Rear Axle Seals FYI

[valvestem]

Haven't posted for some time but thought this may be of interest to some.

I noticed an oil slick on top of a rain puddle in my driveway, a while later I saw the inside of the left rear tire was wet, with what I didn't know. After crawling under the Jeep, I could see the whole rear of the left rear rim was wet and radiated out from the axle.

I scheduled a service, the tech took two seconds and said both rear axle seals are "blown".

With the same tech, I scheduled a repair, the job took him about 2 hours because of waiting for parts from NAPA. Two seals, and a LR ebrake pad was needed.

I got out of it lucky as it was an in-house tech where I work and I only paid wholesale for the parts. Total: $31.00 parts, 2 hours labor @ $40.00, Grand Total-$111.00.

The 2003 Jeep Sport has just over 48k, no off-road miles.

The tech said how many miles on this? I told him, and he replied, usually this isn't something you see on a car with this few miles, I concur.

 

[tjkj2002]

The tech said how many miles on this? I told him, and he replied, usually this isn't something you see on a car with this few miles, I concur.

But not uncommon,dirt and other junk will build up around the seal and that acts like sandpaper and wear the seal down,age does it also.

 

[Marlon_JB2]

Yeah, something like this has nothing to do with miles. This is an age deal. Rubber, etc wears down with age, rather than mileage. I've seen cars that have low miles, but are years old with stuff breaking/cracking left and right!

 

[jnaut]

But not uncommon,dirt and other junk will build up around the seal and that acts like sandpaper and wear the seal down,age does it also.

Ok, so what can one do to prevent it? Especially those of us who do have off-road miles.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Keep the suspension clean and inspect the brakes for dirt build-up regularly. Dont take it offroad then try to act all cool by leaving the mud all over the under body for weeks. Make sure no mud is built up around the pinions or the brakes where the axle seals are.

Its amazing how much mud I used to get out of just the front rotors when I would go through mud... And people complain about warped rotors.

 

[buyacargetacheck]

As I wrote in a post a couple of months ago, my 2005 4x2 Sport seems to have self-corrected its LR axle seal leak. My dealer wanted to charge me over $300 just to replace the one seal. You got a good deal.

Haven't posted for some time but thought this may be of interest to some.

I noticed an oil slick on top of a rain puddle in my driveway, a while later I saw the inside of the left rear tire was wet, with what I didn't know. After crawling under the Jeep, I could see the whole rear of the left rear rim was wet and radiated out from the axle.

I scheduled a service, the tech took two seconds and said both rear axle seals are "blown".

With the same tech, I scheduled a repair, the job took him about 2 hours because of waiting for parts from NAPA. Two seals, and a LR ebrake pad was needed.

I got out of it lucky as it was an in-house tech where I work and I only paid wholesale for the parts. Total: $31.00 parts, 2 hours labor @ $40.00, Grand Total-$111.00.

The 2003 Jeep Sport has just over 48k, no off-road miles.

The tech said how many miles on this? I told him, and he replied, usually this isn't something you see on a car with this few miles, I concur.