Rear axle seal leaking - common problem?

[HampshireEcoD]

Our '21 Gladiator a few months ago had to go in for some warranty work for an issues with the rear axle seal leaking on the brake and wheel; caused a burning smell. The remedy was to replace the entire rear axle shaft, which included seals, etc. This also happened to a friends '20 Wrangler, where another dealership kept trying to replace just the axle seal (9x at that!), without any luck.

Both our Jeeps in this scenario have aftermarket wheels and tires.

Our Gladiator is back in the shop for another potential leak in the rear axle seal/shaft... Has this happened to others? Is it that common? Do we think it could be due to the 35's and larger wheels? (dealership has told me over-sized wheels and tires should not have a negative impact, specific to this issue).

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[HampshireEcoD]

NM, I found the other thread that talks about it and it's seemingly a very common problem haha

 

[jay21mojave]

IMO not a common problem.. How many Gladiator did Jeep sell in 2021? Jeep sold 89,712 Gladiator in 2021. In 2020, Jeep sold 77,542 Gladiator. They sold 12,170 more units in 2021 compared to 2020 with a percent gain of 15.69% YoY.

 

[HampshireEcoD]

IMO not a common problem.. How many Gladiator did Jeep sell in 2021? Jeep sold 89,712 Gladiator in 2021. In 2020, Jeep sold 77,542 Gladiator. They sold 12,170 more units in 2021 compared to 2020 with a percent gain of 15.69% YoY.

Fair to look at units sold. We’d also have to know how many vehicles have been currently impacted. It does seem Jeep/FCA is well aware of the issue, along with many dealerships at this point, and have tried to resolve it with a quite costly remedy (new axle shaft).

hypothetically, let’s say 1% of jeeps sold (1674) have gone in for the issue. New axle shaft is $800 (guess). Labor is 4hrs @ $125/hr. That’s $2.17M spent on warranty work… I wonder what FCA would classify as a common costly warranty issue

 

[JTDay]

Any vehicle with the same rear axle as the gladiator will also be prone to the issue, for example the 5G Ranger folks who have the same rear axle and the same problems with the RR axle seal leaking. Seems common enough for me although I think my '22 has escaped this issue.

 

[CrazyCooter]

I'm in the axle business and I have yet to see a single JT, JL, Colorado, Ranger, or Bronco in the shop for a leaking axle seal. Of course Broncos are probably too new to be out of warranty. The forum has shown us that there are quite a few affected vehicles, but it's certainly not all of them.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

NM, I found the other thread that talks about it and it's seemingly a very common problem haha

No, not common in reality.
It's only looking common because you are looking in a hospital, a place where people gather to do what you did, or to complain about problems, or to find solutions.
Go to a library and it looks like the whole of humanity can read and does read. But in a hospital, all of humanity looks like they are dying - good time to come take over the world.

Fair to look at units sold. We’d also have to know how many vehicles have been currently impacted. It does seem Jeep/FCA is well aware of the issue, along with many dealerships at this point, and have tried to resolve it with a quite costly remedy (new axle shaft).

hypothetically, let’s say 1% of jeeps sold (1674) have gone in for the issue. New axle shaft is $800 (guess). Labor is 4hrs @ $125/hr. That’s $2.17M spent on warranty work… I wonder what FCA would classify as a common costly warranty issue

We've pretty much determined it was a short term issue, restricted to 2021 model year, as I recall. So you'd have to take a fraction of a percent of the 2021 model year - and then it seems to be between certain build dates - so was it even a full 12 months worth of manufacturing?
And then consider the number of forum members who have the 2021, and the number of them that said it happened to them. And consider forum members are a real minority in the whole of JT ownership.

Several months ago, I asked the dealers here if they had any issues with leaking axles - at that time, neither of them had seen it.

