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Hi there so I finished replacing the clutch in my car and it has leaked a fair amount of transmission fluid from somewhere around the fill bolt / right side axle port, I called my mechanic mate and he said it should be okay to drive home so I did, I'll be able to tell how much it leaked when I fill it up with a spare ~450ml of fluid, depending on how much leaked out will that determine if anything was damaged? Here are the pictures of the right side axle into the transmission (I cleaned the fluid off)if it isn't in far enough how would I go about fixing it, when I installed it I gave it a good push to get it in, also worth saying it went a few days and maybe 30km without leaking. Also if I do have to take the axle out and re seat, can I reuse my axle nuts? I've already re used them so they've been staked twice, should I just replace them?
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Re: Axle improperly seated?
You should hear a click noise when the axle is fully inserted into the differential. Best to grease the a inner axle splines a bit and bang the outer axle with a rubber mallet until you hear the click sound.
Per the pic it looks to be seated well, but best to be sure via click noise
Most likely it's the rubber differential/inner axle seal that is torn or worn and causing the leak.
Last edited by Wankenstein; Jan 21, 2022 at 10:39 PM.
So after filling the transmission back up, I lost around 150-200ml of transmission fluid, so I can't imagine that would cause major damage over a short distance?
At a minimum you should be able to feel it fully seat.
Yep so when I was putting it in the retaining ring was too large to fit, so I took it out, made it smaller with a pliers and then it fit in and I felt a click
You should hear a click noise when the axle is fully inserted into the differential. Best to grease the a inner axle splines a bit and bang the outer axle with a rubber mallet until you hear the click sound.
Per the pic it looks to be seated well, but best to be sure via click noise
Most likely it's the rubber differential/inner axle seal that is torn or worn and causing the leak.
Compared to the other axle it is sticking out further? And just then on the jack stands I brought the car up to around 60mph for a minute or 2 and sure enough there was a small puddle of fluid on the ground again, and I really looks like it's coming from that axle, what should I do?
remove and push it in again. I am not sure you should have made the ring smaller, though...
you had not had a leak until now because you did not have enough fluid inside.
I don't think I understand, I filled the transmission fluid up to full 3 days before it started leaking, I have topped it up today only for it to begin leaking again after going for a 1km "test drive" on the jack stands, I think for peace of mind I will change both axle seals and replace both retaining rings as well, and that should solve the issue?
As I mentioned before use a small bit of synthetic grease (such as Napa's Syl-Glide) and lightly grease the inner axle splines. That alone will make it easier to seat. Also, use a rubber mallet on the hub end to knock it in until it clicks.
Shouldn't need pliers to bend the retaining ring. That likely bent the rentaining ring out-of-round.
As I mentioned before use a small bit of synthetic grease (such as Napa's Syl-Glide) and lightly grease the inner axle splines. That alone will make it easier to seat. Also, use a rubber mallet on the hub end to knock it in until it clicks.
Shouldn't need pliers to bend the retaining ring. That likely bent the rentaining ring out-of-round.
Sounds like a good idea, so Ill definitely change the seals and the retaining rings, I have polyurea and moly grease, would either of them do? And funny that you mention that, the ring on the other axle was much more deformed than the one that is leaking, I thought they were only there to hold it in place, but either way, new seals and rings + grease the splines before putting them in and I should be golden? Also silly question but by hitting the hub side with a mallet do you mean hitting the end of the splines that have the axle nut put on them? Edit: am I able to reuse my axle nuts? this will be the second time I've taken them off and staked them
Last edited by Millsy088; Jan 22, 2022 at 01:07 AM.
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Re: Axle improperly seated?
Any synthetic grease is okay to use.
Yes, the retaining (snap) ring along with the splines are designed to keep the axial in place.
You may not need to replace the retaining ring...read this: https://www.yourmechanic.com/questio...n-by-william-s
If you didn't noticeably bend it out of shape then it may not be an issue. Try the current one and if you hear click in it should be fine. I should have asked when you mentioned using pliers on it were you referring to snap ring pliers?
Axle nuts should be replaced each time, but I've reused them on a few vehicles. However, for $10 or less it's probably worth the peace of mind to install new ones.
Before knocking the hub end of the axle with the mallot install the axle nut on it so that the top of the axle nut is sticking out just a bit above the first thread of the axle. This method avoids possibly damaging the threads of the axle. You'll strike the nut instead of directly on the axle.
This method is preferred when removing an outter tie rod from the knuckle also.
Last edited by Wankenstein; Jan 22, 2022 at 01:53 AM.
Any synthetic grease is okay to use.
Yes, the retaining (snap) ring along with the splines are designed to keep the axial in place.
You may not need to replace the retaining ring...read this: https://www.yourmechanic.com/questio...n-by-william-s
If you didn't noticeably bend it out of shape then it may not be an issue. Try the current one and if you hear click in it should be fine. I should have asked when you mentioned using pliers on it were you referring to snap ring pliers?
Axle nuts should be replaced each time, but I've reused them on a few vehicles. However, for $10 or less it's probably worth the peace of mind to install new ones.
Fair enough, and no I didn't, actually I didn't put them on with pliers I used some picks to get it on because I didn't have pliers that would work for that, and by the time I put them back on they were pretty close to the correct size but I really bad bent one of them before I put it in but that's the one that isn't leaking yet so who knows, I'll get some proper pliers and get some new ones, I've also heard that you can use a blow torch or lighter to make the rings a bit smaller once they are on the axle but that sounds like a bit of a bad idea hahaha
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Re: Axle improperly seated?
I edited/added-to my previous reply.
When you replace the seals be very careful not to scratch the metal surface (differential) underneath the seal. Sometimes they harden and become difficult to remove, so carefully use a pick tool to lift the edges. Be sure that surface is very clean before installing the seal.
I edited/added-to my previous reply.
When you replace the seals be very careful not to scratch the metal surface (differential) underneath the seal. Sometimes they harden and become difficult to remove, so carefully use a pick tool to lift the edges. Be sure that surface is very clean before installing the seal.
Thanks! I'll get all the stuff and give it a good crack in the next few days, just depending on how long it will take to get the axle retaining rings
So I managed to get the axles and seals out no worries, however the seals Im going to buy look like they are pre greased, so in this case should i just rub some MTF onto the splines instead of new grease as I've heard mixing the wrong greases will cause them to break down?
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Re: Axle improperly seated?
Originally Posted by Millsy088
the seals Im going to buy look like they are pre greased, so in this case should i just rub some MTF onto the splines instead of new grease as I've heard mixing the wrong greases will cause them to break down?
In bold I think you meant to say axles instead of seals.
If there is grease already on the splines then just keep that grease in place and do not add additional grease. Remember to listen for the click sound to be sure the axle is fully seated.
If the output shaft (axle/differential) seal is round tap it in place with an appropriate size socket (ex: 21mm, 32mm, etc..) and mallot. Try to find some YouTube videos that demonstrate this.
In bold I think you meant to say axles instead of seals.
If there is grease already on the splines then just keep that grease in place and do not add additional grease. Remember to listen for the click sound to be sure the axle is fully seated.
If the output shaft (axle/differential) seal is round tap it in place with an appropriate size socket (ex: 21mm, 32mm, etc..) and mallot. Try to find some YouTube videos that demonstrate this.
I actually did mean the seals although I might have been wrong, I thought the green stuff in there was grease, and I'm not replacing my axles as they seem fine to me, also I noticed that on the left side axle port there are some sharp burs around where the seal sits, thankfully they are pointing outwards and don't affect the machined surface, but I thought that was interesting. I tried to get a photo but I couldn't get it to focus with the flashlight
