PheonixLS1

iTrader: (4)

What the hell is wrong with my car. 2009 rebuilt rear end, right axle, all bearings, all gaskets and so forth done by a GM dealer. 2010 pinion seal went bad again causing ring and pinion to go bad only 6000 miles after rebuild, again GM dealer repaired. OK.... now 2011 and the rear end is leaking yet again as if pinion seal has gone again within a few thousand miles, still under 12000 mile 1 year repair warranty but this is F%&^ING REDICULIOUS. I don't drag this thing, only street driven and only on occasion. The rest of the time it sits under a nice *** cover. I'm about ready to sell this F'ing headache. I DON'T GET IT. Help please.........

You can't see it very well but the top right corner of the rear case and the axles where they connect to the diff case and the front of the diff case and the bar that goes from the diff case towards the front of the car look wet and have a clear greasy residue like all the times before. Why does this keep happening......

Heyfred

iTrader: (10)

Check your ujoints. If they are not packed well or have a few miles on them they create heat which causes the pinion seal to leak or weap oil.

Here is your rearend

Jays_SSZ28

iTrader: (2)

Find a new mechanic. I have personally changed the seal on both of my cars, the new seals have quite a few miles on them. 20,000+ on one before it looks damp, but no drips. The other one is still dry.

If your car is a late 2002 build it has a two piece seal. IMO that one is more prone to leak.
Could also be the pinion preload being set too tight causing the bearings to run hot.

PheonixLS1

iTrader: (4)

It's a 2000

CamaroZ28_LS1

iTrader: (5)

Man, I am thankful I don't have a 10 bolt anymore. I am impressed that your having these issues... there is a crush sleeve which is suppose to set rotational torque for the pinion gear... this doesn't mean crush the damn thing... it means to put enough pre-load on it until you meet the rotational torque specs with an inch pound torque wrench. When that amount of torque is achieved it should be set. If your "Mechanic" is just nailing the ****** down with an impact it will most likely have some issues with to much load on the pinion bearing and cause premature failure on the taper roller bearing inside which causes over heating of the bearing which could cause the seal to fail. Good luck hope your issue is solved.

Wesmanw02

iTrader: (4)

Check the differential yoke. If the yoke gets a groove in the area where the seal rides, all the pinion seals in the world will not fix it. Basically the gear oil will leak between the groove and seal, making it appear that the seal has failed when in fact its has not.

The way to correct that issue is to replace the yoke with a new one. There may also be a "Sleeve & Seal" kit you can get from the auto parts store that allows you to reuse the old yoke by sleeving the grooved area and installing a new seal.

Wesmanw02

iTrader: (4)

This is also a good point.

If pinion bearing preload was set too tightly and exceeded specification, if could have overheated and damaged the outer pinion bearing, which will allow for play in the pinion shaft and will destroy the seal.

CamaroZ28_LS1

iTrader: (5)

this is true as well ^ Being a Nissan tech, common leaks of the drive line components on the transfer case where the seal rides on the yoke will end up wearing a groove in on the yoke from dirt getting in the seal. A seal alone wont fix it, it has to have a new yoke as well as a seal to fix the leak.

But it's one of the few things it could be.

CamaroZ28_LS1

iTrader: (5)

There is a fix for some issues of like a crank shaft end seal where a groove is worn into a crank shaft but you obviously don't want to replace a crank so... sometimes the seal will come in a bit longer or shorter to move the position of the seal so it doesn't ride on the same spot while still being able to seal. The chance of seals being made to do that is pretty slim though. My statement was just an example.

PheonixLS1

iTrader: (4)

You would think the damn pontiac/ chevy dealership mechanics would know that. I don't know whats going on.........

Jays_SSZ28

iTrader: (2)

The seal could have worn a groove.
Could also be a blocked vent tube.

CamaroZ28_LS1

iTrader: (5)

blocked vent is pretty rare but could cause pressure build up... and there is no tube just a small relief valve that sits on the pumpkin on the passenger side almost on the axle tube.

Big Al

iTrader: (1)

First thing I would check. This is a common problem on 8.8 Fords.

Al

knight_rider

I feel your pain man, I have a 2000 TA WS6 and have taken my rear end to the dealer twice to have repairs done on it. Mine is manual and like you I don't drag it...but yeah, it was all due to the infamous pinion seal leak and howling noise, the first time I took it they supposedly fixed it but then a year or two later I started to hear the howling noise again so I took it back to them and luckily the repairs were still under warranty so they fixed it again but said I needed a whole new housing for it since it was warped (that wasn't under the warranty and they wanted me to pay out-of-pocket for that) of course I said Hell No to that cuz that alone was around $1000. I swapped my 10bolt last year from another fbody with help from my buddies in my car club and now the pinion seal from that is leaking.
All in all, 10bolts suck..no use spending time and money on it..just don't sell the car man I gave up on the 10bolt long time ago...save your money and start saving for a 9inch, dana, or 12bolt instead

PheonixLS1

iTrader: (4)

I took it to Pontiac today and they cleaned the rear end of extremely well and told me to monitor it b/c most of the fluid was around the release valve. Said that they probably accidently over filled it last time they rebuilt it, said its not hard to do ( over filling it) and that it was probably just getting rid of the extra due to pressure build up. We will see................

CamaroZ28_LS1

iTrader: (5)

Yup this has happened to me before. So is it making noise or anything. If it is overfilled, you can foam up the gear oil and aerate the fluid causing it to lose lubricating qualities which in turn lets the gears and bearings to heat up which thus can cause premature wear and failure in the long run! Run the specified amount of gear oil in your rear end. This is a worse case scenario, but hey anything can happen. I obviously could of gave a **** less about a 10 bolt leaking or over filled or changing that nasty *** fluid that has been sitting in there for 80k miles (got this rear end used when i broke my other one lol). So what's it worth to you in the long run? I have seen the light with a Moser 9" :O). Not saying it's for everyone but even on a stock application it could be worth it.