Front axle seal leaking?

[04BlackR50]

Hey all, have a clicking from the front when car is moving and turning so I think that's the cv axles, so l took a look at them and also saw a leak at the end of the axle on the passenger side where it meets up with the cv axle. Is this is axle seal leaking? If so has anyone done this job. Considering I will be taking out the old cv axles I can get it all done in one shot.

TIA

 

 

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[Slartibartfast]

I haven't dug into one myself, but the PD section of the manual (free download from Nicoclub) shows the seals in the front end. PD-18.

[hawairish]

I’d have to take a look, but I think the seal is installed before the bearing gets pressed on. You’ll be able to pull the RH stub shaft once the CV is pulled, but still would need to tear down the stub shaft to replace the seal. I want to say the FSM also calls for some RTV there too. 

[04BlackR50]

I haven't dug into one myself, but the PD section of the manual (free download from Nicoclub) shows the seals in the front end. PD-18.

Thanks I took a look at that, most likely the inner oil seal, most people say the outer grease seals last 2x as long but they will both be getting replaced anyways. I’m the diagram there’s is 2 bearing collars that say they need to be replaced, can they be reused if not damaged?


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[hawairish]

So…replacing the inner seal requires pulling the differential from the case, which means dropping the case out of the truck. At that point, you’ll also be pulling the LH stub shaft, and another seal to replace there. 

[hawairish]

And yes, I’ve reused the collars before. Stuff like that might not even be available from Nissan; haven’t checked. 

[04BlackR50]

So…replacing the inner seal requires pulling the differential from the case, which means dropping the case out of the truck. At that point, you’ll also be pulling the LH stub shaft, and another seal to replace there. 

Where did you find that info, I’ve heard some people say you can remove the side shaft and in the schematic it looks like the inner seal is at the end of the extension tube. Just trying to get a straight answer before I start pulling it apart. Thanks


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[hawairish]

I’ve put so many lockers into these things to know. Including full dissection of the RH shaft because I needed to modify it so it would seal against the inner seal because of some BS that ARB did. 

Edited September 19, 2024 by hawairish

[04BlackR50]

I’ve put so many lockers into these things to know. Including full dissection of the RH shaft because I needed to modify it so it would seal against the inner seal because of some BS that ARB did. 

Ok thanks for the info, would you just recommend to put some fresh fluid in the diff and possibly add some additive to make the seals swell a bit and possibly slow the leak? Not looking to do a full diff rebuild on a $2k truck.


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[hawairish]

Here’s a primer about the diff: 

If you want more/better pics, I can maybe tear mine apart…it’s sitting on the side of the house as I work through an axle swap. Been meaning to put a Lokka into it and swap all the seals so I can sell it off. 
 

But for sure, the inner axle seal is only accessible from inside the housing. I use a pipe to drive it out from the RH tube shaft, and then it gets driven in the through LH stub shaft opening. 
 

A skim amount of RTV on the outer bearing would help. Not sure sealer would do much better, but maybe. 

[04BlackR50]

I’ve put so many lockers into these things to know. Including full dissection of the RH shaft because I needed to modify it so it would seal against the inner seal because of some BS that ARB did. 

In the FSM it shows that both the seals are at the end of the extension tube.


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[hawairish]

Which FSM are you viewing? That image shows a WD21/WD22/D21/D22 style case that does have a seal at the tube end. 
 

 

But the R50 style does not. 
 

 

You can see the tube is not machined to accept a seal. The machining you see is where the bearing resides. 
 

The collar at the top of this RH stub shaft from an R50 is where the inner seal resides, against the differential carrier. This is the collar I had to remove in order to modify the shaft so it could seal with a newer style ARB. I had the older style ARB and no modification was required. This is why I know with 100% certainty it has an inner seal. 
 

Note the wear on the collar, too. The bottom spacer does not have a seal it seals against. There’s a grease seal on the shaft.  It cannot be removed like the pic you showed of the FSM. 

[04BlackR50]

Which FSM are you viewing? That image shows a WD21/WD22/D21/D22 style case that does have a seal at the tube end. 
 

 
But the R50 style does not. 
 

 
You can see the tube is not machined to accept a seal. The machining you see is where the bearing resides. 
 
The collar at the top of this RH stub shaft from an R50 is where the inner seal resides, against the differential carrier. This is the collar I had to remove in order to modify the shaft so it could seal with a newer style ARB. I had the older style ARB and no modification was required. This is why I know with 100% certainty it has an inner seal. 
 


Note the wear on the collar, too. The bottom spacer does not have a seal it seals against. There’s a grease seal on the shaft.  It cannot be removed like the pic you showed of the FSM. 

Ok if that’s the case then I won’t be messing with that, would you recommend just changing out the fluid and adding some lucas stop leak to try swell up the seal?


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[hawairish]

Worth a shot, I suppose. Maybe even spray some degreaser up there first and hose it off to gauge how bad the leak really is over a day or two. 

[04BlackR50]

Worth a shot, I suppose. Maybe even spray some degreaser up there first and hose it off to gauge how bad the leak really is over a day or two. 

Will do, thanks again for the info I really appreciate it. Hard to find info on stuff like this. Glad I found the right guy! Will clean it first and update in a few days.


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