Rear diff leak

[Denis]

Good day all

I have an oil transmission leak that has start on the rear of my Pinz. It is leaking right at the joint of the support bracket for the body is. It is right between the t-case and the extension part before the rear differential.

Where do you think it is leaking from????

I have checked the oil in the t-case and the rear diff and everything is almost full. But the front diff was kind of low.

Could it have leak from the front to the back, I doubt it.

Any ideas are welcome.

I have also looked at the shop manual and they don’t show much of where those seals are for the rear diff.

Are they in the witch hat in the locker part for the diff and what is sealing at the back for the parking brake???

Thanks for the advice before I open it up.

Denis

[Ken A]

Denis,

2 years ago I had to pull the t-case because of a bad bearing.

When I separated the rear differential with the extension/spacer from the t-case I had a lot of oil coming out of the extension/spacer case (I mean a lot !). We though that it could have been a questionable seal on the t-case bearing and replaced the seal along with the other required repair. Reassembled the unit and refilled t-case and differential.

Our assumption was wrong, the oil level in the read differential continued to drop for over a year until it probably equalized the level in the differential and the extension/spacer case.

I have talked to two of the pros on this board and they tell me that it is not unusual the find the extension/spacer case full of oil.


Ken A.

[Denis]

Thanks for the reply Ken A.

So if I have all that oil leaking down I should pop the case apart put some kind of sealant between the t-case and the space and voila. Let it fill back up and forget about it.

What did you use to seal the t-case to the spacer and to the rear diff???

Denis

[milesdzyn]

I would say you have a bad rear seal on your transfer case. The extension piece should not normally have oil in it. The transfer case and witches hat have a hole between them to share oil but are supposed to be a sealed unit. Also the differentials and their attached witches hat share oil but are sealed units. The outer frame tube members should be dry of oil. I would fix the seal if you are able to do so.

If you seal the main frame tubes you will prevent oil from seeping out. But that dripping oil is letting you know there is a leak in your system, without this little bit of early warning, it increases your chances of having the oil go low in your differentials or transfer case (without you knowing) and causing major (expensive) damages. So unless you check your fluids on a regular basis I would not seal the tubes.

Miles

[Erik712m]

it could be at the witches hat locker switch as well. You could drain the extension by pulling off the pressure switch and see which goes low the rear diff or transfer box and work from there

[Denis]

Thanks for all the good advices.

I will look at those lockers and lights switches to make sure they are well sealed and will see from there which is leaking.

Dennis suggested that I check all the bolts on the rear assembly. All of them were quite loose.
I knew that some bolts on a Pinz need some frequent check but I never thought about those.
Now everything is tightened and the levels are full. I will ride the truck for a week and see where it is leaking from. I will keep you posted on what’s going on. And for sure I will have lots of photos of the tear down when it gets there.

Denis