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New Axle Seal TSB?

16K views 44 replies 17 participants last post by  TASCAPARTS 
#1 ·
Called the dealership service department to get an estimate on a replacing my passenger side axle seal and was told they no longer do just the spacer, bearing and seal. They now must do a kit that includes a new axle shaft, the spacer, bearing and seal. Cost was $638.00 for the parts. Service guy handed me some BS about revised parts and engineering change. I stated to him, "Let me get this straight. They now have a kit that costs more than the entire job did previously?" He replied, "looks that way". That being said I then called my local shop and made an appointment to get the seal done the previous way for far less cash. Doing the vent mod Monday.

Anyone else heard a similar song and dance from their service person?

If this is true it adds to my list of, IMHO, unethical practices Nissan has been doing with the Titan by revising parts on the fly to eliminate engineering issues and making the owner foot the bill after warranty coverage is up when there should be a recall on their dime. Also not impressed with them not offering some failure prone parts like the rear final drive and pulling stunts like the above. I love my truck but feel Nissan has not been very good at addressing our issues.
 
#2 ·
Something has to be done with this BS that Nissan is pulling.
 
#3 ·
yep. thats what i was told too. except i was quoted $850 :confused:. i didn't do it though. getting ready to put on the upgraded diff. cover, and axle vent mod. and do the normal seal replacement. heck of a lot cheaper than 850.
 
#4 ·
The $638 was just parts. Probably closer to $800 with labor.
 
#8 ·
Hmmm that sounds more like this repair is way too frequent and they made it easier and faster for the tech's to swap out leaking seals. Also raised the price almost double. Nice. Another reason to avoid my dealer and Nissan.
 
#9 ·
if nissan were to have issued recalls and taken care of all these problems, it wouldnt have "killed" the Ts reputation for reliability, in turn possibly not killing their sales and making a profit to pay for the recalls. Nissan, you could say, pretty much killed their T as we know it. most cars/trucks have lots of issues, but something like the axle problems would have been taken care of by most other companies. damn shame nissan.
 
#10 ·
Agreed. The nonsense of putting revised parts from up to 2010 models on the earlier models to replace prematurely failed stock components pisses me off to no end. My front diff failed. New updated part. Evap sensor fails. Bought new sensor, but can pay to get a filter kit that is standard on 2006 up and eliminates the issue (TSB actually states to install it on pre 06 Titans and Armadas if the evap valve fails). If your rear axle fails you now get a 2008 plus version on your dime. These trucks are fast becoming Frankensteins. You can have a 2004 with a 2006 front axle and a 2008 rear axle. To make things worse the internals on the newer rear don"t match the 04-05 rear, so unless you know what axle got put on your truck you could have a suprise if you opt for a Trutrack and find out your axles are wrong and won't accept it.
 
#11 · (Edited)
oh...i neglected to notice the part were you said it involved a new axle shaft. so they are using the 35 spline shafts? that should definitely be a recall. obviously if the they are upgrading to a Super dana 44, they are very aware and seems like they were just waiting for all the warranties to expire....bastards. though the 08-up shafts are better, it still isnt perfected....arent they still having some failures?
 
#12 ·
oh...i neglected to notice the part were he said it involved a new axle shaft. so they are using the 35 spline shafts? that should definitely be a recall. obviously if the they are upgrading to a Super dana 44, they are very aware and seems like they were just waiting for all the warranties to expire....bastards. though the 08-up shafts are better, it still isnt perfected....arent they still having some failures?
No idea, but that was a concern of mine. I have a 2005. I have my doubts they are still making 2005 axles let alone putting them in these "kits". My worry was I drop it off and shortly after I get a call I need an entire new rearend as they can't get the shafts for my 2005 or the seals anymore. Hence is is being dropped off tomorrow for my local mechanic to do it the old way using aftermarket parts. Nice thing is he offers a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty on his work and parts so I don't lose anything on having him do it coverage wise.
 
#17 ·
i dont understand why that is exactly? lol

less demand maybe? 32s are common while 35s are not right?
 
#18 ·
A little new info I found out today. Supposedly this new kit includes a revised bearing to help with stopping the leaks. I comes preassembled. Personally I think it is more related to techs nicking up the axle removing the old bearing and seal and causing a repeat of the leaking seal. I am not so sure that making a tighter seal is possible or a good idea. If the pressure build up is still there, the revised kit would put more pressure on the pinion deal. IMHO proper venting is the cure, not a tighter seal.
 
#20 ·
Sorry but No, I had the New seal/axle kit installed in 08, Passanger side, and this is the seal i just replaced. The 06 axle seal, drivers side, is still in the rear and does not leak. The axle in my 04 was replaced with a 06 rear by the dealer before i bought it in 06.
 
#19 ·
Well got it fixed today at local garage. New axle assembly was $590. Suprise, suprise, the previous repairs by dealers did not inspect or replace the parking brake shoes. They were toast and had to be replaced as well due to gear oil from the previous 4 time axle seal leaks ruining them. Gear oil was changed and mechanic noted it was pretty nasty and dirty but no chunks or abnormal stuff. Total was just over $1000. Had them inspect the chassis stuff too. On a side note they had nothing good to say about Dana there. Apparently we Titan owners are not alone with their crappy QC on their diffs.

They do a lot of custom work and the owner has a sweet Road Runner dragster. 3 classic Vettes getting restored too.
 
#22 ·
Here is the TSB guys on the axles. Mine has never replaced the seal, always the axle assy. Including the original axles, mine has had three sets of axles now, the latest two weeks ago with the updated axle part numbers.
 

