Rear Axle leaking

[Little Miss Trouble]

Hey there, so my (new to me) 2018 Jeep Wrangler JLU rear axle seems to be leaking and if you ask me... shifted to the left a little. I did a search on this before posting and while I say others did mention it... I don't see resolution or even causes?? I have a local suspension shop that did my 2.5" lift and 2" spacers... who said he can weld the pumpkin so it never happens again... but what made it leak to begin with? He JUST installed the lift about 3wks ago, and noticed the leak while installing the spacers on Thursday of last week.

Any input? On cause?
Any input on welding?

Thanks everyone!!

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[autotragic]

WOAH, hold on here.

First thing, get some brake clean and clean all that off. Then check regularly to see where the leak starts. It's much more likely to be the vent that's the problem rather than the axle housing. Other more probable culprits are pinion seal and differential cover gasket.

Your axle is likely shifted because you're still on stock track bars. You need adjustable track bars or track bar relocation brackets to solve that issue. These items are typically left out of cheap lift kits.

 

[Roky]

Hey there, so my (new to me) 2018 Jeep Wrangler JLU rear axle seems to be leaking and if you ask me... shifted to the left a little. I did a search on this before posting and while I say others did mention it... I don't see resolution or even causes?? I have a local suspension shop that did my 2.5" lift and 2" spacers... who said he can weld the pumpkin so it never happens again... but what made it leak to begin with? He JUST installed the lift about 3wks ago, and noticed the leak while installing the spacers on Thursday of last week.

Any input? On cause?
Any input on welding?

Thanks everyone!!

I second the “clean it off” advise to see where exactly the problem is…. But you can weld the tubes… I went ahead and did mine when I installed my lift, because if I decided to do it later, I wouldn’t be able to get to all of it with the RK truss on there….

 

[Little Miss Trouble]

WOAH, hold on here.

First thing, get some brake clean and clean all that off. Then check regularly to see where the leak starts. It's much more likely to be the vent that's the problem rather than the axle housing. Other more probable culprits are pinion seal and differential cover gasket.

Your axle is likely shifted because you're still on stock track bars. You need adjustable track bars or track bar relocation brackets to solve that issue. These items are typically left out of cheap lift kits.

Well yes... it does need cleaning... but in it being dirty... he was able to see this leak, which kinda has a pro for this moment. But yes it will be cleaned...

 

[Little Miss Trouble]

I second the “clean it off” advise to see where exactly the problem is…. But you can weld the tubes… I went ahead and did mine when I installed my lift, because if I decided to do it later, I wouldn’t be able to get to all of it with the RK truss on there….

Awesome... okay I've heard most off roaders weld that exact area... I plan to not rock crawl but definitely go off road on trails and in Sand in Glamis.

 

[Vinman]

I’d hardly call that leak.
Like others said, clean it off with brake cleaner and monitor. Also check the check valve on the end of the vent hose, if it becomes clogged it can pressurize the diff and force oil out where it normally wouldn’t.
I’ve had a couple of Jeeps when the hose was plugged with mud the pinion seal had a steady flow of oil leaking out yet after unclogging the vent, the leak stopped 100%

 

[autotragic]

Well yes... it does need cleaning... but in it being dirty... he was able to see this leak, which kinda has a pro for this moment. But yes it will be cleaned...

Yes you can see the "leak"...but that's not really a leak. Certainly nothing that warrants welding to fix. Understand I'm trying to keep you from getting ripped off.

 

[Little Miss Trouble]

Yes you can see the "leak"...but that's not really a leak. Certainly nothing that warrants welding to fix. Understand I'm trying to keep you from getting ripped off.

Good point... hang tight while I go get dirty!!

 

[Little Miss Trouble]

Good point... hang tight while I go get dirty!!

One more question... once I clean it... what will get the axel back to aligned?

 

[Roky]

Awesome... okay I've heard most off roaders weld that exact area... I plan to not rock crawl but definitely go off road on trails and in Sand in Glamis.

