RIGHT DRIVE AXLE SEAL LEAK DUE TO DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER WEAR

SOME 1980 X MODELS AND EARLY PRODUCTION 1981 X MODELS WITH THM 125 TRANSMISSIONS HAVE A CONDITION OF PREMATURE WEAR OF THE FINAL DRIVE DIFFERENTIAL BARRIER. THIS CAN RESULT IN A TRANSMISSION OIL LEAK AT THE RIGHT DRIVE AXLE SEAL.

A SPECIAL POLICY ON SUBJECT VEHICLES CONCERNING THIS LEAK CONDITION IS COVERED IN DEALER SPECIAL POLICY LETTER DATED APRIL 30, 1982. THIS BULLETIN PROVIDES DIAGNOSIS INFORMATION AND THE RECOMMENDED REPAIR PROCEDURES FOR CORRECTION OF THE RIGHT DRIVE AXLE SEAL LEAK.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

PART I - DIAGNOSIS OF LEAK

1. INSPECT TRANSMISSION IN AREA OF RIGHT DRIVE AXLE SEAL.

2. IF AXLE SEAL IS LEAKING, PORTIONS OF THE TRANSMISSION CASE FROM THE SEAL TO THE OIL PAN RAIL WILL BE WET "TO THE FEEL" WITH RED TRANSMISSION OIL. OIL STAINS ON THE CASE ARE NOT SIGNS OF A CURRENT LEAK, BUT INDICATION OF A PREVIOUS LEAK.

IF WET TRANSMISSION OIL IS EVIDENT, BE SURE SOURCE IS NOT FROM SOME OTHER AREA, SUCH A SPEEDOMETER DRIVEN GEAR SLEEVE "0" RING.

PROCEED WITH PART II OF THIS PROCEDURE ONLY IF RIGHT AXLE SEAL IS LEAKING

PART II - INSPECTION OF DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER BORE

THIS INSPECTION IS TO DETERMINE IF ONLY DRIVE AXLE SEAL SHOULD BE REPLACED OR IF BOTH SEAL AND CARRIER AND SIDE GEARS SHOULD BE REPLACED:

1. RAISE THE CAR ON A HOIST THAT DOES NOT USE THE FRONT WHEELS OR CONTROL ARMS FOR SUPPORT (FRAME HOIST, ETC.) LEAVE THE STEERING WHEEL UNLOCKED SO FRONT WHEELS CAN BE TURNED.

2. REMOVE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL AND TIRE ASSEMBLY.

3. REMOVE SPLASH SHIELD AND RETAINING SCREWS FOR BOTH BRAKE AND HOSE BRACKETS AT CROSSMEMBER SIDE RAIL. REFOER FIGURE 1.

4. INSTALL TOOL J-28712 AXLE BOOT SEAL PROTECTORS AS SHOWN IN FIGURE 2.

5. REMOVE THE BALL JOINT RETAINING BOLT AND NUT. DO NOT REUSE BOLT. REFER TO FIGURE 3.

6. INSERT A PRY BAR BETWEEN ENGINE CRADLE SIDE MEMBER AND THE RIGHT LOWER CONTROL ARM. PRY DOWNWARD UNTIL THE HUB AND BEARING ASSEMBLY ARE DISENGAGED FROM THE BALL JOINT STUD. REFER TO FIGURE 4.

7. USING TOOL J-28468 AXLE SHAFT REMOVER, DISENGAGE THE AXLE FROM THE TRANSMISSION. REFER TO FIGURE 2.

8. MOVE THE FRONT WHEELS TO A FULL LEFT TURN POSITION.

9. PUSH THE HUB AND BEARING ASSEMBLY TO THE REAR OF THE WHEEL WELL AND PULL THE DRIVE AXLE OUT OF THE TRANSMISSION, SWING THE END PAST THE ENGINE CRADLE SIDE MEMBER UNTIL IT IS FREE TO HANG DOWN FROM THE WHEEL HUB. REFER TO FIGURE 5.

