I was traveling back to Florida today and smelled something cooking so I got out and looked under the truck. My rear diff was covered in oil as well as everthing around it. I haven't had a chance to inspect it but it either leaking from the abs sensor or the pinion seal. Has anyone ran into this issue? If it is the pinion seal, can I replace it without pulling out the pinion or do I have to pull the whole rearend apart. I have a long trip on the 31st so I have to fix this pronto. Thanksin advance for any advice.

 

If its the pinion seal you can change it without taking everything apart. Remove the u joint from the driveshaft, and then there should be a nut holding the yoke on. Remove it and proceed to replace the seal. A dedicated, experienced person should have no problem knocking it out in an hour.

 

X2 on what RAW said. Make sure to INSPECT the yoke, I didn't and had to put 2 sleeves and a speedi-sleeve in. Has been perfect now for over 20,000 miles.

Good Luck

 

Sounds like so ething I can do here on base if I can find an open lift. What is a speedi sleeve?

 

A speedy sleeve is a very thin metal collar that would be installed on a shaft. This collar corrects for a groove cut into the shaft by a seal, providing a new, smooth sealing surface.

 

If its the pinion seal you can replace it.But when you back the pinion nut off you do change the backlash in the diff sometimes.I have done this so many times, some do this and they will be fine and others in time that will have to replace the gears because they are make noise.Not that I am telling everyone is wrong,its just what I have experienced.

So taking the whole diff apart is the way I would do it and reshim it the way it was when you started it.

 

I got the seal put intoday after dealing with the wrong part from advance. napa saved the day though. the yoke did have a groove in it, but i couldnt find a sleeve to fit it so my wife and i installed it without one. so far no leaks and no noise from the rear end

 

Glad you got it don, hopefully it holds!

 

Hope it holds 2.

 

Replaced mine yesterday. Started out by removing diff cover drain and wipe it out, clean off old sealant wipe with acetone. wire wheel, solvent wipe primer, paint cover. Apply new RTV black to mating surfaces between cover and diff, bolt on. Next remove the driveline and support out of the way (I used a jack stand) Measure pinion threads with calipers to make sure its put back on with the correct tightness. Next remove pinion nut (36mm 12pt socket needed if OEM nut still on 04 dodge 2500) Sears has this socket just under 9 bucks. I just broke it loose with a breaker bar wasnt too hard to bust loose. Dont lose the washer u need it. Yoke is next and its on there pretty good. I used a hydraulic puller I got from harbor freight, glad I had it cuz that thing was on there. Checked it for grooving and it looked good so I just cleand it up with a scotchbrite pad andsome wd-40. Now just remove the seal a little work here, but it comes out. Now Im told to use a socket large enough to fit the diameter of the seal, but the seal is huge. So I just carefully tapped it in with a hammer going around making sure it was even going in(dont forget to grease the groove where the spring is on the seal). Now i replace yoke after cleaning the splines and applying RTV to them to prevent leaking there I ran the washer and pinion nut down with an impact almost all the way to the measured distance then removed the nut to apply blue loctite. reinstalled and ran it all the way down carefully measuring it while doing it. Reinstall the driveline greased my ujoint while I was there. waited about an hour then filled the diff with 75w-140 lucas oil synthetic took it out for a test. No whine no leaks all done.