oil on the pavement by the rear wheel. can I make a 5 mile round trip for differential oil? or do I have to take the bus?

 

First ensure its not a leaking wheel cylinder or caliper if you have rear disc brakes. You will also want to check the brake line that spans the length of the rear end for brake line failure.

The only other thing it could be in that area is an axle seal. They do fail and they will leak oil. The leak will be present between the backing plate and the axle housing. Its an easy repair overall. The hardest thing you may encounter is removing the axle shaft from the housing. I have a nice heavy duty OTC slide hammer set that works wonders for pulling the axle shafts. Once the axle is out, the seal rests in the housing at the flange.

 

if it was brake fluid, then I would feel it in the brakes.

It is cold out. I can't remember, do I have to remove the brake wheel cylinder? Isn't there a bearing seal that can also do bad. I've replaced the wheel bearing 14 years ago. Memory is fadding.

So it's ride the bus? Or would the differential stand a 5 mile trip?

 

Yep, there's also a seal at the axle bearing. Brake cylinder has to come off to pull the axle.

Remove the drain plug and see how much diff fluid you've lost. I think if you can reach the puddle with your finger it'll be ok for a short trip.

 

^^^I think he means "...remove the FILL plug" or when you remove the DRAIN plug, you'll know exactly how much diff oil is in there,... ZERO!

I would just drive it to the store for more oil. It the puddle is smaller than the entire contents of your differential case, you're fine as long as you don't beat on it. It's probably not your differential, anyway. That leaks from the center bottom of the pumpkin housing, not from the axle sides...

 

it is gasoline, dripping from the fuel pump cover.

Question: do fuel pumps leak before they fail? Or are the hoses bad?

I just got the covid booster so I can't do **** now.

 

Most likely the fuel hose.
I can't imagine the pump itself leaking unless it was hit really hard.

whoops, yeah, fill plug makes a difference when checking the diff level.

 

check the diff drain plug....ha ha ha....something the three stooges would do.

And this fuel line problem probably goes back to the stooge that replaced the fuel pump in 1998. He used those crimp clamps that you have to cut the hose to get off. Why couldn't he have used the screw clamps that were on there? He just had to save a couple of minutes with a shortcut.

And that's why it is good to do all the work on your car.

 

Glad you found the source of the leak. Much easier to fix than an axle seal or pinion seal. No idea why someone would use the crimp clamps. They typically work well but that's just asking for trouble down the road.

 

Thankyou all,

yt's RAD Potential >>>--->so the fuel pump wires are NOT on the filter side! FYI , it's a good source of info.

The fuel line busted where there wasn't ANYTHING around the area to abrade it ! !