Leaking Transmission/Drive Axles Seal or O ring?

[pdigiacinto]

I have a 1993 Subaru legacy AWD and the driveshaft seal is leaking where the cv shaft mates to the tranny. It is dripping on to the converter y pipe where the o2 sensor is located. How hard is it to replace this seal in the transmission? Could this be gear oil and transmission fluid leaking? I believe there is a seal and O ring. I read that if I do not disammble the shaft properly, then the gear assembly or spring would drop and the transmission. Then, would the transmission need to be cracked open?

Please note: This is the passengers side driveshaft cv. it leaks right out on to the converter/o2 sensor.

Does anyone have any instructions and pictures on how to do this?

Thank you for your time,

Paul

[IronMonkeyL255]

Assuming you have definitely tracked it down to these seals, here's my thoughts.

I haven't done this myself, but I have the FSM, which has various exploded views. Unfortunately, they hid the pertinent information amongst everything else for a full teardown and rebuild.

General instructions:

Remove exhaust to gain access to the area.

Remove wheel and remove upper strut bolts, being sure to mark the position of the upper camber bolt to preserve alignment.

Knock out the roll pin holding on the inner joint of the CV axle using a 5mm piece of steel (I use whatever I can find that will fit). Be sure to start on the side with the countersunk or chamfered hole. It won't want to come out the other way.

Mark the relationship of the retainer to the little holder, then remove the bolt holding the holder on the transmission. Now you can use something dull to gently knock the retainer counter-clockwise. It is threaded in there, so use the little knob thingies to do so.

Eventually it will thread out. You will probably get a bath of gear oil, since I didn't mention draining the gear oil before starting. I would suggest this, in fact.

The retainer should be sealed around the outside with a large O-ring. You should be able to get this from the dealership for cheap, though they may need to special order it.

The following is just a very educated guess based on my knowledge of the rear diff and various exploded view diagrams:

The inside is sealed with an oil seal, which you can also order from your local dealership. To get the old one out, gently drive it out using a socket of approximately the same size. Just set the socket on the edge of the seal through the outside of the retainer, driving it towards the inside. If this doesn't do the trick, you can gently pry it out with a screwdriver or an oil seal puller (if you have one).

Now you just drive the new one in and re-assemble everything, being sure to put a bit of gear oil on the inside of the oil seal to ensure its initial lubrication. Installation is the reverse of removal. be sure to line up those marks I told you to make so everything will be fine.


Now feel free to bash me for being wrong.

[pdigiacinto]

Thanks for the instructions.. I will let you know how I made out.....

[Legacy777]

Mine leaks on the pass side as well. It's not bad, and I haven't had the motivation to replace it. I'm pretty sure the leak is coming from the o-ring since when I turned the cap, the leak stopped for a while before it returned.

I think the o-ring is pinched or something like that.

[pdigiacinto]

Josh,

Is there alot involved in the replacement?

[Legacy777]

You have to remove the cv axle and drain the trans fluid. I didn't drain the trans fluid, and didn't feel like having it ooze all over the place, so I stopped after a few turns of the cap.

One of these days I'll get after it again, replace the fluid, and change the o-ring & seal.

[pdigiacinto]

I have heard that there is a small spring on the seal that needs to be removed? and if not, the spring can fall into the tranny? Is this true for this year and model?

[Legacy777]

I haven't heard of that....here's the blow up of the front diff...and I don't see anything in there

http://main.experiencetherave.com:8080/ ... ential.jpg

[IronMonkeyL255]

I have seen some seals that have something like that (a spring running along the inside of the seal) in them (I think the rear main seal does, and I KNOW the wheel bearing seals do), but I don't think these do. I know for a fact that my rear diff axle seals don't have them.......

[pdigiacinto]

Thanks for the diagram an everyone for the help. I will let you know how i make out no it..

[pdigiacinto]

I finally got around to replacing this seal (took long enough). But, I made a big mistage on taking off the drive axle. I forgot to remove the pin that holds the drive axle to the Axle shaft in the differential/transmission. The whole unit (drive shaft axle) came out. It has a "C" clip that seems to hold it in on the end that goes into the transmission. My questions are:

Can I hammer that back in with the "C" clip attached to the axle stub?

Does it go in a certain way?

I hope I will not have to tear open the transmission/differential.

Thanks for all your help.

[Legacy777]

Yes, you should be able to hammer the axle stubs back in the c clip attached.

I don't believe they install in any particular manner.

[pdigiacinto]

Thanks for the advice. You are right. I used a mallet and it went back in. The "c" clip actually condenses around the axle shaft and then springs back out when it is hammerd in. I used some motor oil on the shaft around the seal. No more leaks!!
YEAH!!
This board rocks! Thanks for all of the help...

[Bdub]

Bumping this up.
Was it just the O ring which you replaced, or the oil seal as well?

I'm looking at the parts book, and I see 2 parts that may be the culprit in my seeping differential. Either the Oil Seal or the O Ring.

[94SS_Canada]

My tranny shows signs of leakage in that location, however i have not noticed any fresh fluid drip from it and/or the tranny level drop, left it at that.

[pdigiacinto]

I had replaced both the oil seal and o-ring. The oil seal was leaking in my case because it was dripping on to the exhaust. But, you might just have a slow leak coming from the seal or o-ring. if you do not see any drips leaking on the exhausst or smell anything, you probably have a slow leak. The way to tell wether the oil seal or the o-ring is leaking, just follow the steps below:

1) Clean the area with a cleaner (I use brake clean because it dries fast and does a good job in de-greasing/cleaning). Spray the area really well to remove the oil, dirt, etc. Wipe it down with a cloth.
2) Drive the car for a good while to get the oil hot/moving/circulating. Park the car. Wait for the it to cool and then get underneath.
3) Take your finger and feel around the oil seal/shaft. If your finger feels "wet/oily", then the oil seal is the problem. If your finger is dry, then the o-ring is probably the culprit.

The o-ring can be leaking from anywhere (top, bottom, sides, etc). When you replace th o-ring, make sure you put alittle oil around it (motor oil), make it eaiser to install and will keep it supple. Remember, the o-ring attaches to the outer retainer.

Follow Ironmonkey's instructions above on how to replace the oil-seal and O-ring. It was right on the money.

Thanks to legacy777's diagram.
Hope that helps.