BORN2LOSE

There are two bolts that connect the torque arm in the rear of the car. The bolts are dripping and the area is covered with an oily substance. The same substance has also blown onto the rear end. Could this be why my rearend started howling? (It never did when the gears were first installed) I changed the fluid in the rearend last summer and its not leaking out of the gasket as far as I can see. The floor in the garage is dry where I park the car every night but I have cleaned the area on the car and it keeps coming back. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

keliente

iTrader: (22)

It is probably leaking from the pinion seal, and yeah that would make the gears howl if there was not enough fluid in it. The torque arm bolts themselves go through a solid part of the housing so they won't leak, but the pinion seal will throw oil all over the place as the driveshaft turns and will get everything wet.

Check out this link for more info:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/gears-axles/412366-rear-end-faq.html

BORN2LOSE

Read the provided link. Thanks a lot. So how do I add fluid? Is there anything I can do do fix it temporarily? Its been howling for a while now. Maybe a year. What kind of damage am I doing by driving it like that? Sounds like an expensive fix for the pinion seal.

keliente

iTrader: (22)

Well what happens is that when you are low on fluid, the bearings/gears don't get lubricated & cooled by the fluid, and they overheat and make noise. Whatever damage done is irreversible, there is no temporary fix. You could probably keep it from getting worse if you add more fluid, but if it does get louder you might want to think about replacing all of the bearings (it would be a good time for a gear upgrade too).

Fluid is added on the passenger side of the housing. Towards the front there is a plug that you will need a 3/8" driver & extension to get to. Remove the plug and fill it up until fluid comes back out of the hole, then reinstall the plug.

BORN2LOSE

Crap. So the damage is done then. I thought you meant I had to add oil to the pinion seal. (Not gear oil) Duh. Ok, so actually it is gear oil coming out of the pinion seal. When I changed the gear oil last time it still howled so I guess there is nothing I can do besides change the gears back to the stock 3:23's and then fix the pinion seal problem (bearings). How many hours labor is that? Not good. Thanks man!

keliente

iTrader: (22)

You might be able to get away with just changing the bearings (buy a master installation kid for ~$110). The gears may or may not be damaged depending on how long the fluid was low. Best thing would be to have someone look at it for you.

To overhaul bearings in a rear end, expect $250-$400 in labor.