I have a '96 gt that I was washing the other day, when I noticed my passenger side rear wheel was covered with a thich oil on the inside of the rim....it took forever to clean, and a ton of degreaser...I assume this was gear oil from the rear axel? I first thought it was brake fluid, but all my fluid levels look good there. Anyone here ever have a similar problem? is this something I can repair, or is this going to be a costly one?

 

i had my rear end rebuilt and it does it

 

That's probably an axle seal leak... the seal/bearing is cheap, the labor to replace it shouldn't take you too long, but if you're not careful when you put the axle back in you could damage it and it'll leak again.

If you can turn a wrench you're totally capable of doing the fix... you need to remove the differential cover, remove the shaft in the center of the differential so you can get to the c-clip for the axle, pull the c-clip out, slide the axle out (you'll need to remove the wheel and brake equipment on the side of the axle you're removing)... pull out the old seal and replace, then re-assemble and re-fill the differential... I'm not sure if you'll need a special tool to replace the end seal, I didn't mess mine up when I did the brake swap [&:] A leak there is NOT normal and your diff will be empty sooner or later.

 

+1,000... The only other thing that is oily back there would be a leaky brake line, and I'm sure you'd know if it was a brake line..


Does your rear axle make any whirring, or howling noises yet??



JT

 

+1 axle seal...

 

nope, no howling yet (thank god)....I checked the fluid (gear oil, whatever) back there, and to my surprise there was still plenty there, i did however top it off for the time being...i guess that means its not a major leak

as far as doing it myself, I'm definately capable of turning a wrench and making quality repairs to my vehicle....but have never taken on a job like this....I have a Haynes manual for reference (but I'm not happy with the lack of detail in those books)....i have a couple questions if you guys don't mind answering before I take this puppy apart...

1.) when I slide the axel out....how long is it? is it the full width of my car? (approx 4ft?) reason I'm asking, I have limited space in my garage to either side of my vehicle...dont wanna take all that apart in the garage and not be able to finish the job...that'd be my luck...lol

2.) as far as the brake equipment....what all is involved in that back there? (guess I should break out the old haynes manual huh?)


thanks for the input btw,

 

I had that happen to me on my old 97. It was a Brake line. If it is only 1 wheel then most likely a brake line.

 

It's half the width of your car, there's two separate axleshafts, one for each side, they go into the differential... Take a look at this link below, and look at the rear brake swap section... I've got pictures there up to the mid-way point which is having removed the axles.

Edit: You don't need to do steps 4 or 5... That's for the brake swap.

https://mustangforums.com/m_1112743/tm.htm

 

thanks for the info...wow thats looking pretty involved...now I'm debating paying somebody to do it...lol....I have no doubt I could do it with all the info in front of me in case I run into any questions....but from a time perspective, and a pain in the **** perspective it would almost be worth it to pay someone if the price is right ($200-$300???)

 

It's really not hard at all.. Just time consuming...

The hardest part for most people is actually get the axle all the way in to get the C-Clip out, which slides right out btw...


ShadowDrake's write up is as good as you'll get w/ out someone being there to show you, so I think you should be fine..


Don't forget to put the Pinion shaft (I think that's what it's called) back and tighten that little bolt good..

Oh, and don't forget to add Friction modifier to the Gear oil..


JT