the flange on the diff and applied a small bead of permatex. I carefully installed the shaft back in. It was hard to line everything up. I had to call my brother to pull down on the screwdriver I had ran thru the eyelet in the bottom of the diff in order for me to use two hands to coax the tube in. Once in I torqued down the six bolts and the nuts. I reinstalled the CV shaft to my allingnment mark and let the truck sit for about 3 hours for the permatex to cure. I topped off the diff with almost 2 quarts of 75w-90 synthetic oil and and drove the truck with the raidio off switching back and forth between 2WD and 4WD and everything checked out. I looked back under the truck for any leaks and none were present. For the $200 labor I would have paid a mechanic, next time I will pay a mechanic.
 
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ntxstallion

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Great glad you got it taken care. Def sounds like something I would not want to do in my driveway.
 

THOLL223

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I checked around and found a local garage that will replace both sides for like $250, that is money well spent right there.
 

brh8

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Good write up. YouTube has three good videos on how to replace. Right is the harder one. Make sure you use only gmc OEM seal. If you use SKF 12587, you will be doing the job again. Many writes UPS on the use of only OEM seal on this application second time, I knock it out in 1:30 hrs. Right side only.
 

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