Great write up. Nothing like DIY and saving big bucks.

 

If anyone wants the correct seal and not the timken ones that don't fit I have a true replacement from Nissan, just pm me.

 

when installing the nut for the yoke, don't you have to do runout on it?

 

I went to nissan and had them match the price of courtesy parts online. Installed it per directions and now the leak is much worse. The initial leak was on the outside edge of the seal slowly dripping out. Now it seems as though the outside edge of the new seal is fine but the center seal around the shaft is leaking and throwing fluid all over the Cat and underbody of my '05..

Please help

 

doing this today. Thanks for the write up!

 

Done!
Couple tips to add and one question.
A come-along will help pull the pinion bracket. (if thats the correct name? the part that the drive shaft bolts to with 4 bolts) I just hooked it to a cross member and gently tapped on the bracket with a hammer.
An impact gun to remove the big nut is a MUST, without it all I did was move the truck back and forth.

The DONT... I tried to remove the bracket by driving a wedge between the seal and the back side of the bracket. At first I thought it was working, then I realized it was just pushing the outer seal into the inner seal. I messed up and did not push it back on before putting everything back together. Hopefully it doesn't cause a problem or leak. Its only seperated about a 1/16" on one side. I filled it with bearing grease to keep any dirt out. I'll get some pics of it tomorrow and post. Maybe somebody could let me know if I screwed it up?

All in all, not too hard a repair.

 

The pinion seal is leaking on my 08. I'm out of warranty so gonna do it myself. I have one question. I looked on Courtesy Nissan's site and it shows a seal (not labeled as seal) that comes with the input flange (basically the outer metal seal that you can see when you look from under the truck, the one pictured above in this thread) Then they also list an actual seal that sits further in.

Which one do people actually replace, because from the diagram, Nissan only calls the inner one the seal.

 

the inner seal is the one that fails, because its a rubber ring that seals to the shaft. I actually damaged my outer "shield" (the other part) trying to use the end of a sheetrock hammer as a wedge to seperate the shaft from the diff. I ended up pushing the shield towards the inner seal. Like a dummy i rushed to put it all back together and i didnt reseat the shield back to its original position. So when I test drove it, I could hear the shield skipping across the inner seal metal rim/flange. Thankfully, after a couple miles it stopped making the noise. I was worried it would cut into the new seal flange and blow diff fluid all over the place.
All is well so far.

 

Doing this next weekend...thanks for the awesome write up.

 

Did it last weekend. Took about an hour. Very easy to do. Thanks for all the good info.

 

Tackling this on the wkend...I will take some more pics for this writeup.. :redblob"

Thanks for the instructions OP! :read:

 

Some Pics to assist on this DIY....!

Well I just finished this install and it was quite easy if you have all right tools.. Im a VERY visual person - you can explain all you want...but I have to SEE it to understand.. So if there is anyone else out there like me....here ya go..

I followed the instructions on first post to the T... Remove mini skid plate (so you can get to fill plug later)..Drain Fluid..Leave the plug off the whole time to let it sit and drain real good..

First Mark the shaft before removing ALL the bolts..

14mm open ended (a long one if you have one)

I had the truck in the air so I could spin to get to the other bolts..

Let some shiet Droop..Sall Good..

Big Monster Nut - Mine was 30MM

My bestest impact from harbor freight (Bluebobs favorite Store **Sarcasm**he is HF hater:hi - up to 650 ft lbs torque..

Five Seconds Later

Just spin the last few threads with your hand

Bust out the 3 Prong puller - this made getting the yoke out very easy...

Another shot of it -

Once the puller gets to be REALLY easy to spin - you should be able to pull by hand...

Hell ya! theres that leaky b@stard! BOOOO! :teeth:

I used a small race puller to lift the seal just enough to get a pry bar in there..Super Easy!

Out with the OLD!

What it looks like removed - I cleaned it up some..

New Seal in - I used a wood tube and slighty tapped the edges working around the seal using a dead blow hammer...no hard banging.. "Just tap it in" .work your way around until its nice and snug..

Put everything together - EASY BREEZY!!

DONE!

Fill her up til get some leakage (take note - the truck needs to be level when you do this)

 

Re: Some Pics to assist on this DIY....!

Well I just finished this install and it was quite easy if you have all right tools.. Im a VERY visual person - you can explain all you want...but I have to SEE it to understand.. So if there is anyone else out there like me....here ya go..

I followed the instructions on first post to the T... Remove mini skid plate (so you can get to fill plug later)..Drain Fluid..Leave the plug off the whole time to let it sit and drain real good..

First Mark the shaft before removing ALL the bolts..

14mm open ended (a long one if you have one)

I had the truck in the air so I could spin to get to the other bolts..

Let some shiet Droop..Sall Good..

Big Monster Nut - Mine was 30MM

My bestest impact from harbor freight (Bluebobs favorite Store **Sarcasm**he is HF hater:hi - up to 650 ft lbs torque..

