Rear end seal leak at drive shaft??

[3chickens]

Is this a common problem my '98 leaked fluid and the 2k I just got has the same problem at the front of the differential, and if so is this a big deal as long as I keep fluid in there,Inot sure but there is a slight "whine or roar" coming from the rear of the car at 45mph and up ,could that be exhaust resonance or road noise? I have stock WS6 exhaust and that area where the t-tops go is like a big sub woofer . any experience with this problem. Thanks E.T.

[Joe 1320]

That would be the pinion seal. Many cars have these leaks. A little seepage is tolerable, small puddles are not. I've had some that never leaked, some that leaked no matter what.

[96TAragtop]

Re: Rear end seal leak at drive shaft??

Originally posted by 3chickens
Is this a common problem my '98 leaked fluid and the 2k I just got has the same problem at the front of the differential, and if so is this a big deal as long as I keep fluid in there,Inot sure but there is a slight "whine or roar" coming from the rear of the car at 45mph and up ,could that be exhaust resonance or road noise? I have stock WS6 exhaust and that area where the t-tops go is like a big sub woofer . any experience with this problem. Thanks E.T.

It is VERY common. Mine is doing it, 8k miles after a gear swap. It is really pretty easy to fix (pinion seal), the worst part is preloading the pinion nut to 240 ft-lbs. Could be tricky in an average garage. Part is >$10, and should easily be in stock at most dealers.

As far as the noise, it seems to be rare for a STOCK rear end to whine. That would have me a little concerned. But it is fairly normal if you've had 3.73 or 4.10 gears put in. It is almost impossible to get rid of with 4.10's. Mine have whined from day 1. The stock 3.42's didn't though.

Unless it is REAL bad, I wouldnt worry too much about it. It seems to be failry normal.

-George

[JimmyP]

If you are changing the pinion seal for the first time try this. Match mark the pinion nut to the pinion shaft with paint or something sharp. When you reassemble everything, line up the mark on the shaft to the one on the nut. This will help you to attain the approximate preload on the nut when you put it back together.

[3chickens]

pinion seal replaced

Thanks for the info, last time I had this fixed at the pontiac dealer-
"Ouch" , Is this a tough job,and are speacial tools needed if I try this on my own ? Thanks again E.T.

[Joe 1320]

TO do the job, you'll need a large pipe wrench, an assortment of wrenches and sockets as well as the pinion seal. You have to unbolt the driveshaft and move it out of the way, mark the position of the rear yoke, mark the position of the pinion nut. Take a torque reading on how much force is needed to rotate the pinion. Hold the yoke still with the large pipe wrench while backing off the pinion nut, removing the nut and yoke. Remove the old seal, install the new seal, replace the yoke and pinion nut and tighten to close to the previous position. Slowly tighten the pinion nut to the point of producing the same rotational torque rating that it took to rotate the pinion proir to disassembly. There might be a most scientific way, but this way will keep the pinion bearing alive. If you over or under torque the pinion nut, you'll wreck either the pinion bearing at the least, or take out the whole ring and pinion. It's an easy fix, just touchy on the torque.