leaking from rear diff / prop area

Now I know it is usually a good thing to see oil leaking out of my 95 300TDi (122k) as it meant there was some in there but......

I've got some oil leaking out of the rear diff where the rear prop inserts. The rotation of the prop has promptly spread it everywhere which may be a bonus from an anti rust point of view but is there an oil seal or something simple that can be replaced here or does it sound more sinister??? If so any ideas on suppliers. Usually use Rimmers but can't see a part that looks right. Many thanks for you help as usual!! James

Yeah it's pretty simple mate.

Remove rear prop, and you'll see a big nut on the diff pinion shaft.

There's a split pin which needs to be removed, and then you need to hold the flange.

I use a piece of metal bar with holes in and bolt it to the flange, and then get a breaker bar to crack the nut off.

It's not actually that tight if you can secure the flange properly (allow the bar to rest against a rear trailing arm and it's easy)

Pull off the flange, and then you can lever out the old seal, and hammer in a new one.

Check the seal land on the flange, if it is badly scored it will damage your new seal, so you should usually replace that too!

The oil seal is FRC8220

The rotation of the prop has promptly spread it everywhere which may be a bonus from an anti rust point of view

Click to expand...

mine did the same, so i left it a few weeks, and just topped the diff up in between. should help to stop the boot floor and rear chassis rusting for a while

Cheers Guys!! I'll endeavour to get that done in next few weeks, meanwhile it saves on waxoil! J

hi
same problem on my 1999 disco but the diff is starting to whine a little only when im on the motorway i have a 1987 110 can i take the diff off that (will it be the same ratio)or can it wait a few weeks till i get home

The seal probably failed because the axle case breather is rusted up and the axle builds pressure when hot.Be worth looking at it when you do the seal.

I'll check that breather when I'm in there! Good advice ta!! Got the seal from Rimmers yesterday, but don't think I can get my hands dirty on the diff til next weekend as I've got to do the timing belt this weekend prior to MOT thrashing for emissions! Fun Fun Fun! Fantastic advice on this forum for that job too!