Front Diff seal leak - questions

[tysauce]

So late last week I tore my driver's side cv boot. I took it to the dealership and had them repair it - no big deal. Last night while we had a short warm-spell I decided to look under the truck and inspect their work. At this time I noticed some oil leaking from where the cv axle joins the driver's side front diff. After doing some research it would seem that my axle seal has started leaking.

I wanted to test and make sure the leak was current though, so I cleaned everything up until oil was no longer leaving residue on my rag. I drove it around today probably a total of about 15 miles including some highway. I came home and there was NO additional fluid. Everything looked exactly as I had left it after cleaning.

So my questions are these:

1) Do I need more extensive testing or should 15 miles be good enough to tell if I had a leak?
2) Is it possible that while repairing the cv boot some diff oil leaked out during the process and was just never cleaned up, but everything could be ok now?
3) If there is an axle seal leak should the dealership have to pay for it since the leak was not present before I took my truck in for the boot repair and the dealership never made any mention or my diff leaking?

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[fdbyrne]

When you replace the CV shaft, differential oil will spill out. The only way to avoid it is to drain the differential first. If it's not still leaking then it was probably just spilled oil.

My suggestion is to remove the skid plate for a while. They catch drips and make it really hard to tell if it's still leaking. You don't have to drive it for it to leak. If you pull the skid plate you'll be able to see drops of fluid on the garage floor in the morning after it sits overnight. If it's dripping you still have a leak. If it's not then you're fine.

If it is still leaking then you should absolutely take it back to the shop. It's recommended to replace that seal along with the CV shaft. Either they didn't replace it or they got it in there all cock-eyed which is easy to do.

 

[tysauce]

Thanks for the advice man, it's always nice to have a second opinion.