Came back from a road trip and puddle on the right side engine bay. Diff Seal Leak?

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by wpoll

Pretty sure there's no fluid inside the shaft housing to leak out.... so likely to be something above the shaft housing.

Yes there is diff oil in the shaft housing. That's why the need for the seal at the end of the housing and the O ring between the housing and the oil pan. I had the same leak. It wasn't bad until I changed my diff oil and topped it off to the correct level. Started leaking oil like crazy. Replaced the seal at the end of the shaft and no more leak. There. Now it looks like I have a pan gasket leak directly above the shaft housing.

If the OP isn't 100% sure about where it's coming from, but suspects the diff, then adding UV dye will tell the tale. Add some dye and then shine a black light on the oil after driving a bit. If it is the diff, it will glow and he'll know for sure.

[Tooshay]

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

Yes there is diff oil in the shaft housing. That's why the need for the seal at the end of the housing and the O ring between the housing and the oil pan. I had the same leak. It wasn't bad until I changed my diff oil and topped it off to the correct level. Started leaking oil like crazy. Replaced the seal at the end of the shaft and no more leak. There. Now it looks like I have a pan gasket leak directly above the shaft housing.

If the OP isn't 100% sure about where it's coming from, but suspects the diff, then adding UV dye will tell the tale. Add some dye and then shine a black light on the oil after driving a bit. If it is the diff, it will glow and he'll know for sure.

This sounds like the problem I'm having! The diff fluid was recently changed, but I only drove it a few hundred miles since then until this past weekend when I did a small roadtrip (250+ miles roundtrip). Don't have dye or blacklight, but now I need to look into getting this stuff.

[Tooshay]

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

Yes there is diff oil in the shaft housing. That's why the need for the seal at the end of the housing and the O ring between the housing and the oil pan. I had the same leak. It wasn't bad until I changed my diff oil and topped it off to the correct level. Started leaking oil like crazy. Replaced the seal at the end of the shaft and no more leak. There. Now it looks like I have a pan gasket leak directly above the shaft housing.

If the OP isn't 100% sure about where it's coming from, but suspects the diff, then adding UV dye will tell the tale. Add some dye and then shine a black light on the oil after driving a bit. If it is the diff, it will glow and he'll know for sure.

When you changed your seal, did you leave the O ring or did you swap that out too? I need to look more into the work involved, but can you change the seal without separating the housing (and O Ring seal).

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by Tooshay

This sounds like the problem I'm having! The diff fluid was recently changed, but I only drove it a few hundred miles since then until this past weekend when I did a small roadtrip (250+ miles roundtrip). Don't have dye or blacklight, but now I need to look into getting this stuff.

Here's the light I got: https://www.amazon.com/Escolite-Flas...s%2C208&sr=8-9

And dye: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by Tooshay

When you changed your seal, did you leave the O ring or did you swap that out too? I need to look more into the work involved, but can you change the seal without separating the housing (and O Ring seal).

I left the O ring because you don't need to remove the carrier to change the outer seal and it wasn't leaking. I'll probably change the O ring when I do the oil pan gasket later this year.

I had to make a seal driver because the seal has a lip that protrudes out past the metal ring that holds it. I didn't want to risk damaging it. I used an old hole saw with the teeth ground off. Worked perfectly.