 

[HampshireEcoD]

No, not common in reality.
It's only looking common because you are looking in a hospital, a place where people gather to do what you did, or to complain about problems, or to find solutions.
Go to a library and it looks like the whole of humanity can read and does read. But in a hospital, all of humanity looks like they are dying - good time to come take over the world.

We've pretty much determined it was a short term issue, restricted to 2021 model year, as I recall. So you'd have to take a fraction of a percent of the 2021 model year - and then it seems to be between certain build dates - so was it even a full 12 months worth of manufacturing?
And then consider the number of forum members who have the 2021, and the number of them that said it happened to them. And consider forum members are a real minority in the whole of JT ownership.

Several months ago, I asked the dealers here if they had any issues with leaking axles - at that time, neither of them had seen it.

You have definitely read through the 107 pages on that thread - much appreciate the synopsis!

certainly understand the forums and smaller subset when it comes to issues being brought to light. Being a part of the Audi forum/community for years - it wasn’t until the “forum enthusiasts” shined light and brought formal complaints to the NHTSA, that Audi then acted on what seemingly was a smaller subset issue(s).

certainly seems like FCA knows about the lot dates impacted, so great to hear it’s contained. The word common is subjective to most, but learning more from you here, does seems like that word cannot be used in this case.

appreciate the info!

 

[HampshireEcoD]

I'm in the axle business and I have yet to see a single JT, JL, Colorado, Ranger, or Bronco in the shop for a leaking axle seal. Of course Broncos are probably too new to be out of warranty. The forum has shown us that there are quite a few affected vehicles, but it's certainly not all of them.

well, if you were in this neck of the woods, you might’ve seen quite a few. Not just my buddy and I, the dealership I go to has said “it’s a known issue” and “have seen quite a few”. And that’s just Jeeps with that axle

 

[Rusty PW]

From reading the threads. It seems at first Jeep replaced the whole housing assy. Then just the axle it's self. Some on here had one axle replaced. Others had 2 axles replaced. A few had 2 axles replaced, and on the 3rd time. The whole housing.

 

[CrazyCooter]

Why is it always the right side? Housings not strait?

When I see a bearing/axle failure, It's generally the right side whether its a Chevy, Ford Dodge, Jeep, etc......It's like a 2:1 failure rate. I figured its the crown of the road loading the axle?

 

[CrazyCooter]

well, if you were in this neck of the woods, you might’ve seen quite a few. Not just my buddy and I, the dealership I go to has said “it’s a known issue” and “have seen quite a few”. And that’s just Jeeps with that axle

I can agree....it's a known issue on the forums with a thread over 100 pages, but I have yet to see one in my shop? It's been almost 5 years since the JL's hit the market? Maybe it's a cold weather thing? We get temps 25-115° throughout the seasons, so IDK.

 

[LordEnzo]

Why is it always the right side? Housings not strait?

When I see a bearing/axle failure, It's generally the right side whether its a Chevy, Ford Dodge, Jeep, etc......It's like a 2:1 failure rate. I figured its the crown of the road loading the axle?

If I'm not mistaken, rr wheel is the main drive wheel. Therefore, that wheel would end up with most of the torque before distributed to both sides.this would result in parts on that side wearing out sooner, pending on how u drive and given mods.

 

[Rusty PW]

If I'm not mistaken, rr wheel is the main drive wheel. Therefore, that wheel would end up with most of the torque before distributed to both sides.this would result in parts on that side wearing out sooner, pending on how u drive and given mods.

Open diffs. It's the drive wheel. Here's a question. If the diff has a LSD, does that make a difference? Since it's driving both wheels. Rubicon's are open until locked. Does that make a difference?

 

[LordEnzo]

Open diffs. It's the drive wheel. Here's a question. If the diff has a LSD, does that make a difference? Since it's driving both wheels. Rubicon's are open until locked. Does that make a difference?

I would assume with lsd, it would still receive most, if not all, the power until slippage, which would be relatively quick. But looked should be 50/50. So now I wonder if it's more yo do with how some of us take off from a stand still?

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