Beaniam

I have a 1993 pickup and the front diff passenger side axle seal has started leaking. Is it possible to replace the seal by just dropping the CV and not the entire diff and doing the job with it still in the truck? I read some people say there are snap rings holding in the axle studs and some say there aren't. Will I have to drop the diff and pull the front cover?

MudHippy

On the truck is fine. The axle stub shaft(CV removed) will require some force to pop it out of the differential, but it isn't something you need to open it for. Just pry it away from the housing, or whack it out with a hammer.

If you have a heavy dead-blow hammer use that. If not, be carefull where you aim if you want to preserve the heads of the axle studs. The pry bar is the best way to go with the one on that side, IMO.

ewong

I VAGUELY recall that you cant get the clearance to remove the half shafts without either messing up the alignment (aka disconnecting the spindle) OR by dropping the diff.

EVEN if you leave the drive shaft attached... undoing the three bolts that hold the diff in will save ya the alignment part... I think.

Id start by undoing the 6 boltst that hold the half shaft on.... but if you rapdily find you cant get anywhere with the halft shaft - be prepared to do the rest of the work...

91muddog

keep some penetrating oil handy

Beaniam

Thanks for the info. Yeah I wasn't sure about the clearance to drop the CV. My seal doesn't come in for 2 days however I unbolted the CV and tried dropping it out of the way of the axle shaft. It's VERY close to dropping but catches slightly. I did this with the truck on the ground however, I think if I jack up the front end I should have enough clearance when the wheel drops a few inches. At least I hope...

MudHippy

If you punch the studs out first there's no clearence issue. If you don't, YES, there will be a TIGHT squeeze getting it past them(with the grease cap still on). I have however managed it with out removing the studs on many occasions. I'm not sure how/what alignment could be adjusted to be of any help. Anyway that would be the last way I would try.

Almost forgot to mention, it's easier on mine if I remove the lower shock bolt. My halfshafts won't come out if I don't, yours might, I dunno.

GSGALLANT

Yep, remove the lower shock bolt, then, as an alternative to pounding out some of the 6 studs holding the CV on, just remove the four bolts holding the lower balljoint on, then when you're ready to remove the CV, have somebody help you out by prying on the lower control arm. That will gain you the clearance you need to remove the CV. When it comes time to bolt the lower balljoint back up, use blue locktite on the threads. This will not mess up your alignment. There are alignment pins so that the lower balljoint goes back on exactly like it came off. Good luck.

Beaniam

I went to try this today and on top of not being able to get the halfshaft out, it appears parts america/checker gave me the wrong seal. It looks to be way too small. I told them axle shaft seal for the front differential. Does anyone know part numbers/make to ask for?

I wasn't able to get the halfshaft out of the way enough to completely remove the axle stub but I did get it out far enough to see that I had the wrong seal. So I didn't screw with it anymore, just put everything back together. Taking out the lower shock bolt alone should allow the a-arm to drop enough to get enough clearance? I couldn't get any leverage in there to knock out even a single stud on the halfshaft to try and get clearance that way.

GSGALLANT

You may be able to squeeze the halfshaft out by disconnecting the lower shock bolt only, but you'll be doing some serious squeezing/twisting (If you haven't pounded out any of the 6 bolts holding the halfshaft on). It is MUCH easier to remove the four bolts holding the lower balljoint on, and prying the lower control arm down when you're removing the halfshaft.

stevewaclo

Yo Beanium:

Always concerned when posts just kinda end with no resolution. Have this mental image of a mummified body in a garage somewhere with a P/U laying it that no one has discovered. I trust you are OK!

When last you posted, you were waiting for the correct right side diff seal to arrive and were going to attempt replacement without removing the diff. I have an '87 with leakage in the same area and would really like to replace the seal w/o pulling the diff.

BTW, don't know how different your '93 is from my '87.

Been over two years since your post, but would appreciate an update.

Thanks

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

Judging by his avatar he no longer needs to worry about IFS diffs!

I think you can get away with doing the seal without dropping the diff. In fact, it might even make it easier since the half-shafts tend to take a lot of force to pop out. I would definitely start by taking out the CV axle entirely though. Let us know what you find out -- I have a little weep starting on my diff and am interested to see if it works for you!

stevewaclo

Yo RustBucket:

Thanks for getting back.

Just did the drivers side inner CV boot and it was a bear to get the axle out. Several years ago I did a boot on the right side and don't recall extraordinary issues pulling the axle (but hey, I'm 66 so I don't remember much of anything anymore :-).

Will order the seal and provide a full report when I get to it...currently a throw rug is absorbing the drips nicely...

BTW, good catch on the solid fron axle avatar!

