Took my 2001.5 to the dealer today to have them replace a rear pinion seal that had leaked for a few weeks. I would have done it myself but don't have the big torque wrench required. The dealer's service manager says I can wait for it, it will only take an hour. So I wait. Service manager comes back to get me three hours later. I ask about the pinion seal and gives me this blank look....OOPs. They did the old lube-oil-filter check everything- deal instead of replacing the seal. He says "give me 20 minutes". He comes and gets me out of their TV room a half hour later and tells me they just blew all the dirt out of the OUTSIDE of seal and that will fix it. He says the angle changes between the pumpkin and the drive shaft work dirt in to the seal and cause it to leak. I may be a rodeo announcer and BS is not new to me, but can this be?

 

oh boy, you better call the local news, let em' eat it up. I hope the lof was free.

 

yeah could be but i would have just walked outta there without paying cauze i do have a bad temper......when mine leaked 3 years ago i changed out the seal with a new one and it hasnt leaked since, dirt in the seal will cauze a groove to develope on the yoke which needs to be sanded down for a smooth surface....id bet it will be leaking again soon.

 

Geez!! That guy is takin you for an idiot!! Once it starts leaking it will always leak until replaced.

 

The bearings on the pinion are there to keep it from moving as the axle moves up and down. And that may not even be the problem. I lost 4 seals total on my rearend before I finally checked, and unplugged, the vent. I hope you didn't have to pay anything for the work you didn't request, and the work you did request not being performed. Keep an eye on it. It may not leak anymore, but generally, once it starts leaking, it will keep leaking until replaced.

 

The pinion seal still leaks......First drips about half an hour after I left the dealership....Oh yeah, the only good news is that the LOF and "Check everything" was free. I had also asked them to check the ball joints, but they forgot to do that too. Maybe they were having a bad day....or not! I might understand a technician making a mistake on a work order, but this was the service manager. First and last dealkings with a dealership. Rodeo on.....

 

If you can get your hands on a multiplier, you can change the seal yourself. We changed mine without. Can't say the torque is right, but it doesn't make any noise, and quit leaking. 1-7/8" socket, 1/2" drive torque wrench, pipe wrench (to put on the pinion and block it to the ground to keep from moving the truck), pry bar and a hammer, and you should be in business.