Truck Repair: pinion seal leak, 4x4 chevrolet, pinion shaft

Question








How much trouble would it be to change out a leaking pinion seal on the rear differential of a 2000 4X4 Chevrolet Tracker? What might cause this leak and what might I need to look for?

Answer
Hello Eddie,
I never touched a Tracker, but can't immagine it would be much different.
That seal is normally no trouble to change. Remove the "U"joint first.
Then wiggle the pinion shaft up and down to see if there is a bearing problem. Probably won't be, but check anyway.
Remove the flange retaining nut. Do NOT use an impact gun. Get a large wrench to hold the flange so you can torque against it. A impact gun can chip the teeth inside on the ring gear or pinion.
Remove that flange, they pry the seal out.
When tapping the new seal in, be careful to not bend it.

Replace the flange, and tighten the nut to as close as you can, the same place it was.
Marking the nut and pinion shaft, then counting the number of turns while removing it would be a good idea, and a torque wrench would even be better, but you can get real close with some scribe marks.

Often grass or weeds will wind up in the seal area, and cause a leak. or the seal could have just dried up and got hard, or just worn out.
But check for that bearing play before removing the flange.

Van