For some reason I lost most of my old archived messages from this group, so I was unable to search for the answer to this, so here goes the question again. I have a 1995 Explorer XLT 2 wheel drive. The rear differential is leaking slowly and it looks like it's leaking from the seal where the shaft goes into the rear differential. I'm guessing that's the pinion seal?
I called the local ford dealer and asked what it typically costs to replace that seal on a 95 Explorer, he said $1000 at least. Does that sound right? I was thinking more along the line of $400 or less?
A good mechanic with the proper tools: 1.25 hours + parts = $150/$200 tops. Wait for Jim Warmans reply, it's been 20+ years since I've done this to a car. wth
WTH has it pretty well pegged. Certainly no more than 1.5 hours but should be in the 1 to 1.25 range. $25 about for the seal (that's a high guess in $CA). If the diff is low, 85W140 is about $18/liter in our neck of the woods with dino oil (not sure if it's recommended or not) considerably less.
Disclaimer... if the drive pinion can be moved in the housing and/or the diff is noisy and/or the diff is empty, all bets are off.
Last time I replaced one of those seals, I used a CR brand seal and it ran me only a few bucks. I climbed underneath, took the yoke off the diff, pulled the seal, and reseated a new one in place. It only took about half an hour tops.
Had you considered checking at your local parts house for a replacement seal and doing it yourself? For a $1,000 bill, I'd consider it highly.
I've thought about doing it myself, however, I don't have any special lifting equipment (just the jack that came with the Explorer). Anyone know of a online description of the steps involved in replacing that seal? Also, do I need any special tools?
I didn't need any special equipment. The vehicle has enough clearance for me to slide underneath and work on it. Of course some people are larger than I am.. I used an impact socket and driver to loosen the nut, and remove the yoke....making sure to have a drip pan underneath, because it darn sure is gonna have oil coming out once you pull the yoke. I used a seal puller to remove the seal ( mine had 3 jaws and a slide hammer ), some folks just carefully pry it out, making sure not to scar the inside surface where the new seal will be...I'm never that lucky so I used a puller. Once it was out, I gingerly put the new seal in place and put it back together. Top off the diff oil, replace the plug and I was done. Of course I've been working on my own vehicles since I was 16, making that 31.5 years. Jim probably has a better solution though, so you might wanna ask.
"Mike" wrote in message news:uFovc.2377$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr24.news.prodigy.com...
Thanks for all the help y'all. I successfully replaced the rear differential pinion seal. Here's some info that might be helpful to the next person who tries this:
1) I had to get 2 bottles of 85W140 oil, used about 75% of it
2) You'll need a 27mm socket to remove the flange from the diff (one big nut)
3) You'll need a star shaped socket (10 or 12 mm, can't remember) to remove the 4 bolts that connect the drive shaft to the flange on the diff
4) To remove the original pinion seal, I used 4 razer blades and a hammer to help dislodge the seal. Here's how it works., The pinion seal has a thin flat lip that seats on the outside of the differential housing. You need to get something under the lip to pry the seal out. So, I took a razer blade and hammered it in under the lip, repeated with the remaining 3 razerblades around the circumference. That was enough to get it started. Then stick a small thin flat blade screwdriver between the pinion seal lip and a razer blade and pry it out. By prying between the lip and the razer blade, you won't do any damage to the differential housing. The seal should be easy to pry out at at this point
5) To install the new pinion seal, I had to use a block of wood and hammer to tap the seal into the differential housing hole. It's a tight fit.
Total price for the repair (remember the mechanic wanted $400) Differential Oil: $6.00 Pinion Seal: $10.00 ====== $16.00 Total time was around 3 hours because I really wasn't sure what I was doing :-p If I have to do this again, I figure it will take under an hour.
Mike, If yours is anything like my 97 (and other vehicles) the seal (Ford is best) costs about $20 and the labor should be an hour or two. I just did my
97 and have done many others. Some good tools are required to get the bearing preload correct. I would sure take on the job for a say $200. Find another shop. Jerry in Kingston, WA
Sound like things turned out well. My 95 4WD has the limited slip diff (notated by the D4 label in the driver door edge, next to tire press info). Don't know if you have it or not with a 2WD, but the lim slip need a "friction modifier" liquid added to the diff fluid to make it work correctly. Got my diff oil and friction modifier at Part America or Autozone IIRC.
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