Rear Pinion Seals starting to leak

HiLifeTitan · Oct 18, 2015

So today I was getting my rear tires replaced and while the wheels were off, I happened to look at the rear axles and noticed a wet spot where the drive shaft meets the axle.

I'm thinking that the rear pinion seals are starting to leak but Its not to the point that fluid is leaking out on the ground. My question is how worried should I be at this point or should I get it fixed right away? I dropped quite a bit of money on tires, so it'll be a while before I can bring it in to a shop. But from what I researched it looks pretty easy to fix. Anyone have the nissan part numbers for the pinion seal? Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

AZPRO4X · Oct 18, 2015

Just make sure the fluid is topped off & you'll be fine until you can get around to it.
Personally, when my front seal went out I took it to a differential shop and paid the $100 to let them change the seal and set the pinion nut, it's not something that has a lot of wiggle room to mess up.

HiLifeTitan · Oct 18, 2015

AZPRO4X said:
Just make sure the fluid is topped off & you'll be fine until you can get around to it.
Personally, when my front seal went out I took it to a differential shop and paid the $100 to let them change the seal and set the pinion nut, it's not something that has a lot of wiggle room to mess up.

Thanks for the info. Just wondering though, since my Titan is a 2011 with just under 40000 Miles on it, would this be covered by the power train warranty? To me it seems like it would be after reading the warranty book.

mrbubl · Oct 18, 2015

I agree, i think it is torqued to like 4 gazillion ft pounds too.:big_grin:

thumperpaul · Oct 19, 2015

HiLifeTitan said:
Thanks for the info. Just wondering though, since my Titan is a 2011 with just under 40000 Miles on it, would this be covered by the power train warranty? To me it seems like it would be after reading the warranty book.

If your warranty isn't expired, they will cover it. I had my front pinion seal replaced free of charge a few years ago....

AZPRO4X · Oct 19, 2015

HiLifeTitan said:
Thanks for the info. Just wondering though, since my Titan is a 2011 with just under 40000 Miles on it, would this be covered by the power train warranty? To me it seems like it would be after reading the warranty book.

It's definitely worth a call to see if seals are covered.

honda250xtitan · Oct 19, 2015

HiLifeTitan said:
Thanks for the info. Just wondering though, since my Titan is a 2011 with just under 40000 Miles on it, would this be covered by the power train warranty? To me it seems like it would be after reading the warranty book.

Mine has been sweating like that for quite some time now. I periodically make sure the fluid is topped off. But i'm not worried until it starts to actually drip oil.

Grafton · Aug 1, 2016

Replaced my leaky rear pinion seal. It finally started dripping, and slinging gear oil up on the gas tank. Picked up the seal and a 33mm socked from a major online retailer who took their name from a rainforest in Brazil:

38189-Zj00A / 38189Zj00A - Oil Seal (Axle Case) (48X80X12,7X19,3) For Nissan

Had to make the leading edge of the socket for the pinion nut a little thinner to get in around the nut:
TEKTON 4943 1/2-Inch Drive by 33 mm Deep Impact Socket

Didn't have to take off much, about a mm around the outside diameter, tapered out about an inch from the end. If it weren't an impact socket (extra thick), it wouldn't have needed any shaving at all.

Match marked everything up, so putting everything back was not a problem. Held the drive shaft up out of the way with a few zip ties.

I used an impact on the pinion nut because I have one, but probably could have done it without one. The 4 nutted bolts holding the drive shaft were tight. Could only get a box wrench on them, doubled up on the wrench to get more torque - break loose and they spin right off.

I was most nervous about being able to drive the new seal in without damage. I put some grease on the inner spring to keep it from popping out and found a 3"x2" PVC reducer at one of the big box home stores (rhymes with Rowes) to drive it in evenly. It worked really well.
Maybe see an image of this 'custom' seal driver by searching "Genova Products 70232 PVC-DWV Reducing Bushing, Schedule 40, 3 x 2 Inch".

