Brand new owner GC with rear axle seal leak

[proftomda]

Hello all:

Just purchased a 2004 Grand cherokee in VA that has failed the yearly safety inspection because of rear axle seal leak. Im flying up to VA 3/22/2011 to pick it up and drive it back to GA. I have no experience with Jeeps but I am a ASE tec and it seems like this is a common problem. Any advice and is there a certain brand of replacement seal that will fix this problem once and for all?

 

[Jester32]

At my dealership we have had no luck with anything but the chrysler seals. They seem to last the longest as long as they are installed proper.

 

[tow_hook]

Hello all:

Just purchased a 2004 Grand cherokee in VA that has failed the yearly safety inspection because of rear axle seal leak. Im flying up to VA 3/22/2011 to pick it up and drive it back to GA. I have no experience with Jeeps but I am a ASE tec and it seems like this is a common problem. Any advice and is there a certain brand of replacement seal that will fix this problem once and for all?

IF it's a 35 you'll need to remove the cover to pull the clip to remove the shaft. a 44 you'll need to undo the bolts to the backing plate to pull the shaft to see said seal. the seal on the 44a might be press on before the bearing, in that case you will need to pull off the bearing to replace the seal. if it's a 35. pull seal out of the axle tube once the shaft is out, and replace seal.

hope this helps

 

[MudderChuck]

I'd check the wheel brake cylinder, you can usually tell by the smell if it is brake fluid or differential oil. Pretty common for the rear brake cylinders to leak in XJ's, likely the same on the GC. If the GC has rear discs disregard . I've had some really old XJ's that had a tiny seep at the rear seals, few that actually went band and leaked any significant amount of oil. Usually when the seals started to seep it was a sign the axle bearings were getting worn.
The leaky brake cylinder is common the rear axle seals aren't, in my experiences.

 

[proftomda]

Thanks for the replies folks. I thought the Dana 35 was not clipped on the 1998-2004 grand cherokee and you had to remove the 4 nuts and use a puller to remove shaft, then take to machine shop. Is that correct?

Mopar brand bearings and seals the best, really? I would say there is something related to the axle that is deficient from the factory, beit the seals or the housing, if they commonly fail. I found on ebay a seal, bearing and retainer kit for $22.00 per side, probably chinese stuff but could it be any worse?

So leakage may be a sign of bearing failure??? That leaves a bit nervous about conducting this 600 mile drive tuesday.

 

[Jester32]

You replace the bearings when you do the seals. Usually you will see the race got hot when the axle seals leak. But the only one I seen fail was a fellow tech put it in dry and roadtested it. Well he made it about a block lol.

 

[Jester32]

And the deficient part is the Dana 35 in it's entirety. I have nothing good to say about them lol. My 2 cents.

 

[proftomda]

Hey Jester:

Know of any swaps to a more reliable axle that anyone has performed? Im totally new to this Jeep stuff but I have read tons of complaints about this issue that makes me believe that someone has called it quits on the 35 and installed something different...

 

[Jester32]

On a grand the only thing I can recommend is find a grand with a Dana 44. They use an hybrid type 44 but hold up better than the 35. The 35 is ok but find it's not really the most reliable out there even just for on road use.