I noticed a sweat on the rear differential cover looking from the back, when I looked at the driveshaft side I realized the oil was coming from the front of the diff, right behind the yoke [>:]. I hope it's just a seal. Anything else I should be looking at when I pull the shaft off?


Second, I get a puff of smoke when I start the truck[&:]. It comes out about 3-5 secs after the engine fires up. I don't get smoke at any other time, just when it starts. The oil levels are always steady and there are no visible leaks. What could cause this?

 

Sounds like the yoke seal on the diff.

Is the smoke any color? Blue tint to it, black? That will help tell us what your burning

 

Socha_62, the smoke is definatly oil. I think it's pooling somewhere near the intake or combustion chamber when it's parked overnight, not completely sure though.

I've started to remove the shaft but hit a snag real early. The caps for the u-joints are off and, according to HaynesI should be able to "lower the shaft". The thing won't budge.

[IMG]local://upfiles/28040/55AD660BDF9C497DA69FAC56388CE9AC.jpg[/IMG]

 

your going to need to get a pry bar and put it between teh yoke and ujoint, give her a hit on the end with a hammer, and she should come apart. Becareful not to drop the cups of the ujoint.

That definatly looks like your pinion seal is leaking. Your going to need air to get the pinion nut off/on. And put some rtv sealant around the outer side of the seal. Put some grease on the inner lip of the seal, where the yoke rides to ensure it seals up.

 

thanks for the help. I wasn't sure the type of force to use in that area (as to not damage anything). I'll give that a try. I hope I don't need air for that pinion nut; there's a way to do it with a prybar and breaker bar combo and there also a special tool that looks like a square end wrench but it probably costs a bunch. I'll post updates.

 

Yeah they rust up pretty good. Just need a rubber mallet and a pry bar like Rom said. Give her a good wack, but not to hard to dent your shaft [&:]

The oil could be pooling in your intake from a bad plenum. Take your air box off and look down your TB with a flashlight, if theres alot of oil down there its a bad plenum gasket.

 

Shaft has been removed with a pry bar..I'm wondering if anyone knows what size socket the pinion nut is? It's a big one. Also what type of gear oil do I have to get to top off the differential? All my other vehicles have been FWD so this stuff is new to me. Thanks again..




[IMG]local://upfiles/28040/17C7FA764A4D45EF9C0A318ED0CD019A.jpg[/IMG]

 

1 1/8" maybe? Your probably gonna need an inpact gun, I bet that bad boys pretty tight.

 

Like I stated earlier, you will probly need an impact to get that bad boy off of there. And then pull the yoke off. After that your home free, just pull the seal, and prep the housing for the new one and reverse of removal

 

It's something like 250-300 ft. lbs. to torque the pinion, nothing to just guess at fyi.