"underneath", installment 20-1/2 (COULD URGENTLY USE SOME ADVICE)
Drat. Another leak, and this one might be more serious. Last
night, I went out to the garage, and got under the car. The brake line
connections aren't leaking, and those had worried me.
Then I looked under the diff. Yeah, there was a tiny puddle
under the drain plug, so it would have to come out; no big deal. Then, I
looked again; a small 'drool' running under the diff housing from the
direction of the pinion. Uh-oh.
My brand-new pinion seal is letting a little bit of fluid by,
perhaps 5-10 drops in 48 hours. I just couldn't believe it. It's not
coming from the rubber part surrounding the pinion shaft itself, but the
seal's outer rim where it presses in to the diff housing.
You might recall, I had help on this part of the car, and I did
not install the seal myself, so I'm not certain of the characteristcs of
the seal. Is this a mere metal-to-metal press-in kind of attachment (if
so, no wonder it leaks), or is there something else. Is there supposed
to the rubber around the rim? Permatex? Against what surface does it
seat?
OK, that's a lot of questions -- and here's some more. Is there
any logic to trying to press the thing is further to seat it, and if so,
how? I tried a small punch against the exposed rim of the seal, tapping
on the edge --which just bent in. There is, inboard of that, an annular
'well' or "moat" running around the seal, I could get a screwdriver down
in there to hammer on it, but I might puncture the metal, or distort it.
Good idea?
Lawrence R. Wright, Purchasing Analyst
U S Office Products, Mid-Atlantic District
Formerly Andrews Office Products
larry.wright@usop.com (new)
Ph. 301.386.7923 Fx. 301.386.5333
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