Front Diff oil leak

[Forrest931]

Hey all

I was enjoying some 4wheeling at an off-road park near where I live (Hollister SVRA) and had a great day with no big failures. However, when I left the house this morning, some gear oil was on the ground, maybe enough to fill a shot glass in total. if it were a normal oil leak I wouldn't be worried about it but since it is front diff at a much lower total capacity I'm a little concerned.

My plan right now is to buy new CV axles and do the dif seals on both sides as always with OEM seals and I'll probably end up buying a nicer set of CV's so if anyone has a recommendation based on experience and durability please let me know.

I plan to just top off my gear oil until I get parts because I know it can't be dry even out of 4WD because there are still gears spinning anytime you are moving but if this won't work for some reason please let me know.

I'll leave a picture as well of the leak in case someone recognizes where exactly it is leaking from or, if it is a different issue entirely, like te seal that holds the front dif together, but I am certain it's gear oil I'm leaking.

Thanks!

 

[2TH4IST]

That does look like it is coming from the driver's cv seal. Also check the diff vent as well, it's on the driver's fenderwell. It also likes to burp diff oil through that, but it doesn't usually end up on the diff.

 

[phattyduck]

maybe enough to fill a shot glass in total.

It is probably MUCH less than that. That would make a 12" circle on the ground overnight, probably.

Definitely worth fixing, but just something to help you feel a bit better.

-Charlie

 

[shadow247]

Likely the seal if you haven't recently serviced your diff. You can order the tool from East Coast Gear supply to install the seal at the correct depth. If you use a generic seal driver, you can push it too far and it won't seal.