My truck seems to be leaking fluid from around the output shaft. Does anyone know what the doughnut thing is? It seems to be leaking from there? The underside of the truck has red fluid sprayed in a pattern.

The attached JPG shows where it is leaking.

 

That thing is a balancer. It does the same job as a harmonic balancer on the front of an engine. I would say that the seal is leaking before the balancer and getting on the balancer, then being flung under the truck.

 

Wash the underside of the truck completely then check it out again.
Did you get the TSB done for the Tranny hose? If you did was it done recently? It's possible that it's coming from that if you did. Some of the mechanics don't really care if they leave a mess. Alot of them are just punching a clock and don't care.

Has the fluid level gone down any since you saw the leak? If not then it may not actually be leaking???

 

The item you're refering to is indeed a balancer. It's a one piece unit with the output yoke and is called the "Companion Flange Assembly". If it is leaking out of the BACK of the companion flange it is coming thru the rubber portion that isolates the dampener from the yoke and is not the output shaft seal leaking. I had mine replaced last week along with the front pinion seal. I have a picture pending that will clearly show you whether or not it is the companion flange leaking or the output shaft seal. I'll post it here as soon as it is approved...

-Richard

 

Yes, I had the TSB done in the spring. I'll clean up the mess and and check again. I'll also keep an eye on the fluid level.

The leak appears to be between the U-Joint and the balancer. The engine side looks dry/clean. I'll clean it up and check again.

Thanks

 

Here's the photo. As you can see mine was leaking from the back of the companion flange and the dust seal area at the front of it was dry. They will replace the whole unit and the problem will be solved. Hope this helps...

 

Thank you so much for the infomation.

I will take it to the dealer this week and have them replace it under waranty. (it only has 13k mi). The engine is not even broken in yet.

Again, thanks everyone for the replies.



I just hope they don't mess anything up replacing it.

 

nice explanation gypsyman! I will have to crawl under and take a closer look at mine. Good time to check the leaky rear main seal at 4100 miles again

 

Just got my truck back from the dealer. Companion Flange was replaced. Everything is good now.

Thanks everyone!!!

 

Sorry to bring up an old post, but does anyone know the part number for this "companion flange assembly?" Mine is leaking and I am trying to determine if I am better off going to the dealer and paying the $100 deductible or fixing it myself. Thanks for the help!

 

This must be a pretty common problem. Mine is leaking too. The rear transfer case seal is also dryrotted. I've got about 35K on the clock, so I'm going to have the dealer fix it on their dime while it's still covered under bumper to bumper.

 

I have almost 36k miles and had the same thing (?) fixed under warranty yesterday; they replaced a seal-output shaft and yoke-drive shaft, and then topped of the ATF fluid in the transfer case.

 

I'm trying to figure out where this leak is from exactly. Are you saying that there is a rubber piece (insert?) that goes inside the transfer case? So that transfer case ATF leaks along the shaft internally and comes out after the "companion flange" on the driveshaft? I don't see a picture attached to silverramer's post so I'm not sure where his original leakage was present. Thanks Ken Irwin

 

I have the same problem. I now have over 100K on the clock. I think that I might replace the whole driveline. I looked at it on the http://www.tenaflyjeepmoparparts.com/ site and it looked like it only costs under $200.00 for the 1 piece drive shafts for the short beds. if this is a complete driveline, it would be a better deal than replacing the front yoke and still having old u-joints in the drive line.

If the companion flange IS seperate from the yoke, how much does it cost and how hard is it to replace.

Bryan