Mk3: rear axle oil leakage

[stieevo]

Hello,

my camper mk3 sits in the grage over winter, I noticed that there is a good amount of oil comming from the transmission, exactly where the drive flange comes out (never started engine). I moove the car a few meters to get acess to a storage every few days, and the clear oil on the floor is always there, and yes, more than only a few drops.

So I need some help what to do. I read through the renewal of the drive pinion oil seal in Hayes repair manual. I dont have the special tools, such as a pre-load gauge or the forked tool to hold the flange.
So my options are:
1: do it by myself, with the van on jacks (never did it before)
2: drive 300km to a semi-pro DYI-garage of a friend, and do it there (the oil might be super empty, maybe worth to fill up before drive?)
3: go to a professional workshop. any idea how many hours they would spend on that? aka. how much could that be?

I Attached a picture, just in case. Thanks for getting advices, I have no rush...

[cherniy_chack]

Hi,stieevo .
This leakage of oil from the rear axle is because the nut of the shank has been unscrewed.
It is necessary to remove the flange of the propshaft from the rear axle and tighten the nut.
The oil leak then usually stops.
After tightening the nut, add oil to the rear axle.
To do this, unscrew the plug with an internal 12 or 14 mm hexagon, put 80W90 oil in the hole to the edge of the hole.
This cork is visible in your photo.
And use the machine further.
If the nut is tightened tightly, add oil and go to the garage for repairs.
For replacement, the shank oil seal, spacer sleeve and new shank nut are needed.

[V184]

Replace the seal, count the amount of turns to remove the the flange nut or mark it & refit same position unless its come loose

[stieevo]

Hi cherniy_chack,

thanks for the hint. Actually I was confused in the first place, because my oil-leak doesnt really happen where the oil seal sits, but around the nut inside the propeller shaft.
So its might be worth to just tighten the nut and see what happens.... How much torque will be nescessary to apply?

Greeting Stefan

Hi,stieevo .
This leakage of oil from the rear axle is because the nut of the shank has been unscrewed.
It is necessary to remove the flange of the propshaft from the rear axle and tighten the nut.
The oil leak then usually stops.
After tightening the nut, add oil to the rear axle.
To do this, unscrew the plug with an internal 12 or 14 mm hexagon, put 80W90 oil in the hole to the edge of the hole.
This cork is visible in your photo.
And use the machine further.
If the nut is tightened tightly, add oil and go to the garage for repairs.
For replacement, the shank oil seal, spacer sleeve and new shank nut are needed.

[cherniy_chack]

How much torque will be nescessary to apply?

It is difficult for me to answer your question.
I know the answer, but I do not know English, I use Google translator.
When tightening the shank nut, the main thing is not the tightening torque of the nut, but the torque resistance of the shank bearings.
Correctly this can be done only after disassembling the rear axle gearbox, after removing the differential box with the gear.
Without dismantling, you just need to tighten the nut with a torque of about 5 kgm.
The gearbox flange should rotate evenly with little effort and do not have any backlash.
The axle must be hung and the wheels removed.
A nut needs to be replaced. It's best to use a nut with a lock nut.
After the repair it is necessary to make a trip about 50 km at the permissible speed and after the trip check the temperature of the reducer neck in which the shank bearings are installed and the oil leakage through the shank.
The reducer neck can be a little warm, there should not be a leak.
If the throat is heated, you need to loosen the nut a little.
If the neck is cold and there is a leak of oil, you need to tighten the nut.
If the neck is heated and there is a leak of oil, contact the professionals.
I wish you success.

[stieevo]

Hey, late reply here, but after driving the van a lot I can say tightening the pinion nut a bit and refill the oil did work perfect for me. Thanks for the help