4WD Spindle Leaking Differential Fluid After Shop Replaced Ball Joints.
 

I had the drivers side ball joints replaced and now the front drive shaft is leaking differential fluid. When I asked them about it they said they don't even take the shaft out when replacing ball joints. Then how could it now leak?

Is the shop responsible for the repair or am I? I can see paying for the seal, but not the labor.

What do you all think I should do or say?

How tough is it to replace this seal myself? I'm pretty good with a wrench, but this front end stuff always seems too tough for a shade tree mechanic.

if the mechanic let the shaft hang while the knuckle was out, the seal got egg shaped from the weight of the shaft. to replace the driver side seal the ring gear has to be removed from the diff. i would try it myself , this mechanic has showed you what attention he pays to his work!!
just my 2cents:mad:

With 170 K on it I would have made it quite clear that I wasn't responsible, or sold you the axle seals to boot (more labor and parts $$$). I would also have warned about you possibly buying a new hub/bearing assy if they chose not to come apart the way they are supposed to (rust). Whether he removed the axle or "let it hang" it most likely would have leaked with those kind of miles. Actually I'm surprised you haven't had them replaced already.

All I know is it was not leaking when I took it in.

Thanks for your input.

is it the drive shaft or the axle shaft? I think you have to pull the axle shafts to get the balljoints out and they did do it.

I would think they pulled the axles too, but different strokes.... Any chance the front diff was overfull? If that were the case fluid could have run in the tube when the axles were pulled out and some of the fluid will still seep out (trying to think positive here...). I would make sure the level is 1/4 to 1/2" below the fill plug (even 3/4" is ok) and shoot some brake clean up the axle tube and stop by the car wash.

Ask the shop if they replaced both at the same time - popped both old ones out and put new ones in, or did they repace the upper and then the lower? The order is important, because if they took both old ones out they would be letting the knuckle and axle shaft's full weight sit on the seal. If they replaced one and then the other, the shaft should have been supported. Stop in and ask them what order they did them in. My bet is they took two old out, then two new in.

The exact same thing happened to me. They pulled the axels out and put them back in after replacing the ball joints, upper and lower both sides. Both sides leaked after 70,000 miles. I replaced them myself because they said that is was my falt that they started to leak. They have some real idiots out there. It was still under factory warranty at the time and still wouldn't fix them. The company was Allen Samuels in Port Arthur Texas, Don't ever visit them. Good Luck, Shrimper

As mentioned if the axles were left to hang then the seals may have gotten temporary deformed and allowed oil to run out. usually when I do this sort of repair I will jack up the side being worked on considerably higher to keep oil at the other side. it helps but not always works. If the tube got oil in it it will seep for quite a while and might eventually stop, but the seals are probably somewhat worn or shot. it would seem the only correct way is to r&r the shafts,seals,ball joints at the same time on these trucks.

A very high percentage of trucks whose front ends I work on leak afterwards, good news is almost 100% stop leaking on their own though it may take a while. Oil trapped in the axle tube can take many miles to escape even though it only got past the seal during the repair period.
One thing you can do to speed or stop the leak is make sure the diff is filled to the proper level, most aren't.
The manual recommended level is 3/4" below the bottom of the fill plug. The difference between the bottom of the hole and 3/4" below is about one and half quarts.
Filled to the bottom of the plug and leaking is very common even if the truck hasn't been worked on.

When I had to replace most of my steering linkage, hub/bearing assy on passenger side and ball joints on the driver side I had some leakage for several weeks too. However, as apache points out, it's possible the seal was temporarily deformed and may return to its original round shape after a while. With 170K on them it's less likely they will as compared to newer seals with less age and mileage, but it's still possible. I'd check the axle fluid level and bring it up to just below the inspection hole, if necessary, then keep an eye on the leak to see if it continues or eventually stops, indicating the seal has returned to its round shape again. Mine did, hopefully yours will too.:)

Steve

Thanks again to all who responded. I'll refill the differential and hope for the best. Its been only been 9 days since it was worked on.

Update: The shaft kept leaking so I took it back to the shop and they replaced the seals and only charged me 2 hours of labor. I thought that was fair so now no runs, no drips, no errors.

Tony @ Inline Suspension in Lincoln, Nebraska takes good care of its customers.