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Differential pinion seal/gasket
Prevost spotted a leak at the differential pinion area. They quoted $1000 for repair. It looks like more of a sweat to me than a leak. There is no differential fluid on the floor of my garage. Should I have this repaired now or can I defer. What say you.
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9 Replies
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I would just keep an eye on it.
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I hate leaks and as we all know, it won’t get any better.
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Allan,
We had our pinion seal replaced at Prevost in Mira Loma, CA a couple of years ago, cost was $4500
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What is missing from the question is any indication of how long it took for that leak to get to that point.
If that was my coach I would clean it off and note the date and mileage. Then I would do as Tom suggests. You could be looking at a leak that has just begun and is going to get bad in a hurry, or you could be looking at something that has been going on for a long time and hasn’t reached the point where it is worth the cost or effort to repair.
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Check the differential vent to be sure it is open and not plugged up.
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I just replaced mine myself b/c I was tired of seeing it on the write up everytime Prevost serviced my coach. It looked just like yours and I rolled like that for about 30K miles with no fluid ever hitting the ground.
The quotes I see from Prevost above are probably about right. The job is not hard, but the tools are expensive for no more than they do.
Pinion seal: $80-$90
Pinion seal driver: $90
Yoke Puller: $550
2 1/4″ deep socket: $85
U-joint puller: $250
U-joints: $210
U-joint cup installer: $100
Diff fluid: $25-$50 (I didnt lose very much during the swap)
1″ impact gun with a big a$$ compressor: $$$$
Grease & misc. items you will most likely have. It took me about 7 hours to do the complete job and it was a very dirty job. There is no reason not to change your U-joints out while you are at it b/c you will have to take the one apart since its a full round style U-joint.
Also, be sure to hit the gym before you attempt to man handle the drive shaft. That thing has to weigh 180lbs!
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I would clean it off and leave it as suggested above.
Mine has looked like that for years, and not got any worse.
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Thanks everyone for your very helpful comments. I have requested Prevost to inspect the differential vent and to clean the residual fluid on the differential drum housing. I will keep an eye on it and should there be a serious leak I will have the seal replaced.
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Leaving it be is the other option as well! My dad’s coach has had a leaking pinion seal for 10 years and he has not changed it. Thats pretty standard for how he takes care of his coach though.
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