10. REMOVE THE RIGHT AXLE OIL SEAL FROM THE TRANSMISSION CASE, BEING CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THE TRANSMISSION CASE BORE.

11. INSPECT DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER AXLE SHAFT BORE FOR STEP WEAR. REFER TO FIGURE 6. A. IF THERE IS A SLIGHT EVEN STEP 360 DEG AROUND BORE, REPLACE ONLY AXLE SHAFT SEAL. PART NUMBER 8631156. PART III OF THIS PROCEDURE.

B. IF THERE IS A LARGE STEP IN BORE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE DIFFERENTIAL PIN AS SHOWN IN FIGURE 6, A NEW CARRIER AND SIDE GEAR PACKAGE SHOULD BE INSTALLED IN TRANSMISSION. PART NUMBERS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

PART NAME PART NUMBER DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER W/PINIONS 8637972 2.53 AND 2.84 RATIO

DIFFERENTIAL GEAR KIT 8637919

ALSO, REPLACE THE RIGHT HAND DRIVE AXLE SEAL. PART NUMBER 8631156 AND TRANSMISSION OIL STRAINER, PART NUMBER 8631951. FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES OUTLINED IN SECTIONS OF 7A-22 OF THE APPLICABLE X MODELS SERVICE MANUAL FOR REPLACEMENT OF DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER.

AFTER THE DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER AND THE SIDE GEARS ARE REPLACED AND THE TRANSMISSION IS REINSTALLED IN THE VEHICLE, REINSTALL THE RIGHT DRIVE AXLE FOLLOWING PART III OF THIS PROCEDURE.

PART II INSTALLATION OF RIGHT DRIVE AXLE SHAFT OIL SEAL AND AXLE

1. CLEAN SEAL BORE AND INSTALL NEW AXLE OIL SEAL USING J-26938. REFER TO FIGURE 7. BE CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE SEAL DURING INSTALLATION.

2. APPLY LUBE TO DRIVE AXLE SEAL AND INSTALL DRIVE AXLE IN TRANSMISSION. USE EXTREME CARE TO PREVENT AXLE SHAFT FROM DAMAGING SEAL DURING INSTAL- LATION.

3. WITH FRONT WHEELS STRAIGHT AHEAD, INSTALL THE BALL JOINT STUD TO THE HUB AND WHEEL BEARING ASSEMBLY. INSTALL A NEW BALL JOINT RETAINING BOLT. PART NUMBER 14034747, AND NUT AND TORQUE TO 50 N.M. (40 FT. LBS.) REFER TO FIGURE 3.

4. REMOVE TOOL J-28712 AXLE SHAFT BOOT SEAL PROTECTORS.

5. INSTALL THE RIGHT SIDE FRONT BRAKE PIPE AND HOSE BRACKETS AND SPLASH SHIELD.

6. LOWER THE CAR.

7. IF OIL PAN WAS REMOVED, FILL TRANSMISSION WITH FIVE (5) QUARTS OF DEXRON II AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID.

8. CHECK TRANSMISSION FLUID LEVEL AND ADD AS REQUIRED.

A. PLACE TRANSMISSION IN "PARK" AND LEAVE IN "PARK". APPLY PARKING BRAKE AND BLOCK WHEELS START ENGINE AND LET IDLE (CARBURETOR OFF FAST IDLE STEP.) DO NOT RACE ENGINE. MOVE THE LEVER THROUGHT THE RANGES.

