We have 1995 Silverado that the front differential is leaking on the drives side of the unit. Has anyone taken one of these apart and maybe has pictures to show? We are wondering if it is just a seal that maybe easy to change or do they have to be changed from the inside. If no actual pictures are available does anyone have a print out of the breakdown of the unit? Thanks in advance.

 

The seal is changed from the outside.
Not a real difficult job.

Is your Silverado a 1/2, 3/4 or 1-Ton?

 

it is a 3/4 ton

 

1. Raise the vehicle.
2. Remove the tire and wheel assembly.
3. Remove the brake drum.
4. Remove the axle shaft.
5. Remove the axle nut retaining ring.
6. Remove the key.
7. Remove the adjusting nut using the J 2222-C or other suitable tool.
8. Remove the adjusting nut.
9. Remove the hub from the axle housing.
10. Remove the oil seal from the wheel hub.

Reassembly is in reverse order then inspect lubricant level when complete.

 

Are these instruction for the front differential? It sounds like it is the rear axle you are explaining when you said brake drum assembly. This is 3/4 ton4 wheel drive and the front differential is leaking the oil. Are we talking the same thing here? There is a flange on the axle that bolts onto the differential.

 

My bad, I missed the part where you said "front".

You're going to want to take it in for this job, it's a real pain in the behind to do in the driveway but you do not have to split the case to change the seals.

 

Sounds like mine is leaking at the same place. Any clue what the cost might be taking it to someone?

 

Is it the Axle seal that is leaking? If so, that is relatively easy to replace.

If its the input shaft, then its a bit more difficult.

If its an actual body seal on the diff housing, its even more difficult.

Or it could be the vent tube interface that is leaking.

Assuming its just the axle seal, you need to remove the diff from the car, rent a slide hammer from Autozone, pull the axle out, replace seal - very easy job. Be careful not to scratch the inside of the axle housing seal surface with the seal puller tool. I would definitely replace both axle seals since you have it out. Axles go back in with light tapping with a regular hammer until they bottom out.

The hardest part is getting the diff out and back into the car. I did it by myslef, but it was a bitch. Dont let it fall on you. Best way was to use a big hydraulic jack and a pair of strong arms.

 

I have an 04 Tahoe that was in a front/side impact collision about 6 months ago. Yesterday my wife noticed some abnormal noise when driving home from work. I noticed that both sides of the front differential are leaking. Looks like the bearings and seals may be failing. Is this just coincidence, or could this be a result of the front side impact? If it was only one, I would this it is just normal wear. But both failing at the same time seems odd to me.
Any thoughts?

 

wow there was a lot of misinformation in this thread..

was the vehicle fixed up after the wreck? is it possible they were leaking beforehand you just never noticed until now? axle seals are a very common leak on these