Oil Leak Around Axle Knuckle?

Did you ever bother to check the breather tube to see if may it was blocked or pinched?

Yes and it was fine. I concluded that possibly some dirt from inside the tube got in a position when the shaft was slide back in to allow the seal to leak. Assuming dirt or mud on tge seal at point of contact might make that the path of least resistance for the fluid to flow. / shrug... hasnt leaked now for about a year, and has remained full.

Sent from my SCH-I605
 
I did axle seals on my 12' not too long ago after wheeling in ice and finding a way to fry them (don't ask, just look at the Avatar). I've had quite a bit of experience pulling things off the front end now, but with air tools there's no way it's a 6-7 hour job for a professional shop. The hardest part was breaking loose the rotors and unit bearings that were seized on from a year of Midwestern winter road salt. I've taken apart the front end quite a few times now, and it's about 40 min for me from start to axle shafts completely removed (while watching TV in the garage). It was longer the first time due to corrosion and learning as I went. You have to pull the carrier, which is a bit scary if it's the first time you've done it, but keep the same shims on each side they came off of and you'll be fine. You can make a seal seating tool from a threaded rod, fender washers and nuts, and as long as I spent the time to line it up, it went very well.

I'm not saying you should tackle it necessarily, but google it and see what you're getting into, at least you'll learn what the shop you take it to is going to do. The only big piece of advice I can give (which I didn't follow), was to have an extra abs sensor handy before taking it apart on a work night. I was as careful as I could be and still broke one in the unit bearing. I drove to work the next morning with no abs or esp in the snow and ice for the first time in about a decade.
 

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I did axle seals on my 12' not too long ago after wheeling in ice and finding a way to fry them (don't ask, just look at the Avatar). I've had quite a bit of experience pulling things off the front end now, but with air tools there's no way it's a 6-7 hour job for a professional shop. The hardest part was breaking loose the rotors and unit bearings that were seized on from a year of Midwestern winter road salt. I've taken apart the front end quite a few times now, and it's about 40 min for me from start to axle shafts completely removed (while watching TV in the garage). It was longer the first time due to corrosion and learning as I went. You have to pull the carrier, which is a bit scary if it's the first time you've done it, but keep the same shims on each side they came off of and you'll be fine. You can make a seal seating tool from a threaded rod, fender washers and nuts, and as long as I spent the time to line it up, it went very well.

I'm not saying you should tackle it necessarily, but google it and see what you're getting into, at least you'll learn what the shop you take it to is going to do. The only big piece of advice I can give (which I didn't follow), was to have an extra abs sensor handy before taking it apart on a work night. I was as careful as I could be and still broke one in the unit bearing. I drove to work the next morning with no abs or esp in the snow and ice for the first time in about a decade.

Thanks a lot! I found the 6-7 quote to be completely absurd too.
 
Thanks a lot! I found the 6-7 quote to be completely absurd too.

I work at an independent mechanic shop and looked up the book time to regear my '12 to 4.88s and it calls for a crazy amount of time. But that is REGEARING it, not just replacing the inner seals. Regearing can take a substantial amount of time depending on how many times you have to remove and install the carrier to get the proper backlash. I don't see it taking 6-7 hours just for seals in one axle, but some shops may charge you the book time, not how long it takes the tech to actually do it.
 
Just got home from work and I'm still leaking pretty nicely. Unless there is a gallon of residual gear oil in the axle housing, at this point I'm gonna go ahead and assume my driver's side axle seal is shot.

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Well, as Eddie suggested, I'm going to bring my rig back to the original shop that did my ball joints a couple weeks ago. I am clearly still getting fluid coming through the axle.

Additionally, as Adam suggested, I've been keeping an eye on my banjo bolt and that appears to be continuously dripping too?!? I don't notice any braking problems and I am almost positive that it isn't getting soaked from the spray when the axle is spinning.

I'm befuddled. :(

As you can see, the banjo bolt area never seems to dry off and it's been over a week and a half now.

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Could they have seriously botched the axle seal AND the banjo bolt??

:thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking:
 
Regarding your banjo bolt, it kinda looks like you have a leak further up the line and it's just collecting there. Of course, that's the way it looks in your pic.
 
Additionally, as Adam suggested, I've been keeping an eye on my banjo bolt and that appears to be continuously dripping too?!? I don't notice any braking problems and I am almost positive that it isn't getting soaked from the spray when the axle is spinning.

I'm befuddled. :(

As you can see, the banjo bolt area never seems to dry off and it's been over a week and a half now.

View attachment 76945

View attachment 76946

Could they have seriously botched the axle seal AND the banjo bolt??

:thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking:
As I posted earlier in the thread, there's no real reason they should've removed the or loosened the banjo bold when doing pads, rotors, and ball joints. But maybe they did have a reason to do it :idontknow: That being said, from your photo, it does look like its leaking. A way to check would be to clean everything off really good with brake clean and dry it up, have someone hold firmly on the brake pedal while you or someone else looks at the banjo bolt to see if it leaks.
 
As I posted earlier in the thread, there's no real reason they should've removed the or loosened the banjo bold when doing pads, rotors, and ball joints. But maybe they did have a reason to do it :idontknow: That being said, from your photo, it does look like its leaking. A way to check would be to clean everything off really good with brake clean and dry it up, have someone hold firmly on the brake pedal while you or someone else looks at the banjo bolt to see if it leaks.

I'll have to give that a try in the sunlight on my day off tomorrow. Thanks!
 
Regarding your banjo bolt, it kinda looks like you have a leak further up the line and it's just collecting there. Of course, that's the way it looks in your pic.

It definitely appears the be the same type of oily substance, like the gear oil, that is collecting on my knuckle.

Is that what would come out of the banjo bolt?
 
Having never changed my own brake fluid and at the risk of sounding completely inept, is brake fluid dark and oily?

Oil yes, dark maybe if it's sitting on rusted parts. Have you checked you reservoir to see if your brake fluid level is still good yet?
 
That's some nasty ass brake fluid! Lol

Really? Geesh, it never ends!!!

Hack, what does the oil smell like? Gear oil has a very distinct smell to it. When mine was leaking it stunk up the entire garage. :yup:

Hard to describe but it is a very distinct smell. Almost rubbery with a weird after smell. Lol

Quite a bit under the knuckle too...
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