Rear end

[EAZY03MARAUDER]

My rear end is leaking gear oil on the back passanger side i was going to replace the seal and put new fluid ,but i was told that i should put a new rear end in it wht do u think not sure how the gears are doing

[bigmerc'03]

did they say why u need a new rear end?

[lifespeed]

Assuming you have as many miles on a 10 year old car as one would expect, 80K - 120K, then your rear end is pretty worn-out. At a minimum you need new axles, bearings, seals and clutches. At that point you are 90% of the way into a complete rebuild and may as well replace the carrier and pinion bearings. If you like the 3.55 gears you can re-use these in most cases.

This is an ideal time to upgrade to 31 spline axles if you have future ambitions of high power, as you'll be buying axles anyway. The only added expense is a new carrier to fit the axles, vs rebuilding the existing carrier. Often it is cost effective to replace the carrier vs rebuilding if you're hiring the labor.

Just part of the deal with an old car. Once you fix it you should be good for another 100K+. Well, maybe 60 - 70K miles for the clutches.

[EAZY03MARAUDER]

the guy was saying that it chould be more of a problem if something else goes wrong .The gear oil is dripping behind the break caplier and has my inside fender well full of oil and it stinks

[fastblackmerc]

the guy was saying that it chould be more of a problem if something else goes wrong .The gear oil is dripping behind the break caplier and has my inside fender well full of oil and it stinks

Either the seal is bad or the axle & seal are bad. One or both are an easy fix.

[EAZY03MARAUDER]

so senior member can you just tell me wht you would i dont have much money at the moment and if the clutches are worn its not going to pull as hard huh it shifts smooth but when i nail it 3rd gears stays around 5grand then chnages to 4th this car has 173,000 and a carless owner but iam going to change that

[EAZY03MARAUDER]

what about the clutches this oil is black and stinks so u dont think i need to replace the whole rear end its drive smooth but when i nail it doesnt really pull hard car has 173 k miles

[lifespeed]

Either the seal is bad or the axle & seal are bad. One or both are an easy fix.

At 173K miles with a leaky axle you can be sure the entire thing needs to be rebuilt. These things wear out. Bearings roll directly on the axle, axle wears along with the bearing. Limited slip clutches have outlived their usefulness well before 100K.
Nobody wants to spend money fixing things that don't need it. I guarantee it needs it. Just a matter of how long you care to get away with ignoring it. Now that it leaks, no more ignoring it.

[Vortech347]

Take it to a shop.