changing rear axle seals on gm truck

looking at a '90 chebby 1500 truck... needs new axle seals as per the owner... how big/bad of a job is that in general?

it's not a prurdy but for the price i'm pretty sure I could fix it... drive it and sell it for a chunk more (yay for redneck tax)

so just looking for some info :) thanks mark

easy job.

easy job but has to be done on every GM truck. One of those things that I dont like GM; it has been that way for over 30 yrs.

figure it to be an afternoon job?... should replace both sides while i'm at it?... anything else should be done while in there? typical cost for parts?

The diff pin has to come out to allow the axles to slip in a bit so the retainer clips will come off the axle. Do both seals, since you have to pull the cover off anyway.

The problems you may run into include the 5/16 head bolt that retains the spider gear pin can break at the end of the threads. 99% of the time, if you don't panic, this is solveable with a can of brake cleaner and a small, sharp pick. Spray cleaner liberally around the pin, in the bolt hole, and just use the pick to twirl the remains out- there is almost always a tiny bit of thread left on the portion of the pin broken inside the housing. New bolt available at any GM store.

Second problem is the bearings run directly on the axle shaft, and the hard surface may deteriorate over time. That requires new axle and bearing, which is a pricey fix, because new is $$, and junkyards know it. There used to be an "axle saver" bearing, which moved the rollers outboard to a new chunk of undamaged surface. They don't work great long term, the seals are tiny compared to the originals.

When you put the new seals in, always put a swipe of silicone sealer on the steel shell of the seal, where it goes into the axle tube, or oil will seep out past the two steel surfaces. A good seal may have a rubber coating on the outside, but I don't think you'll find ones like that for this app. I would spend the extra dough for GM seals, or at least inspect the aftermarket ones to be sure it has a heavy duty multiple lip seal surface.

thanks... looks like a good truck for the money... has the club cab or whatever GM called it (bench back seat) and a v8 not sure if it's 5.0 or 5.7 just called and said was doing something with it and some wire got caught in there and killed the seal

Streetwiseguy wrote: The problems you may run into include the 5/16 head bolt that retains the spider gear pin can break at the end of the threads. 99% of the time, if you don't panic, this is solveable with a can of brake cleaner and a small, sharp pick. Spray cleaner liberally around the pin, in the bolt hole, and just use the pick to twirl the remains out- there is almost always a tiny bit of thread left on the portion of the pin broken inside the housing. New bolt available at any GM store.

Did this job on my Ford a few months back, same stupid bolt broke. It took a bit of time laying in the dorm parking lot with a pick, but came out easy enough. Got replacement bolt from car quest. The rest of the job was easy as can be. Got it all back together and then a few weeks later the pinion seal started leaking...

truck sold before I could get cash together :-/... shameI would have been good doh