Replacing passenger diff CV shaft seal without pulling hub

Just had a dealer warranty out my drive side needle bearing. In the troubleshooting process for some reason they also replaced my passenger wheel bearing, now my passenger CV shaft seal is leaking. Rather than deal with dropping it off for a day I just want to replace the seal myself.

I have the seal in hand, before I start I was wondering if I need to separate the CV shaft from the hub or can I unbolt the hub and slide the whole assembly out of the knuckle? Or is there enough play in the entire shaft where I can just leave it all bolted up and turn the knuckle and slide the shaft out in order to replace the seal?

 

You can slide the knuckle with hub off the cv shaft but you must remove the lower two ball joints bolts (19mm), the tie rod (17mm??) with the castellated nut. I think you also remove the caliper and then bungy or wire it up to hang without putting tension on the line. That leaves the spindle and hub assembly with the brake rotor on it still attached to the UCA only to slide off the cv.

 

Remove 35mm cv axle nut

Remove bottom two 19mm that hold spindle to LCA

Remove steering tie rod castle nut (17mm I think)

Then the entire assembly will swing out of the way and you are left with easy access to the CV. From there you can remove it and replace the seal. No need to mess with the hub or brake caliper or anything.

 

Thanks guys!

 

if you still have the swaybar attached, remove that from the spindle. Unbolt the lower 2 balljoint nuts that attache to the spindle, and pull the CV out, upper ball joint n tie rod have plenty of movement to allow you to swing the WHOLE assembly (caliper and all) out of the way.


That stated, if the dealer did it and fucked it up id have them do it, and give you a loaner for free.

 

if you decide to leave it on the hub just be careful stabbing it back into the diff. Don't want to damage the seal or you have to do it all over again

 

I agree but I thought about it and between the time it takes for the drive to the dealer and coordinating dropping it off with my work schedule I think it'd be easier just to do it myself for $15 and an hour or two of time

 

All you have to do is remove the two bolts on the bottom knuckle. 19mm. Then get a long pry bar and a hammer and hit the cv axle OUT of the diff from the center of the truck towards the passenger side. Then just push the whole assembly out of the way.
Done both sides in about 45 minutes to an hour all together. You don’t have to remove the tie rod. You can if you want, it’ll make it easier, but it’s not a big deal. I also didn’t have a sway bar though.

 

If you turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction of the side you're working on that will extend the tie rod out the farthest it will go. Then just pull the two bolts below the ball joint and you should be able to pull it back far enough to clear the axle

 

Also here’s just a tip, get some RTV (gasket maker) and put a THIN layer on the inner race of the diff after you take out the old seal. That way when you put the new one in, if there was any dirt or rocks that scored up the diff, that’ll seal those grooves off too. Could’ve been that a rock was moved around when the dealer did the work and just moved itself in the right spot. It doesn’t take much. Happened to me.

It should go inner ring of the diff, thin layer of RVT, then the CV seal.

 

What is leaking? Is the leak from the seal at the inside of the shaft? Everyone seems to be addressing replacing the seal at the outside, there should be no fluid leaking from the outside seal as there should be no fluid flowing on the inside of that seal. Its possible they over-lubbed the shaft and the leakage is grease being forced out.

 

Where's the inside seal? What's the difference?

My leak is pretty bad, just sitting overnight and probably 1/4 cup leaks out

 

Whatchu talking about Willis? Once you pop out the CV, there’s a rubber seal. This pic is with it removed (from last time I replaced mine). This is what OP is talking about and there’s oil behind it. That’s the purpose of the seal.

 

CV shaft has two seals, although a third is sometimes counted as part of it.
On the front diff, where CV shaft slides in.
On inner knuckle - the one most are referencing above.
On the wheel hub to seal the wheel bearing.

The seal on the front diff keeps fluid from leaking out of the diff. The seal on the knuckle keeps water and other contaminants from going into the knuckle cavity housing part of the wheel bearing assembly.

 

I think @Chuy is talking about the cv boot

 

My perception may have been off - I perceived some of the initial replies were about replacing the knuckle seal instead of the diff seal. Without the proper tools, it may be better to have the dealer fix the leak as it appears they caused it by jostling the shaft excessively during their repairs. I would offer to pay the seal, but they should cover the labor.

 

Yeah, op is talking about the black rubber ring inside the diff. The one that keeps the oil in.

We’re talking about the knuckle because it’s easy to swing the whole assembly out of the way to access the cv.