Five Seconds Later

Just spin the last few threads with your hand

Bust out the 3 Prong puller - this made getting the yoke out very easy...

Another shot of it -

Once the puller gets to be REALLY easy to spin - you should be able to pull by hand...

Hell ya! theres that leaky b@stard! BOOOO! :teeth:

I used a small race puller to lift the seal just enough to get a pry bar in there..Super Easy!

Out with the OLD!

What it looks like removed - I cleaned it up some..

New Seal in - I used a wood tube and slighty tapped the edges working around the seal using a dead blow hammer...no hard banging.. "Just tap it in" .work your way around until its nice and snug..

Put everything together - EASY BREEZY!!

DONE!

Fill her up til get some leakage (take note - the truck needs to be level when you do this)

That's awesome man! Thank you! I am very visual myself. Where did you get the pinion seal? Now, if only I had a 3 prong puller and an air compressor. :teeth:

 

Has anyone done this repair without the OEM seal and had it work? I hate the idea of spending $60+ dollars when I can spend less than $15

 

I used a small torch to heat the housing then installed seal. factory seal has sealant around it, that was tring to be tough to tap in cold.

 

What size is that large nut in the middle and could i use a ratchet and a long bar to break it loose?

 

I would like to know this too!, as I just found out mine is leaking too and I don't have an impact gun.

 

Is it the norm to have a seal fail at only 40K miles? And has the seal improved over time? Different part#?

It should also be noted that per Nissan FSM the drive pinion nut should be replaced. The torque is 220-500 for the nut.

 

Thank you AcidJake75 for great write up with step by step photos. I myself as a visual communicator so it was big help. I finished changing front pinion seal as well we U-joint.
Removing 30mm nut wasn't big deal with powerful impact wrench. I thought I have to use my 3/4" one but 1/2" did job.Though took me a while to remove old seal. I guess I should have used dent puller as shop manual suggested ? Well it's done and I'm very happy with the result.

 

Sucky *** DANA Spicer seals on these trucks. Nice write up by all and pictures. Sucky DANA U-Joints failed and I had to yank the front shaft until I get time to fix it. Might as well fix the POS pinion seal while I have it apart. Oh and don't forget the sucky *** Axle seals that are also DANA Spicer, gotta fix that one too. Rant Over.

 

You need 30mm socket and strong impact wrench. To put back seal( which I had to purchased from Nissan dealer $70) I made 4x4 with hole in the middle by cutting plywood to tap it. Good luck

 

So as it stands right now, Nissan has the only available correct seal for this job???

 

Brought my 06 to the dealership this morning to have it fixed. I have 59,463 miles on it, but the "time" was up in May. They want $285.30 to do the work. My service advisor tried to do the "Good Will" fix, but the computer wouldn't let him and instructed me to call 800-Nissan1. I spoke to someone that said I will hear back from a regional advisor...tomorrow.
I am really hoping that Nissan will do the right thing and fix this under warranty, especially because it seems to be a very common problem.

My question is, can I expect this seal to fail again in time and have to pay to have it repaired again? Has anyone had to do this job multiple times?

Thanks for reading and replying.

 

Finally heard back from Nissan Consumer Affairs. It seems that they had my phone number wrong. The rep. was very friendly and mentioned the lengths that she went to track me down, including calling the dealership and getting my correct number from them, etc.
She said that she was going to do whatever she could to help me get this fixed, after I told her that deer season opens (Gun season that is) on Saturday and I sure would like to have my front diff fixed so I could use my 4WD. She laughed about that and said she'd try to help! :rockon
Anyway, we'll see what happens and I'll keep y'all posted.

 

I assume that this is the part everyone is using from courtesy nissan

they call it a SEAL-OIL,DRIVE PINION

Nissan Parts, NISMO and Nissan Accessories - Courtesyparts.com

 

Just got back from Pat Peck Nissan where I picked up my Truck with the new pinion seal. Nissan Consumer Affairs rep called me yesterday and said that they were going to do the work at no cost to me as a "good will" gesture. I suppose it helped a lot that a) this is the second Nissan vehicle I have owned and b) that I had just had a bunch of service (tranny fluid, rear diff fluid, coolant, etc) done there at the dealer. My service advisor was polite and good to work with. This experience was the exact opposite of the majority of my dealings with car dealerships (including the one I worked for as a teenager). I am impressed. :clap::thumbsup:

Just in time for hunting season! :redblob"

Note: I am in no way affiliated with the dealership, other than being a customer.

 

Would a Dewalt impact work for this job or does it need to be pneumatic? I have a 20v 1/4" drive and was hoping to do this without buying any tools.

 

This: DCF885L2 20V MAX* Lithium Ion 1/4" Impact Driver Kit (3.0Ah) | DEWALT Tools

I don't think so. A high torque electric might work.

 

FWIW, I replaced a pinion seal on my transfer case using a $70 Kawasaki 1/2" Impact Wrench from Pep Boys, it popped right off with it.

Kawasaki Heavy Duty 1/2 in. Impact Wrench | Product Details | Pep Boys