Pinion and Axle Seal Replacement

[Just Fishing]

iirc a price i got for the job was right around 1-1.5k.
but that was a few years ago, maybe 8 of them

 

[donjetman]

I almost always do things myself (DIYer), then I know its done right and have nobody to blame if there's aproblem but me.

 

[OR VietVet]

Done gobs of these seal replacements and used the scribe method. If you are careful, it works out fine. I would always do the axle seals first and make sure to not let things move/spin after axle shaft removal. I always just used the very end of the axle shaft, where the C-clip sits, and used that to pry the old seals out. A good tool to have or rent is the seal driver tool. If you try to tap it in with a ball peen hammer, the seal housing gets twisted sometimes. Something else to consider is that where the old seals ride on the seal surface of the axle, sometimes gets a groove worn in it and that will allow even a new seal to leak all over again. Axle needs a good inspection before reassembly.

 

[Geotrash]

Done gobs of these seal replacements and used the scribe method. If you are careful, it works out fine. I would always do the axle seals first and make sure to not let things move/spin after axle shaft removal. I always just used the very end of the axle shaft, where the C-clip sits, and used that to pry the old seals out. A good tool to have or rent is the seal driver tool. If you try to tap it in with a ball peen hammer, the seal housing gets twisted sometimes. Something else to consider is that where the old seals ride on the seal surface of the axle, sometimes gets a groove worn in it and that will allow even a new seal to leak all over again. Axle needs a good inspection before reassembly.

Would you recommend a little emery cloth on the axle shaft to help remove any imperfections or reduce the groove from the old seal?

 

[Doubeleive]

Keep us posted. We see a pinion bearing once in a while, can't remember the last axle bearing that went out on here or the latter for that matter!

I didn't loose a axle bearing in my 00 until about 300k, It's funny though the Silverado has about 46k on it and one of my neighbors had spilled a 5 gallon bucket of oil in the street around the corner and somehow I had managed to drive thru it and the next day I noticed a bunch of oil all around the wheels and on the body, I looked all over but couldn't figure where it was coming from so I cleaned it up for the most part and figured I must have driven thru something and about a day later I was going around the corner again and saw the obvious signs of fresh oil on the street and the neighbor was outside and we talked and I finally figured it out. A few days later I took it to the dealer for a oil change and dropped it off, the dealer calls me back and say's "we noticed you axle seals are leaking" it's covered warranty w'ell take care of it, and I had a millisecond thought to say "no blah, blah happened" but then I thought to myself "hey free diff service" and kept my shut. lol

 

[OR VietVet]

Would you recommend a little emery cloth on the axle shaft to help remove any imperfections or reduce the groove from the old seal?

Quick answer, NO. Too much surface would be lost trying to get rid of that groove. You can see a ring there anyway from the seal itself and the spot may not have a groove, but if you feel it with a fingernail, I always recommended a new axle. Hard to believe that the rubber seal can cause that groove, but it does sometimes. My opinion is that what causes the groove more than just the seal, is poorly maintained fluid maintenance creates crud in the diff and that crud gets there at the seal lip and works to rub a groove in that axle.

 

[MarshMarlowe]

Well the Tahoe is still at the axle shop waiting on parts. The bearings / carrier parts that came in didn't match up. I'm told the Pinion Bearing and Carrier Bearing was very worn, and there was no carrier preload from the bearings being so worn.

Axle shop states they were surprised the rear end wasn't making noise