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

Hey steve,

Just last week I did changed out both axles. I had pounded out 3 of the studs on the passenger side (drilled out the splines to 0.5") and it made it very easy to pull the axle out. I found that I just needed to give the steering wheel a half turn to get it past the shock bolt. Also I did it on the ground with the wheel on. I had only pounded out one stud on the drivers side and it was a little trickier but really not a problem. I also don't have a swaybar on so the links don't get in the way...

Good luck!

stevewaclo

RustBucket:

Will order the seal and go for it soon!

Film at 11 :-).

Beaniam

woah this thread was the reason I made a yotatech account. I was in vegas at the time. Drove my truck from NJ to there. Yeah all the IFS crap is gone now. At the time I ordered it from checkers or whatever advanced/parts america is out there. They gave me the wrong seal 2 times. I finally got the right one and ended up mangling it trying to get it in with the diff in the truck. I said screw it, drained it so it stopped leaking on my buddy's driveway and drove it back to NJ. Ended up eventually dropping the diff and putting in a new seal.

stevewaclo

Been a few weeks, but finally made time to replace the passenger side differential seal. Unfortunately, I believe I have more problems than just a leaky seal, since the reinstalled stub axle moves up and down about 1/4" (!) in the diff and it still leaks (worse when I move the stub to the upper limit of travel).

Did not notice all that movement before I began, but don't believe I could have done anything to make it worse, or could I?

Inspection before I started the project revealed dirt laden fluid all over the diff around the seal area, indicating it's been spinning out for a long time (although the obvious leak stated just a few weeks back). With the wheel off and the truck on jacks, I removed the locking hub assembly and pulled the end bolt and circlip off the outer end of the axle. Removed the shock absorber (totally) and stabilizer bar connector, then removed the 6 nuts holding the axle to the stub and pulled the axle off the stud bolts. After considerable manuvering and turning the wheel, was still not able to remove the axle from the truck, so moved it inboard, to the left side and below the diff.

Put a tapered chisel flat between the stub axle and the diff case and gently tapped till the stub popped out. The old seal was removed by prying and grabbing it with vice grips and levering against the side of the diff case. Found a PVC fitting at Lowes that fit well over the front of the new seal, and after considerable effort (it's not possible to get a straight shot) I tapped till it seated.

Unfortunately, after I put the stub axle back in and refilled the diff (till fluid came to the bottom of the fill hole) I noticed a serious leak at the seal :-(. Looks like I'm back where I started. Would like to think I did not damage the seal, but what can I say?. It's leaking.

At 320k miles, I'm afraid the truck may be due for replacement, since I need to tow a new 3500# travel trailer anyway. Looks like I'll be parking over plastic till spring...

Comments?

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

Yikes, sounds like the diff may just be "wore out!"

If you are running stock ratios (4.10 usually) and nothing fancy you'll find replacements on this site for cheap. I'm sure you can dig up a low-mileage one, reseal it, throw it in and have lots of good service life. I had thrown a couple of those diffs away in fact...

stevewaclo

Thanks for the tip, RustBucket. The truck has been great...besides the diff, it's just all the soft parts going away (including the clutch, which is disengaging closer and closer to the top of the pedal) :-(.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

i'd just pull the diff all the way out and re-do the seal this time while you're not driving it. sounds like you messed up the seal somehow most likely because there's no room to work on the diff when it's installed in the truck. perhaps try a cheap harbor freight seal driver this time. even if you pulled out the diff you could always pick up another, non-leaking diff for pretty cheap and toss that in or even run the truck 2wd without the front diff and CVs. regardless, your truck will not be happy or safe pulling a 3500# trailer. oooh, oooh, second rig! - "ya see honey, we NEED another rig so i can pull the trailer..."

stevewaclo

Yo Highonpottery:

Thanks for your input.

No one ever wants to admit to messing up on a seal install, and I may well have done that but I'm thinking the stub axle on the passenger side is so loose (up and down and which I should have noticed before I pulled the old seal) that even a new, properly installed seal (with a tool from Harbor Freight :-) may not be able to do it's job.

And if the stabilizer bar attachment and shock are removed, and the drive axle moved out of the way, I believe a careful person could replace the seal. Main issue is getting the replacement started, since it's very hard to get a straight shot at it. Once it finally started, I was able to tap it in with a 1/2" breaker bar, 2" extender, and a reversed 22mm socket pushing against the PVC part I got at Lowes.

You are correct about not being able to pull the 3500# trailer...been looking for a 4Runner ('96 and up with the bigger V6), but for one reason or another, they have have been hard to find.

2Wd works most of the year but comes in handy when we head to Tahoe for sking or an occassional off-road adventure.

Really going to miss this truck...

Thanks again for your advice.