B. VEHICLE ON LEVEL SURFACE.

C. CHECK OIL LEVEL ON DIPSTICK.

THE OIL LEVEL AT ROOM TEMPERATURE OF APPROXIMATELY 70 DEG F (21 DEG C) SHOULD BE 13 MM (1/2") ABOVE THE "FULL" MARK, OR BETWEEN THE TWO DIMPLES ON THE DIPSTICK. (THIS IS DUE TO A HIGHER THAN NORMAL OIL LEVEL IN THE PAN AS THE THERMO-ELEMENT DOES NOT OPEN UNTIL OIL WARMS UP.) THE OIL LEVEL WILL DROP TO BETWEEN THE "ADD" AND "FULL" MARKS AS TRANSMISSION WARMS UP TO NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE.##DO NOT OVERFILL TRANSMISSION AS THIS MAY CAUSE FOAM- ING AND LOSS OF OIL THROUGH THE VENT.

8. INSPECT TRANSMISSION OIL PAN AND NEW AXLE SEAL FOR ANY LEAKS. CORRECT AS REQUIRED.

WARRANTY INFORMATION

WHEN PERFORMING THE REPAIRS OUTLINED IN THE SERVICE PROCEDURE OF THIS BULLETIN, THE DEALER IS REQUESTED TO SUBMIT A CLAIM AS FOLLOWS;

A. DEALERS WILL BE CREDITED VIA R.A.P.I.D. WARRANTY TRANSMISSION OR GMP-160 WARRANTY CLAIM DOCUMENT DEPENDING UPON THE NORMAL METHOD OF SUBMISSION FOR PAYMENT.

B. ALL CALIMS MUST BE SUBMITTED AS A SPECIAL CLAIM TYPE "04" (POLICY), CONTAIN ALL INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR THIS SPECIAL CLAIM TYPE AND MUST LIST THE APPLICABLE SPECIAL LABOUR OPERATION NUMBER AND TIME ALLOWANCE (SEE NOTE #2) SPECIFIED BELOW.

C. PER THE USUAL PROCEDURE WITH SPECIAL CLAIM TYPE "04" (POLICY) PRIOR ZONE AUTHORIZATION MUST BE SECURED FROM YOUR FIELD REPRESENTATIVE.

D. R.A.P.I.D. DEALERS MUST ENTER THE APPROVAL CODE IN THE WARRANTY ('W") LINE OF THE TRANSMISSION. NON R.A.P.I.D. DEALERS MUST ENTER THE APPROVAL CODE IN THE FIRST APPROVAL CODE COLUMN FROM THE LEFT ON THE GMP-160 WARRANTY CLAIM DOCUMENT.

NOTE: 1. 1981 POWER PROTECTION PLUS WARRANTY - WITH THIS SPECIAL POLICY THE $100.00 DEDUCTION PROVISION SPECIFIED IN THE "GNERAL MOTORS POWERTRAIN LIMITED WARRANTY - POWER PROTECTION PLUS" WILL NOT APPLY TO THE COVERED REPAIRS.

2. OWNER REIMBURSEMENT - A TIME ALLOWANCE AND PART NUMBERS MUST NOT BE ENTERED IN THE CLAIM SUBMISSION. THE REIMBURSEMENT TO OWNERS WHO HAVE INCURRED REPAIR EXPENSE FOR ITEMS COVERED BY THIS POLICY, MUST BE CLAIMED ON A NET ITEM BASIS AS A "SUBLET" AND IDENTIFIED WITH NET ITEM TYPE CODE "S".

LABOUR OPERATIONS AND TIME ALLOWANCES (MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS)

LABOUR OPERATION TIME ALLOWANCE NUMBER DESCRIPTION 1980 1981

T0090 INSPECT CARRIER BORE AND REPLACE RIGHT 0.8 HR. 0.8 HR. DRIVE AXLE SEAL

T009L INSPECT CARRIER BORE AND REPLACE RIGHT 5.4 HR. 6.2 HR. DRIVE AXLE SEAL AND REPLACE DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER AND GEAR KIT

T0092 OWNER REIMBURSEMENT OF PREVIOUSLY NOT NOT PAID REPAIRS APPLICABLE APPLICABLE

General Motors bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, not a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform those technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, do not assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See a General Motors dealer servicing your brand of General Motors vehicle for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.