I recently went over my entire 02 wagon that I just purchased. I have changed all the fluids, fixed my speedo by cleaning the sending unit and checking all the grounds under the dash. My question here is, while changing the transfer case fluid, I noticed what appeared to be a slight leak coming from the rear output seal. Needles to say, I went out and purchased one because I' am ****. I installed the new one without any issues. I did notice on the old one and the new one, a small pin hole in the rubber part of the seal that I was told to place towards the bottom. What is this hole for and is fluid supposed to leak out of there? Thank you in advanced. Jacques

 

Everyone's definition of a slight leak is differant. Fluid leaking can be a good thing, when it stops you have to worry! It should not drip on the ground (obviously) but some wetness on a seal is ok. Much more important is -was the T case over full when you changed the oil? If so then your transmission is low on oil. They call this the vampire. The T case has a internal cooling loop that is known for cracking. It leaks transmission oil into the T case and over fills the tcase and starves the trans of oil, it sucks the blood out if it. Always check the tcase level at the fill plug before draining the tcase. Check your transmission oil and ifs low check the Tcase in a week and if it is over full you hot the vampire. Did the oil smell bad?

 

Thank you Ian. First thing I did was my Transfer case fluid.Thankfully, everything was fine with the transfer case.....NO VAMPIRE. The fluid that I'am talking about, is not really leaking, it does not even make it to the top of the shield but I see it on the seal. It almost looks as if it is coming out of the little pin hole that I mentioned. I was wondering if the pin hole was on the top part of the seal, would fluid seep out.

 

Who did you order the seal from? What brand is it? Is it a red seal?

 

Bought the seal from Advanced Auto. It is a red seal that looks identical to the one I removed that I thought was leaking. Pin hole is in the black rubber part of the seal that extends over the yoke. The brand is Driveworks

 

The hole your referring to is actually a vent for the boot and you should always place it to the bottom. That way if the actual seal starts to leak it is noticed right away when fluid drips out of the vent rather than filling boot with fluid. Booted seals are common on slip yokes to protect the yoke seal surface from contamination like dust and dirt that can cause damage to the yoke. Like Ian said, sweating at the seal is normal as long as its not dripping.

 

Thank you Ian and Humtech. I guess I never had to replace the first one in the first place. What a PITA it was to get the drive shaft off. My next "project" is going to be a slight drip out of the left rear brake bleed screw. It appears that someone over tighten it. This will be my last leak to fix(for now).