Replace front diff seal....

[agood1]

How hard is it to replace the front diff drive shaft seal on a 99 DII? Does the whole diff have to be disassembled or can I just take out the front drive shaft and get the seal out?

Thanks

 

[justinhaaga]

take the driveshaft off, take the pinion nut off, take the flange out, pry out with something, put new seal in, put flange on, torque pinion nut (or tight as fuck) reinstall driveshaft, all good.

10 mins tops.

 

[barefoot]

i stress the "tight as fuck" statement! dont screw around with the torque here or you will get whinning and eventually need new pinion bearings and ring and pinion gears!

the front shaft can be a mother-fucker on these things if its the first time being removed. remember to degrease and pb-blast in advance.

and fyi....im assuming you are leaking oil here? if so check that the axle breather isnt clogged as this will cause leaking at the pinion seal as well.
enjoy!

 

[Fritz]

I just discovered that the front pinion seal needs to be done on my DII. I've done plenty of them in jeeps, just not on a Disco. To do this job in 10 min is simply amazing in my opinion. I'll plan on 45 min to an hour, from start to completion. I guess that's why I'm not a pro.

 

[barefoot]

10 min is only realistic if you have done it before and have the right tools (air socket for pinion nut) ready to rock. it is only 4 bolts.....

45 min sounds like a reasonable expectation first time but be prepared for more due to fighting the driveshaft and pinion nut.

 

[Jaime]

One of the best tools I've bought is the ujoint socket from 4x4ag. Its a 9/16 air drive socket with a thin extension built in to fit in the tight u-joint space. makes getting the driveshaft off a breeze, especially with an air ratchet.