F-Body Europe

Can anyone help me change out this axle seal problem I have? I've never tried to tackle anything like this so I don't have any experience and I don't want to screw anything else up. Its on my moser 12 bolt. I haven't had it long but somehow the seal has went bad. My car should be here sometime this week and I wanted to replace it and go for my first cruise in Germany this weekend.

Front or rear seal?

What I mean is it your Pinon seal or just the rear cover?

If its the front pinon it's a little more difficult than say the rear seal...

Rear seal is as simple as raising your car up, draining the oil out of the case, cleaning the old gasket or gasket material off, and putting new gasket or "RTV" on the now dry and prepped housing and axle, then tourqing to spec and letting the sealant dry, then filling back uup with oil.

Very simple proceedure, as for the front pinion seal, it's not to hard either, but a little more involved than the rear seal:) Requires torx head bolts etc...

Honestly I have no idea which one it is. I just see it leaking on the inside of my wheel. I'm not a mechanic or a guru at any of this. I asked a friend back stateside and he said I had an axle seal leaking and that was all he said, and now he's on emergency leave so I can't ask him anymore questions. I don't think there is a leak around the casing but then again I don't have my car to look at yet.

Oh, if its on the outside, you will need a slide hammer and a manual, shouldn't be too long of a job, you may still have to break the back of the case open though as I'm not sure if your axle is C-clip or not. Hopefully Roy will jump in and straighten me out, I'm a Ford guy;-)

If it's stock, it will have the C-clip ... so no way of getting the axle out without opening the diff ...

No it's not stock it's a Moser 12 bolt w/ detroit true trac, 3.73's and I don't remember anything about c-clips. I got rid of the 10 bolt a few months ago after destroying the r&p.

Oops, missed that on the original post, sorry ...

No problem Garry. So does anyone have any experience/time/tools to help? My car should be here hopefully by the end of the week...the darn vpc keeps telling me to come back later in the week.

If it is truly no c-clips then it is a matter of following these very basic procedures

1. remove tire
2. remove brake caliper and bracket (support Brake caliper by tieng it off to the bump stop)
3. disconnect park prake cable
4. disconnect tcs/abs cable (if you are 4 channel)
5. remove tcs/abs sensor (if you are 4 channel)
6. remove 4 bolts that hold the park brake backing to the axle end.
7. Give a hard pull and remove the axle and backing plate.
8. remove seal in axle housing end
9. replace seal in axle housing end.
10. reverse the procedure 7-1 for installation.

If you don't have a seal in there then you may have to replace the bearing . Also check your fluid level to ensure none is coming out the fill hole with the plug removed and car setting level. Infact about 1/8 inch below level is better.
The axle bearings don't need the lube since the bearings are sealed units. Oil will leak past the bearings if it is over full and or on a side hill. If you have thick bearing retaining / press rings you may not be able to use a oil seal.

Wow... thanks for all of the info Roy.

I need to know where to get the parts for this as soon as possible. The leak obviously failed my inspection today so I have 30 days to get it repaired. Any ideas on where to get them/cost for them?

Give Moser a call . They havethe parts in stock. Its best to do phone orders to them since there internet ordering is not secure. Usually receive theparts in 4-8 working days.

I have a Moser 12 bolt with the C-clip eliminator and I don't remember a seal in it. I think the outer ring of the axle bearing was the seal. You could try pulling it apart like Roy explained, clean the bearing and housing and put a very light coat of silicone on the outside of the bearing. Also, check the axle breather. That might be why you blew the seal.

NXZ28 excuse my ignorance but could you go more indepth in your explanation... I have no idea how to fix it so when you guys say what to do i'm normally like wtf is that?...lol. I understand most things it's just that I'm not a mechanic. Thanks.

I'll do my best. Roy explained exactly how to get it apart and back together. I just can't remember if the Moser 12 bolt has a outer seal inside the actual axle housing. I don't believe so. When you pull the axle out you will see the outer bearing pressed on the axle. You will see a groove machined into the outer race of the bearing. I would clean everything up and put a very light coat of Permatex Red RTV around it. Make sure everything is clean before you do so. I used brake cleaner on mine and it works great. Then just push the axle back in and follow Roy's instruction on assembly. It takes a little patience to line the axle back up with the differential but it will go.

Thanks for the details. I'm going to get with Moser this week to order the necessary parts. I've only got 30 days to get it fixed and so it will pass inspection.

If this rear did have c-clips how would it be removed? How much longer would it take? Would it take any special tools? How would the process work then?

CHEIF....

let me know how it goes for you. I have the EXACT same problem right now plus I'm working on my second pinion seal thats leaking as well. I'm have to get up with Speed Inc. *they put my Moser in* to get a new seal.

98blkbrd

Ok. Does your rear have c-clips or not? Are you going to do the swap yourself or do you know of a shop that will do it? I noticed the other day that I do have a small leak from under the chrome plate as well...but it's not bad or anything. I have ordered all the seals/bearings that I should need and hopefully it will ship soon. My car failed the inspection because of this seal so I have to hurry up once the parts get here and install it/get it installed before the 24th...but I know the parts won't be here for a week or two. I'll let you know what happens unless you get yours fixed first.

Rotate the carrier until you see the 5/16" hex head spider gear shaft retaining screw clear the rear axle housing. Remove the 5/16" hex head screw and gently slide out the shaft from the posi carrier. See the photo below:

The axles slide into the carrier s side gears and are held in place by C-clips. In order to remove the C-clips press each tire/axle towards the center of the car. This will allow you to see the C-clips on the end of the axle shaft and gain access to them. Depending on the posi you may have a S pring or a 4 small coil springs in there.

If it is a a torsen style it may have a paddle plate with another retaining screw to hold it in that you will have to remove.

The object is to push the axles in and remove the c-clips.
Its really quite simple just time consuming