Grease around hub back wheel drivers side

[Matticus91]

So I switched my rims out to my winter wheels and noticed grease all around the inside of the wheel (drives side rear) and also around the brakes/shield and such. Any thought on what this could be? I wonder if that is what was causing the knocking sound issue the car has...

[winks]

It could be a broken rear axle seal on that side. Have you checked the fluid level in the diff?

[Matticus91]

No I haven't checked that at all

[GT800]

Might wanna get on that

[Matticus91]

Where/how do I check that? I know to check the diff fluid i just take out the plug and check the level right? But how would I know if it's the axle seal?

Also that can't be too much to fix right? I'd imagine it's all pretty much in the open once I get the brakes/rotor off

[mnstrstang]

Yo have to pull the axle out of the car to replace the axle seal. It's not that bad to do as long as you know what youre doing.

[Matticus91]

Ugh alright well by buddy changed out his axels so I guess I'll give him a call.

What will I need for this any special tools? Obviously I'll need the seal as well but how about the grease what kind should I get? Never did this before lol

[winks]

To check the diff fluid, park on a level surface and locate the fill plug - remove it. You should be able to get a finger in there and be able to feel where the fluid is. If it's near the top, you're ok, if it's not, add more.

A Haynes manual would be a good starting point for changing out the seal. You'll have to pull the axle shafts from the differential, and I forget how to do that. My buddy and I did it on the Ranger a while ago, it wasn't bad at all.

Remember when you fill the diff back up with fluid, you'll need to add a friction modifier for your limited slip differential if you have one.

[Matticus91]

Could a loss of fluid cause the diff to not hook up properly? Also could it damage the diff/components? I have not idea how long it was like this...

[GT800]

pull the cover. pull the 7 mm bolt holding the pinion shaft in. pull out the pnion shaft. push axle in and pull c clip out. slide out the axle. Pry out the seal and knock in the new seal. only thing that would be smart to have would be a seal punch set but that you can even get around.

oh after you pull the rotor and caliper