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Front Bevel Box (Differential) Oil Seal Leak Repair
Front Bevel Box (Differential) Oil Seal Leak Repair
The other weekend when I was servicing my drivetrain fluids I stopped at the front diff (which VW calles the Bevel Box) because there seemed to be a lot of oil in the area which made me suspect something was wrong.
Today the Umai Nai confirmed it was definitely a leaking seal when he took the drive shaft for a closer look
The replacement seal he had ordered looked to be the correct one, but be aware, it does seem to be important that you give the dealer your VIN so they give you the correct seal as apparently there are a couple of different seals for the various models.
I was relieved to see that when the leaking seal was removed some fluid spilled out, so the leak wasn't that bad. And then the drain bolt was removed, although the oil wasn't clean, it wasn't black and smelly either - so it was probably ready for a change, but not overdue. With the new seal in (blue arrow), and the drive shaft still off, it made getting into the refill hole (green arrow) and drain hole (orange arrow) much easier. Because I had a bit of leftover fluid from when I changed the rear (final drive) diff fluid, I felt it was worth pushing that through to flush out as much of the old fluid that might be in there as possible.
With the "flush" done, it was just a case of putting the drain bolt back in and pumping in the fresh fluid until it started weeping out of the fill hole. It took about 900ml so the 1 liter bottle I got was a perfect amount. With the drive shaft back in place and everything bolted back together I took the vehicle for a test drive and everything went smoothly.
So just a word of warning, it is probably worth your while checking under the front right side of the vehicle when you do your servicing to make sure the seal isn't leaking, and if it is, at least make sure you top up the fluid (if you don't want to replace the leaking seal).
Front Bevel Box (Differential) Oil Seal Leak Repair
The other weekend when I was servicing my drivetrain fluids I stopped at the front diff (which VW calles the Bevel Box) because there seemed to be a lot of oil in the area which made me suspect something was wrong.
Today the Umai Nai confirmed it was definitely a leaking seal when he took the drive shaft for a closer look
The replacement seal he had ordered looked to be the correct one, but be aware, it does seem to be important that you give the dealer your VIN so they give you the correct seal as apparently there are a couple of different seals for the various models.
I was relieved to see that when the leaking seal was removed some fluid spilled out, so the leak wasn't that bad. And then the drain bolt was removed, although the oil wasn't clean, it wasn't black and smelly either - so it was probably ready for a change, but not overdue. With the new seal in (blue arrow), and the drive shaft still off, it made getting into the refill hole (green arrow) and drain hole (orange arrow) much easier. Because I had a bit of leftover fluid from when I changed the rear (final drive) diff fluid, I felt it was worth pushing that through to flush out as much of the old fluid that might be in there as possible.
With the "flush" done, it was just a case of putting the drain bolt back in and pumping in the fresh fluid until it started weeping out of the fill hole. It took about 900ml so the 1 liter bottle I got was a perfect amount. With the drive shaft back in place and everything bolted back together I took the vehicle for a test drive and everything went smoothly.
So just a word of warning, it is probably worth your while checking under the front right side of the vehicle when you do your servicing to make sure the seal isn't leaking, and if it is, at least make sure you top up the fluid (if you don't want to replace the leaking seal).
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