Questions about rear axle seals and body work

[toastybroski]

So I have been going at it with a shop for a couple of weeks now about my rear axle seals and bearings that I got replaced a few weeks ago. The wheels seem to have a bit of oil over them and after bringing it back to the shop to have them redo it they are claiming it is just residual from the initial job. They cleaned it up and 3 days later it looks like this. They claim the drums are completely dry on the inside.

Another question I have is there appears to be a bad repair job on my passenger side rear quarter panel that is starting to bubble and possibly rust. What would be a reasonable quote to repair this and how necessary is it that I work on it right away? Anyone have any recommendations for shops in the denver area as I called 4 or 5 and no one was taking new cars because of all the hail damage claims.

 

[rumfoord]

Does that gen have a rear diff breather? If so could be something to look at, might be clogged and pressure inside blowing the seal.

 

[kolelt]

A real shop will charge good amount of $ to fix that body work. Wolfsteel sells that particular part.

https://www.alfaparts.net

Again, I simply don’t trust shops. Because most body shops half ass rust repair. Because most repair collision which involves mostly replacing with used parts.

 

[toastybroski]

A real shop will charge good amount of $ to fix that body work. Wolfsteel sells that particular part.

https://www.alfaparts.net

Again, I simply don’t trust shops. Because most body shops half ass rust repair. Because most repair collision which involves mostly replacing with used parts.

What would you say is the urgency for fixing it? Theres been a little bubble there for close to 5 years but it just recently broke off when I was taking a closer look at it.

 

[octanejunkie]

Pull the rear wheels and inspect the drums/brakes yourself. If they are wet inside (gear oil) chances are it was either never cleaned well or it's leaking again. Clean and dry if wet. Check again after a hundred miles.

Clean the backing plates and rims real well. If oil shows up in either of these spots again, the seals are leaking. It's very easy to ruin the oil seals and it's even easier to replace them wrong. I'd check the bearings too, a shot wheel bearing will promote a seal leak quickly.

Make sure the diff breather works. Replace if you are not sure.

That body work needs to be done now (crack in the wheel well) and done right - it's only going to get worse.

 

[toastybroski]

Pull the rear wheels and inspect the drums/brakes yourself. If they are wet inside (gear oil) chances are it was either never cleaned well or it's leaking again. Clean and dry if wet. Check again after a hundred miles.

Clean the backing plates and rims real well. If oil shows up in either of these spots again, the seals are leaking. It's very easy to ruin the oil seals and it's even easier to replace them wrong. I'd check the bearings too, a shot wheel bearing will promote a seal leak quickly.

Make sure the diff breather works. Replace if you are not sure.

That body work needs to be done now (crack in the wheel well) and done right - it's only going to get worse.

Well I think the only thing that is actually cracked is the bondo. Most of that quarter panel isnt magnetic. Do quotes in the $3000 dollar range sound about right?

 

[kolelt]

What would you say is the urgency for fixing it? Theres been a little bubble there for close to 5 years but it just recently broke off when I was taking a closer look at it.

I can assure that who ever put that much bondo, did a half ass job on the repair. And you can clearly see the rust behind it. That metal behind the bondo could be very bad or you might be lucky somehow and it’s barley rusted. That fact that the bubble has been there for 5 years indicates water has been getting there. And that’s not good. Question is how much do you care about your truck ?

$3000 is insane for that fix.

 

[toastybroski]

I can assure that who ever put that much bondo, did a half ass job on the repair. And you can clearly see the rust behind it. That metal behind the bondo could be very bad or you might be lucky somehow and it’s barley rusted. That fact that the bubble has been there for 5 years indicates water has been getting there. And that’s not good. Question is how much do you care about your truck ?

$3000 is insane for that fix.

I mean the fact that there has been evidence of it for 5 years yet hasn't really changed much has me hesitant on doing a big fix. Tapping it the metal still seems really hard. Other than the clear coat completely failing and the paint there are no other problems so I wouldn't mind putting like $1000 towards it, but $3000....

 

[octanejunkie]

I mean the fact that there has been evidence of it for 5 years yet hasn't really changed much has me hesitant on doing a big fix. Tapping it the metal still seems really hard. Other than the clear coat completely failing and the paint there are no other problems so I wouldn't mind putting like $1000 towards it, but $3000....

$250 for the sheet metal from Wolf or go cut one out in a yard

Clean and prep the area (and donor part if yard harvested)

Cust, weld and shape the repair area

Body fill/smoothing

Paint (blended into existing paint)

Color sand

I can see a shop billing by the hour getting up to $3K but that seems insane as has been said

Quarter panel repairs are budget busters for this reason. If this were a front fender it would be a $60 swap.

 

[kolelt]

I mean the fact that there has been evidence of it for 5 years yet hasn't really changed much has me hesitant on doing a big fix. Tapping it the metal still seems really hard. Other than the clear coat completely failing and the paint there are no other problems so I wouldn't mind putting like $1000 towards it, but $3000....

Rust is cancer. What you see there is completely different under all that bondo and some. There are two layers of metal there. Inner fender and outer fender. Can guarantee that the inner fender is rusted. And once you start poking and peeling. It will be a good size rust hole. $1000 is a lot! Maybe you have a friend who welds? Because if you buy the patch from wolf steel you can cut it your self and have him weld it. It’s a easy fix if you have basic knowledge of how body panels are put together and how you must fix rust.

 

[T4R2014]

$3000 sounds just about right. Bodywork is not cheap. Anything cheaper than that is a repeat of that job. Once you bust out a welder you are talking thousands.

 

[kolelt]

I guess what I mean is. I wouldn’t pay that much. That’s just me. Knowing that this can be fixed in one day. Personal opinion

 

[Scramble]

Rust is cancer. What you see there is completely different under all that bondo and some. There are two layers of metal there. Inner fender and outer fender. Can guarantee that the inner fender is rusted. And once you start poking and peeling. It will be a good size rust hole. $1000 is a lot! Maybe you have a friend who welds? Because if you buy the patch from wolf steel you can cut it your self and have him weld it. It’s a easy fix if you have basic knowledge of how body panels are put together and how you must fix rust.

This...You need to get all of that bondo off & see what the metal looks like. Because you left it for 5 years I bet it doesn't look good under there.

 

[Kanoe]

Your best bet for checking on that axle seal leak is to pull the ABS sensor and verify. Takes you 2 minutes if you crawl under, 20 minutes if you pull the tires for more room. If it is bone dry in that cavity you are not leaking. Any sign of gear oil in there and you are still leaking. Then you will know for sure for yourself and you can tell the mechanic what is up with certainty.

 

[Yoter]

Your best bet for checking on that axle seal leak is to pull the ABS sensor and verify. Takes you 2 minutes if you crawl under, 20 minutes if you pull the tires for more room. If it is bone dry in that cavity you are not leaking. Any sign of gear oil in there and you are still leaking. Then you will know for sure for yourself and you can tell the mechanic what is up with certainty.

This is exactly the way to check.
Jack the car up, chock front wheels, put jack stands under the frame. Remove the rear wheels, and carefully pull the ABS sensors (They can be hard to remove and you don't want to damage them). Shine a flash light in the hole and you will see a metal gear looking thing, it should be completely dry with no oil on it.