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#29 ·
This seems to be happening to a lot of people. Sucks that nissan wont own up and cover this. My rear hub is leaking and the diff, a little scary. I go to tell my brother about it and what are the chances, his too. They did him royally. They were supposedly going to fix it, he goes to pick it up 2 days later... nope they want 300 for looking at it, if he wants the the seals fixed it would be another 500 and some change. I gotta say WOW nissan.
 
#30 ·
So non-Nissan source parts are available as well. So what's the big deal?
Bearings yes. Have you tried to find non OEM seals and spacers? Probably where the problem lies. Once dealers run out of stock they might have had it is full assembly or nothing. I have not seen here where anyone has used aftermarket spacers or seals. One would think someone might have tried that route to see if the failures were an OEM issue. Just telling you what was told to me by my local dealer and by my very trusted and very fair mechanic. The TSB was posted here showing was not lied to or making it up. Hopefully yours have no issues and you never need to find out.
 
#32 ·
Bearings yes. Have you tried to find non OEM seals and spacers? Probably where the problem lies. Once dealers run out of stock they might have had it is full assembly or nothing. I have not seen here where anyone has used aftermarket spacers or seals. One would think someone might have tried that route to see if the failures were an OEM issue. Just telling you what was told to me by my local dealer and by my very trusted and very fair mechanic. The TSB was posted here showing was not lied to or making it up.
Seals, haven't tried to find them. I would think if you took an old seal and the axle diameter to a bearing/seal distributor they could cross it with something. Spacers you could have made if need be. But if it gets to all that, probably just get a Dana 60 or something else off of a 3/4 ton truck and mod it to work. Stupid axle choice by Nissan.
Smoke05 said:
Hopefully yours have no issues and you never need to find out.
Yes, I probably should get another set of loose parts for the other side. I did one side and the vent mod, hopefully no more leaks.
 
#34 ·
Does the 5/60K warranty cover the seals leaks and/or axle replacement? Mine is leaking and I get a lot of vibration out of the rear wheels. Mine is a 2005 with 58K on it and I have warranty on the drivetrain until 60K.
 
#35 ·
This is EXACTLY the TSB I mentioned a couple months back.

But I never fixed my truck. The axle stopped leaking on it's own. At least for now.

So the good news is that I can just buy the entire assembly and install it myself in 30 minutes? Or is that estimate for someone mechanically inclined / has a home shop? it would probably take me a good 30 minutes to jack up the rear and remove the tire!

I had my rear end replaced a couple years ago. I think they put in an 06 rear end in my 05. Would I need a different Assembly?
 
#36 ·
Called the dealership service department to get an estimate on a replacing my passenger side axle seal and was told they no longer do just the spacer, bearing and seal. They now must do a kit that includes a new axle shaft, the spacer, bearing and seal. Cost was $638.00 for the parts. Service guy handed me some BS about revised parts and engineering change.

Anyone else heard a similar song and dance from their service person?
No I haven't heard that song and dance yet. Funny thing though. My left side seal leaked a while back and then stopped. Then I noticed Wednesday morning my right seal is blower lube like crazy. The back of the tire is soaked, DAMN IT!
Anyways The truck has 116600 miles so I called the dealer for a price, $234.50 to replace the axle seal.bearing assembly. Then I cried tears as big as horse turds and ask if I pulled the axle and bought the kit would they do the swap out for me, yes and they would do it for free since I am loyal customer. But i since I have limited time $234 doesn't bad since my local drive line shop said to bring in the axle and they would swap it out for $175.

Glad you got it fixed though, sucks it cost $500 dollars.
 
#37 ·
Does this axle assembly have a part number (the assembly that comes with the axle, bearing, seal). Im currently having some major problems with my right rear seal leaking and after putting the truck on the hoist, I can clearly see the tire is not rolling properly but moving in and out. Im guessing the axle is bent. The dealership told me it would cost 400CND for the new axle and that doesnt come with anything else, so I would have to buy the seal and bearing separatly for an additional cost.
 
#41 ·
Is this the same process to install the "new" axle assembly with bearings already pressed on??
 
#42 ·
To do one side, jack up only the side that is leaking, support on a jack stand, unbolt the stuff per the thread, pull out the old shaft and put in the new shaft. I think it is a good idea to put a little oil resistant silicone around the edge of the seal to help stop leaks between the seal and the housing. If your parking brake shoes are in good condition, you apparently don't even need to take them off. Bolt everything back up, lower it to the ground, check the gear oil level in the diff and top off as necessary. If you jack up just one side, the inclination will keep gear oil from running out the axle tube and you don't need to drain the diff (unless it is time to change the gear oil anyway).

If the old shaft is in good shape (no wear groove from the seal) keep it as a spare, so you can just take it to a shop and have a $28 bearing and a $22 seal installed instead of buying a $300 shaft next time it leaks.
 
#44 ·
Yes, I heard the very same thing. The new axle shaft, seal, etc. were supposedly improved to address the axle seal issues. Because I needed my truck, I went ahead with the repair in 2012. I regret that decision.

The differential had been making a loud whining noise for over 40,000 miles. Last week, the right rear axle seal blew up again at 138,000 miles, roughly 30,000 miles of use on that part. I opted to replace the whole rear axle assembly, and solving the differential issue. Dealer quoted over $1900 for the axle assembly. Courtesy had it online for about $1530. Figuring freight, got the dealer to go $1700 on the part. No more whine and hopefully no axle seal failure soon.

Called the dealership service department to get an estimate on a replacing my passenger side axle seal and was told they no longer do just the spacer, bearing and seal. They now must do a kit that includes a new axle shaft, the spacer, bearing and seal. Cost was $638.00 for the parts. Service guy handed me some BS about revised parts and engineering change.

Anyone else heard a similar song and dance from their service person?
 
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