What 2.5” lift did you install, got link ? And the 2” spacers, are they wheel spacers or added to your lift..?

 

[Vinman]

One more question... once I clean it... what will get the axel back to aligned?

Replace the stock rear trackbar with an adjustable one. That will allow you to adjust the axle side-to-side in minute increments for whatever lift you have now or will have in the future.

 

[autotragic]

One more question... once I clean it... what will get the axel back to aligned?

You need an adjustable trackbar. Or bars, it sounds like you have over 4 inches of lift...2.5 from suspension then another 2 inch from spacers. That's a lot of lift. You need front and rear adjustable track bars at least. Hopefully you have front and rear adjustable lower control arms too. Front for caster and rear to recenter your rear axle in the wheel well. What size tires did you get?

Please tell me somebody at the shop where you had all this work done talked to you about all this right?

Pictures of your Jeep would be helpful. There is a lot to unpack here.

 

[Little Miss Trouble]

You need an adjustable trackbar. Or bars, it sounds like you have over 4 inches of lift...2.5 from suspension then another 2 inch from spacers. That's a lot of lift. You need front and rear adjustable track bars at least. Hopefully you have front and rear adjustable lower control arms too. Front for caster and rear to recenter your rear axle in the wheel well. What size tires did you get?

Please tell me somebody at the shop where you had all this work done talked to you about all this right?

Pictures of your Jeep would be helpful. There is a lot to unpack here.

No, I am only 5' 1" (on a good day)... so 4" lift isn't in my future...

I have a 3" Tera Flex Lift kit... whether that comes with an adjustable Trac bar? I do not know. I have sent a message to him to advise.
• 3" Tera flex lift - W/ swaybar links & extended brake lines
• Caster shims & alignment
• 4 wheel hubcentric wheel spacers 2"

Wheels are stock with BF Goodrich All Terrain TA tires

I have 2" wheel spacers to make the wheels a little more flush with the fenders and those were just put on last Thursday.

Here are pics I just took this moment while parked at work.

 

[autotragic]

No, I am only 5' 1" (on a good day)... so 4" lift isn't in my future...

I have a 3" Tera Flex Lift kit... whether that comes with an adjustable Trac bar? I do not know. I have sent a message to him to advise.
• 3" Tera flex lift - W/ swaybar links & extended brake lines
• Caster shims & alignment
• 4 wheel hubcentric wheel spacers 2"

Wheels are stock with BF Goodrich All Terrain TA tires

I have 2" wheel spacers to make the wheels a little more flush with the fenders and those were just put on last Thursday.

Here are pics I just took this moment while parked at work.

Okay that makes way more sense, whew. When you said you had spacers installed last Thursday I thought you meant another 2 inches of suspension spacer. That would have been nuts but I see now you mean wheel spacers.

So it's not as crazy as it seemed.

However Teraflex doesn't "do" a 3 inch suspension per se. It's either going to be a 2.5" or 3.5". The amount of lift can vary for all kinds of reasons but understanding exactly what you have now...

https://teraflex.com/shop/suspensio...&sid=ytoBnAuaSr&product_list_order=price_desc

This is a link with all the options for your Jeep. If you can take pictures of your springs/shocks it will really help narrow things down. Even better if the shop can give you part numbers or if you have the invoice with part numbers listed even better.

In that list you can see that Teraflex makes adjustable track bars...You don't have to use theirs but that's up to you. There are cheaper, also really good alternatives on the market. That's 100% up to you.

 

[Little Miss Trouble]

Okay guys... that was a fun lunch break!! Gave the guys a good laugh...

But I think my concern has switched completely... so after cleaning it all up... I went to look at the back side of the pumpkin and it looks like its leaking from the differential pinion seal? OR... it's just old road grime and waiting to see what happens now that it's all clean to see what new shows up? Nothing under there was fresh wet... it was all just caked on grime...

Here is what I found and after pics of cleaned off...

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