TAsumday

Thinking about getting another LS1, but noticed alot of residue on the torque arm (from trans to rear-end). The car is an M6, 87,000 mile SS. Their is no residue on the trans pan or cross-member.
Is it the pinion seal in the rear-end or something in the tail shaft of the trans? Also what is typical cost for either and if its the pinion seal, is it customery to replace the gears, bearings, or only the seal?
Thanks for any input, James.

staringback05

iTrader: (8)

im not sure at the cost your looking at...but seals and bearings are usually replaced back there...is it running bad? because i have oil residue to but its not a big deal to me....always been like that

01lowbird

i would imagine its the pinion, the seal is the only thing that needs to be replaced

TAsumday

Thats what I was thinking, just didn't think it would leak enough to go all the way back up the torque arm. I haven't test drove it yet, so I'll just make sure there's no vibration. My TA never had any residue, but I sold it when it had 40K and I also had gears put in.
Thanks for the advice, James.

Formula_Power

iTrader: (18)

if it;s the transmission tailshaft seal...or the rear pinion seal both are very easy to do and the seals are only 5 bucks or so....it should be pretty obivous which on is leaking as there should be trans oil aound the trans seal and gear oil around the pinion seal..if it's the pinion seal there is usally gear oil all over the rear end....both of these are very common..and should be over 100 bucks to do...even at at a dealership

todddchi

iTrader: (3)

You should be able to tell by wiping the fluid off with a white rag. Even if it's filthy trans fluid will still have a hint of red evident.

My bet is on the rear trans seal, I don't think the pinion would work it's way forward all the way up to the front of the torque arm.

BlackDuk98

iTrader: (34)

Well, on my car, I have both the trans tailshaft seal and pinion seal leaking at the moment. But... The fluid from the pinion seal can leak all the way to the front of the TA. especially if you have a stock one, it will run down the bottom ridge all the way up. At the moment, i have a temporary "quick fix" Gasket sealant. I put it around my axle tubes and the 2 welds at the axles just till business slows down and I can get my car on a rack to fix it the right way. You can do the pinion seal yourself if you feel comfortable doing it for $3-5. Just make sure to mark the nut placement and torque it exact. Not sure what a dealership would charge, all I can say is that it is waaay easier than doing spark plugs on that car.

TAsumday

that underside looks imaculate compared to the one I am looking at. The oil has aquired alot of dirt and the whole torque arm looks like it has been rhino lined...with gunk. there is oil drops hanging from the rear bolts that hold the torque arm to thr rear end, so I imagine the seal is probably all but gone. I'll be test driving it today, so I'll check for excessive gear wine or loosness and vibration.
Thanks again for all the info and advice.

fenix99

iTrader: (1)

yah man they all leak and the seals go to crap after a while, its normal wear kinda thing these cars are pretty old already, its easy to swap just gotta get under the car and take off the dirveshaft get in there with a big *** impact gun bla bla bla put in the new one..done

On20Z

iTrader: (3)

I had this same problem although i did change the seal,and it kept leaking so when i looked underneath the car i noticed on my ory a puddle and it was dripping from the yoke not the seal so im thinking the mechanice used force on my yoke changing the universals and it cracked.So ill look for a new one and not drive it.BOOOO