Loud ping then diff fluid started leaking

I think it was a binding somewhere that made the noise. Just took it to 85mph and it’s never felt so good. As for the leak I think tweaking the axle may have moved the seal a bit. It doesn’t seem to be leaking as it was before. Gonna top off the oil and park it at an angle to see if it still leaks


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jesse3638 said:
Isn't leaking axle seals also a sign of a bent axle. I'm wondering of the different control arm lengths actually bent his axle? Sure hope not as that would suck
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Yes it is, because the axle shaft will sit on an angle in the seal and allow fluid to pass through.
But different control arm length wouldn't cause the tube to move in the diff unless those plug welds aren't holding.
When mine bent, I could raise the tire with a floor jack and actually see the tube moving up and down inside the diff with the weight of the vehicle.
 
JKDream said:
Yes it is, because the axle shaft will sit on an angle in the seal and allow fluid to pass through.
But different control arm length wouldn't cause the tube to move in the diff unless those plug welds aren't holding.
When mine bent, I could raise the tire with a floor jack and actually see the tube moving up and down inside the diff with the weight of the vehicle.
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That's what I thought. Could the loud ping he heard be a plug weld popping loose? I'm wondering if it did bend that it wasn't fore and aft, not up and down, as it sounds like he adjusted his lower CA's 1 to 1.5 inches with the opposite side still attached. Haven't received clarification on that though so I may be wrong.
 
jesse3638 said:
That's what I thought. Could the loud ping he heard be a plug weld popping loose? I'm wondering if it did bend that it wasn't fore and aft, not up and down, as it sounds like he adjusted his lower CA's 1 to 1.5 inches with the opposite side still attached. Haven't received clarification on that though so I may be wrong.
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I can't imagine that causing more pressure than your average wheeling trip, but I could be wrong.
I suppose it depends how he managed to get the bolts in with that much misalignment,
Something like using a winch to pull the diff into place I could see bending the housing, or at least breaking the welds.
 
JKDream said:
I can't imagine that causing more pressure than your average wheeling trip, but I could be wrong.
I suppose it depends how he managed to get the bolts in with that much misalignment,
Something like using a winch to pull the diff into place I could see bending the housing, or at least breaking the welds.
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He did have it flexed one wheel up and the other down which I was confused with as well. They are EVO arms so can be adjusted while installed so if they were the same length and then cranked one side all at once to shorten it I can imagine that doing some bad things. I remember Teraflex used to have the customer set one control arm 1/8" longer than the other for some sort of cross load torque BS which was enough to cause problems.
 
Samuelh3 said:
I was doing some work on my control arms. As some of you might recall I had my EVO arms backwards. I measured the distance from the base of the Jonnie Joint to the control arm loosened it all the way until it fit in the mount and started righting things down to get it down the the correct length. I started on the drivers side and had the driver tire up with the passenger tire down. The passenger side control arm was about 1-1.5” longer than it needed to be.

As I was tightening the control arm I heard a loud ping and didn’t think much of it as I thought the suspension was just settling. As I went over to the passenger side I suddenly notice diff fluid leaking from the axle tube.

What the heck did I break? Did I over twist the axle? Freaking out a bit here.


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Heck of a time for you...!!! At least everything sounds like it's okay. My guess is something popped back into place. As long as the leak has stopped and all adjustments are correct :thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
JKDream said:
Yes it is, because the axle shaft will sit on an angle in the seal and allow fluid to pass through.
But different control arm length wouldn't cause the tube to move in the diff unless those plug welds aren't holding.
When mine bent, I could raise the tire with a floor jack and actually see the tube moving up and down inside the diff with the weight of the vehicle.
Click to expand...

Gonna have to take a look at that.


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JMFK said:
The “flaking” of the paint where you can now see rust in a few of the pictures would also indicate the weld failed.


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Yep. At a minimum, I’d take a wire wheel to them, clear the paint off, and see how they look. No big deal to touch up the paint if the welds are good.

Also, there’s a reason why oil is now leaking out. Could be entirely coincidental, but odds are otherwise.
 
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