Axle leak repair time

[NonHyphenated American]

From diagnosis to repair time, how long have you waited for the parts to come in? I looked at my right rear axle and it appears the leak has gotten worse. It must not be that big of a concern for Jeep to keep the vehicle on the road while waiting for parts. Im concerned enough fluid will leak out and Jeep will blame me for any gross damage. Cant deadline my Jeep because its my primary mode of transportation. Pretty crappy paying alot of money for a product only to have a standard factory leak. Any class action lawsuits out there? I should of bought a 4Runner. Definitely not putting on my winch and leveling kit until this problem is fixed. Wonder what it will take to get every Gladiator with this problem lemon lawed?

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[sass JT]

IMO… go trade it in… you had the thought now do it. Again this is my opinion.

-sass

 

[NachoRuby]

They won't blame you for gross damage. I wouldn't even worry about it. If you check your fluid level, I bet it's not even low yet. Leaks in this area look worse than they are. But if there's damage, they are replacing the entire assembly anyway.

Mine was diagnosed maybe a week ago, and I'm still waiting on parts. In the meantime, I just drove to North Carolina and back from PA, and I'll continue to drive it to work every day. If something else breaks, well they told me to keep driving it. And it's documented that there's an issue, so they'll fix it, and I have no concern that they won't. My only concern is that I hope they've found the cause. I don't feel like doing this again.

 

[KW80]

I waited around 11 weeks from diagnosis to repair, fair amount of miles driven and no ancillary issues. Although recently it seems that the parts delay is much shorter, so you will probably not wait nearly as long. From all the commentary and pics shared on other threads here, the leaks typically look worse than they are.

Jeep’s handling of this issue has been subpar, anybody arguing otherwise is a fanboy; however it is equally extreme to call for a class action lawsuit about an issue the manufacturer is actively fixing for customers. Certainly you have every right to be frustrated, I know I was, but with current used car values you could probably move on without much effort or loss of value.

Best of luck,
KW

 

[NonHyphenated American]

I waited around 11 weeks from diagnosis to repair, fair amount of miles driven and no ancillary issues. Although recently it seems that the parts delay is much shorter, so you will probably not wait nearly as long. From all the commentary and pics shared on other threads here, the leaks typically look worse than they are.

Jeep’s handling of this issue has been subpar, anybody arguing otherwise is a fanboy; however it is equally extreme to call for a class action lawsuit about an issue the manufacturer is actively fixing for customers. Certainly you have every right to be frustrated, I know I was, but with current used car values you could probably move on without much effort or loss of value.

Best of luck,
KW

Trade in is not really an option. No way would I come out enough to put down on another vehicle. With the exception of an annoying wind noise, I traded in a perfectly fine and equipped 2018 Wrangler. Took advantage of trade in values. Ill wait and see if this gets fixed properly. Its been 4 weeks since I had it at the dealer for this concern. Other than this issue the Gladiator is flawless. All additions are on hold until its fixed.

 

[Renegade]

I’ll bet Jeep engineers are equally as frustrated by this. It’s not a design flaw, it’s a production issue with a parts supplier. Imagine taking a loss on labor every time one comes in, and it’s not even your fault. The M220 axle has been around for quite a while in other applications, and the new Bronco also uses it. With a disproportionate number leaking on the right side, you would think that Dana would have figured out what is causing it by now and corrected it.

 

[Mojave2021]

Try asking to have the entire rear housing replaced. It’s been holding up for me so far, after going thru 3 unsuccessful right axle replacements.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I've said this in each of the other leaking axle seal threads..........
Take 3 ounces of oil and pour it around on the floor in your garage and see how much - how many square feet it can cover and look like crap (no, don't really do it, please! It will take a long time to remove that much from unsealed concrete!)
My point is these can be 3 ounces, even more, low and not even flinch but that much lube spread around will look like someone spilled a quart.
A person parked a leaking truck on the road at the end of our driveway, luckily he didn't pull down our driveway, I'd have been really mad.
I bet it lost a whopping 3 or 4 drops while sitting there - a large spot stayed there for months.
People have actually measured this!
one Pint is equal to 9463.53 Drops
WOW. in other words, think of the area 9,000 drops of oil would cover on the floor - and not do any damage to the differential gears or bearings.

 

[Free2roam]

3 weeks on parts. 2 hours to fix. Had my Gladiator the whole time.

 

[Mac]

What is the process to change the seal? Mine does not leak but I would probably just do it myself if the parts are under $100 and doesn't require any expensive special tools.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If it's like earlier Jeep Dana axles, you have to remove the bearing.
Remove axle, press (or cut) bearing off axle, replace seal on axle, press bearing on, re-install axle.
That's how they've been on every Jeep or similar axle I've done over the years but I've not had one of THESE Dana axles apart. Last one I did was a 2004 model.
Maybe someone who has upgraded axle shafts or done similar work can chime in.
I have pictures somewhere of a Jeep Dana axle

 

[Renegade]

If it's like earlier Jeep Dana axles, you have to remove the bearing.
Remove axle, press (or cut) bearing off axle, replace seal on axle, press bearing on, re-install axle.
That's how they've been on every Jeep or similar axle I've done over the years but I've not had one of THESE Dana axles apart. Last one I did was a 2004 model.
Maybe someone who has upgraded axle shafts or done similar work can chime in.
I have pictures somewhere of a Jeep Dana axle

These are the same. Jeep is replacing the “loaded” axle shaft assembly rather than replacing the seal only. It saves a ton of labor, and I suspect that Dana is supplying the loaded shafts to Jeep for free due to the seal failure.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

These are the same. Jeep is replacing the “loaded” axle shaft assembly rather than replacing the seal only. It saves a ton of labor, and I suspect that Dana is supplying the loaded shafts to Jeep for free due to the seal failure.

Yeah, I agree - and thanks for the confirmation. IT takes time to remove that bearing and put one back on and I'd prefer once removed that bearing not be re-used anyway, so either way, you have the cost of the bearing with retainer collar and the seal but replacing the seal adds labor.

 

[johnparjr]

If your willing to bail already you should it’s one issue and it happens no manufacturer’s are perfect and you got one that is not.

 

[Mac]

If it's like earlier Jeep Dana axles, you have to remove the bearing.
Remove axle, press (or cut) bearing off axle, replace seal on axle, press bearing on, re-install axle.
That's how they've been on every Jeep or similar axle I've done over the years but I've not had one of THESE Dana axles apart. Last one I did was a 2004 model.
Maybe someone who has upgraded axle shafts or done similar work can chime in.
I have pictures somewhere of a Jeep Dana axle

That appears to be the process for the current axle as well, as mentioned later in the thread you can get loaded axle shafts which would make it much easier, they are around $330 from what I found. I would still be tempted to just do it myself and eat the cost vs dealing with the service department and downtime and aggravation.

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