Rear Axle Seal Replacement

So last week I looked under the car and noticed quite the oil spill. The transmission had previously been removed to install the updated clutch so it's not all surprising that the seal may have been marred during removal or install.

 

 

The part numbers for the axle seals are:

Passenger Side "Right" 086525596 SEAL RING 55X70X8 $29.53

Driver Side "Left" 086525597 SEAL RING 55X72X8 $29.53

 

Those prices are through bullstuff. There is a 3-5 day lead time to get the part from Italy if you expedite it with bullstuff which is another $4.50 or so. I don't like waiting.

 

I have a contact at a local VW dealer that is going to overnight the seal from the Audi distro out of New Jersey so I will have it Wednesday morning. The retail for the seal through VW/Audi is around $70. My parts guy can get it for around $50 for me. The part number is the same if you talk to an Audi/VW parts guy and the seal is the same for 04-14 Gallardo e-gear and manual and all years R8.

 

The passenger side replacement is pretty straight forward. The driver side looks more complicated. The axle cup bolts are 8mm hex. I was surprised they were not triple square. After removing the bolts the axle should slide out of the way and you can pop the cup out of the transmission and install the new seal. You shouldn't have to drain the transmission fluid as the top off/level plug is far below the axle and seal. I will be throwing Redline MTL in there however while I'm doing it. I will update with some more pictures after Wednesday.

 

 

 

Well, I found out that the book time on the axle seal is 4 hours.

 

The diff cover must come off, which means the cat has to come off.

 

It wasn't too bad for me. I just installed bypass pipes so that part was no big deal. I think I had everything pulled apart in an hour or so and did it all from the wheel well.

 

1) Remove the wheel

2) The axle bolts are 8mm hex, they come straight out with no issues. Move the axle out of the way.

3) Remove the cat/bypass pipe

4) Remove all of the 13mm bolts holding the rear diff cover to the transmission

5) Some fluid will drain out, place pan underneath.

6) The rear diff cover and stub shaft are held together by a clip inside.

7) Upon installing the seal, I would put some gray RTV on the outside of the seal mating to the diff cover. The seal should not have any silicone or sealant on the inside surface where it meets the axle stub.

 

Axle complete

 

Axle moved

 

Diff cover removed

 

Diff cover and axle stub

 

The driver side is less complicated. Once you remove the bracket and retainer the axle stub slides right out. It appears that you may need to press the bearing off of the shaft in order to change the axle seal. There is also a second sealing o-ring on the assembly.

 

Driver side:

Nice write up! Thx!

It should also be noted that 04-05 transmissions do NOT have a fluid level inspection hole. There is a bolt in the diff cover, but it is not made for fluid level checking. The 06+ trans does have a level inspection hole.

 

Also, when draining and refilling the transmission only 3.7 qts are needed, not 4 - 4.25 like I have seen.

 

Approximately .5 qts remain in the transmission cooler even when you drain the transmission.