Rear Axle Seal
 

'96 Camaro 3.8L, stock except the wheels

I got a brake inspection yesterday, and they said that my rear axle seal was bad, and needed to be replaced. They showed me behind the drum brake, where there was a small amount of grease that they said had leaked down the axle from the differential. They said the seal itself is inside the differential, and that replacing it involves taking off the diff cover.

What seal are they talking about? How easy/difficult is it to replace? I've changed the diff. fluid before, so I know I can easily get the cover off and fill it back up when I'm done, but I wasn't sure what else was involved in this seal they're talking about.

How much should I expect the part(s) to cost from AutoZone or similar parts shop? My wife's got a baby on the way, and I really can't afford to throw gobs of cash at these people, LOL.

if u do the work yourself it should not be that much. u will need to take the axle out and have a new seal (and while at it a new bearing) installed at a machine shop or if you have a good parts store with a press they can do it cheaper. its been a while sense i bought a bearing but it should not be much more than 50 bucks. pick up a factory service manual for your yr and model. i think u can download it on the net for a reasonable price or get a used book. well books i think the 96 is a three book set.

If it involves a machine shop, then I probably won't do this job myself :0(

Is it necessary to change the bearing when the seal is changed? Anybody have a part number for the seal in question? I'm still having trouble figuring out exactly what seal they were talking about...

if i remember right the bearing has to come off to get to the seal. thats y i was saying to replace the bearing also. i havent messed with rearends in a long time so they are probly a little different but should be the same concept. u would need ot pull the axle to get to the bearing and seal. how much leakage are we talking about? if the oil gets on the brakes it can really mess em up. thats the biggest issure.

It was a very small leak, but as you said it could easily get on the brakes. I want to fix it before that ever has a chance to happen.

Edit: I've just read the Haynes manual about it, which calls this the rear axleshaft oil seal. I can't find anything at autozone or rockauto that matches that term exactly, but I see things like wheel seal, pinion seal, etc. Does anybody have a part number for this item? After reading the manual, I definitely think I can do this from home :0)

part # in my 93 book is 26029139 for the seal and 7451785 for the bearing. not sure if they changed the axle size or not for yours.

ok, there are 3 seals in the rear axle, if they showed you behind your brakes they are talking about the axle end seals, i changed this on mine, it is infront of the bearing so you dont have to change it.

1: jack up car, put stands under
2: take off wheel and brake assembly
3: remove diff cover and drain
4: pull the 'c' clip and then you can remove the axle shaft
5: pick out the seal and metal housing bit, be careful not to score the inside of the axle tube
6: put in the new seal, carefully tap with a hammer each edge, or use a flat piece of wood or something and put if flat over the seal and hit that. This is easier as it evenly pushes the seal in
7: put axle shaft back in and 'c' clip retainer in
8: re-install diff cover and fill diff up
9: put brake back together and wheel on
10: remove stands and drop car down

JOB DONE

hope this helps

i have a seal here and the part no for my 99 is 8660S its a federal mogul seal. All seals etc are same on models

Thanks. That's exactly what I needed. I went ahead and picked up 2. Since I'm going to be opening the diff up, and since i need to change the rear brakes anyway, I figure I'll go ahead and replace both while I'm in there.

And thanks, Maudy, for confirming which seal it should be. Good instructions, too (basically the same as Haynes manual). Glad to know I don't need to get the bearing changed, too!

glad i could help, if you had the manual you'd have been fine, i just stripped mine down to see how it went, which means I have a spare bearing I bought just in case :D