Also did a quick inspection of the outer pinion bearings while I was there, no signs of wear. Here's to another 150K +

Having only seen some youtube videos, I was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy it actually went. I wasn't really timing it, but it seemed like I spent less than an hour total. My guess is that this would be about a 15m job for a shop.

My advice, no need to be nervous about it, it's not bad at all for a do it yourselfer.

CVTitan05 · Aug 1, 2016

Yup, First mark everything so nothing comes out of time, mark the driveline to the pinion, and pinion to the diff housing. Then drop the driveshaft, remove pinion, remove old seal, drive new seal in, reinstall pinion and torque to spec, reinstall driveline, torque to spec. Done deal.

M1078 · May 16, 2017

Just bought my 2015 with 32k on it. I didn't notice the leak until I crawled under it to check everything out once I got it home. If it's something that'd be covered by warranty I'll just take it in and let them do it. Might as well have a good once over before the warranty expires anyhow.

jesse3638 · Jul 20, 2017

Grafton said:
Replaced my leaky rear pinion seal. It finally started dripping, and slinging gear oil up on the gas tank. Picked up the seal and a 33mm socked from a major online retailer who took their name from a rainforest in Brazil:

38189-Zj00A / 38189Zj00A - Oil Seal (Axle Case) (48X80X12,7X19,3) For Nissan

Had to make the leading edge of the socket for the pinion nut a little thinner to get in around the nut:
TEKTON 4943 1/2-Inch Drive by 33 mm Deep Impact Socket

Didn't have to take off much, about a mm around the outside diameter, tapered out about an inch from the end. If it weren't an impact socket (extra thick), it wouldn't have needed any shaving at all.

Match marked everything up, so putting everything back was not a problem. Held the drive shaft up out of the way with a few zip ties.

I used an impact on the pinion nut because I have one, but probably could have done it without one. The 4 nutted bolts holding the drive shaft were tight. Could only get a box wrench on them, doubled up on the wrench to get more torque - break loose and they spin right off.

I was most nervous about being able to drive the new seal in without damage. I put some grease on the inner spring to keep it from popping out and found a 3"x2" PVC reducer at one of the big box home stores (rhymes with Rowes) to drive it in evenly. It worked really well.
Maybe see an image of this 'custom' seal driver by searching "Genova Products 70232 PVC-DWV Reducing Bushing, Schedule 40, 3 x 2 Inch".

Also did a quick inspection of the outer pinion bearings while I was there, no signs of wear. Here's to another 150K +

Having only seen some youtube videos, I was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy it actually went. I wasn't really timing it, but it seemed like I spent less than an hour total. My guess is that this would be about a 15m job for a shop.

My advice, no need to be nervous about it, it's not bad at all for a do it yourselfer.

Sounds pretty straight forward. What did you torque the pinion nut to? On my Jeep it recommends replacing the pinion nut but I put red loctite and its been fine. I know you're supposed to use an inch pound wrench and get the rotational measurement then retorque so it 5" lbs above what it was when removed. Rule of thumb on my Jeep was 160-165 ft lbs. Curious what it should be for my Titan. Thanks for the help.

M1078 · Sep 1, 2017

The dealership screwed up the pinion seal replacement on my truck. I went in with a MINOR pinion seal leak (barely showing anything around the seal) and came out with a MAJOR diff leak. Had to take it back 4 times and finally get the owner of the dealership involved before it was fixed right. Then a month later the diff started screaming at about 35mph. It's in the shop now getting a new rear end installed with only 37k miles on the truck. Choose wisely who you have work on it. I figured a Nissan dealer would know what they were doing but was sadly mistaken.

HRTKD · Sep 1, 2017

My front pinion seal was replaced under warranty but ended up leaking again not too long after that. They replaced the rear at the same time and it was OK up until I sold it this summer. The front wasn't leaking bad so I kept it topped off.

Rear Pinion Seals starting to leak

HiLifeTitan

AZPRO4X

HiLifeTitan

mrbubl

thumperpaul

AZPRO4X

honda250xtitan

Grafton

CVTitan05

M1078

jesse3638

M1078

HRTKD

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