this past weekend i topped off the front diff and now ive found why it was low, thought at first it was the pinion seal, but now after being under the vehicle, it appears that the drivers side axle seal behind the c.v. is where most of the oil is. i know i'll pretty much have to disasemble the l.f. knuckle, but will the axle itself just slide right out of the diff? the haynes book doesnt have much to say about the front axle. and there is only 1 front axle isnt there? i went through a situation getting a rear cover gasket because the auto parts store listed 2 rear axles possible. thanks, looks like i know what i'll be doing this satuerday, hopefully i dont have any damage due to the oil level being low in the past. thanks.

 

There were two different CV shaft connection designs; 1- bolt on cv shaft which is flanged at the diff & 2- splined cv shaft which mounts into the diff on splines with a spring clip inside to retain it.

If you have the splined type, you have to get the CV shaft off and then you simply pop out the seal and pound in the new one.

I have only replaced a CV shaft on the flanged style and I cannot remember if the flange bolts on or if it goes into the diff further...

 

pretty sure mine is the splined. got to crawl under again tommarrow and see if that c.v. moves, if i have a bad bearing can the front axle be pulled out and the truck driven without axleshafts in the front hubs? ive got a parts blazer thats a '94 but am not sure if its the same axle ratio. sine the internals of the front axle turn all the time, i could very well have a bad bearing or 2 due to low oil level in the past, a bad bearing could have even caused the seal leakage. ive got a while before winter so i could either swap my front axle for the one in the '94 (if they both have the same gear ratio) or pull the axle and leave the halfshafts off and it just be a 2wd while i go through and overhaul the oringinal assy. i pulled the right knuckle and hub assy from the '94 and it doesnt seem like the halfshaft and hub nut hold the hub together, but i could be wrong. i wouldnt want to be wrong about that going down the road.

 

These trucks are very sensitive to the torque setting on the front axle nut. As such, I would not advise you to run without the CV shaft installed. You could damage the hub.

 

o.k. i thought maybe that may be the case as they have a pretty high touque setting on that front hub nut.

 

well, a year and a couple of months after replacing the drivers side axleshaft seal the passenger side seal seems to be leaking now. though i was seeing engine oil at first. its not dripping on the ground (yet) was underneath doing a engine oil change and noticed the wet spots, got to thinking about it and did the sniff test, yep, hypoid oil, no doubt there. checked the front diff oil and its about where it was when i filled it up. i 'spose that might change once the snow flies and the front axle is engaged, letting the ring gear sling the oil into a foam rather then just the spiders spinning when its in 2wd the other 10 months of the year. so , im assuming the job is the same for the passenger side as it was the drivers side? the only thing i think might be different is the disconnect for the axle is on the passenger side 'shaft. i dont have to disasemble the cover with the shift cable do i? i cant be too upset about seals going, truck now has 186,000 miles on it. did both rear axle oil seals last spring. i 'spose the pinion seals will be next to go....

 

Was the Splined Axle held into the Diff with a Clip?
Was it easy to get off? My daughter stopped by last night, slid under the car to do an oil change and the passeneger side axle seal is throwing 'juice' around.
I did Front hubs on this a year ago, does the hub have to come off to slide the axle out or can you turn the knuckle enough to get it out?
1999 any idea if the first Gen Blazers had the same setup? I have an older Chiltons.

 

i havent done the passenger side yet, the drivers side i did over a year ago. the drivers side shaft has a expanding clip that fits in a grove on the end of the c.v. shaft. you will have to pull the hub. and since the c.v. joint woudnt pass through the knuckle, the knuckle had to come off as well. not a hard job, just time consuming. you'll want a tie-rod seperator fork. the seal was around $5.00 there is also another seal that goes into the knuckle, im uncertian of its porpose, but i changed it also, im thinking it was 8 or 9 bucks. gen 1 blazers may have been similar, but ive never been into one, so i cant really say for sure. the only thing i worry about with the passenger side shaft is that is the side with the axle dissconnect, id assume it just "pops" out like the drivers side. guess i should see if the haynes book has any insightfull info (for a change)

 

Thanks.


The Axle disconnect is a bit further down ( closer to the Diff) so I think it is as straight forward as the Drivers side. And I think the Passeneger side has more room to work.

Too bad the axle doesn't fit through the Knuckle. They should have designed it so it does.
I thought I read ...somewhere.... that you can Pop the tie rod Joint off and the knuckle will rotate enough to squeak out the axle.

Just found the article. It was for a '94 with the Bolt in axle so it may not work with the splined axles
http://www.s10extremist.org/tech_art...front_diff.htm

 

i did finnally do the passenger side seal, did it sometime around christmas. only issue i had was when i pulled the dhaft out i pulled on the shaft rather than pried the tripot from the end of the housing, pulled the inner cv joint compltely apart! after i got the rest of the shaft out i was able to slide things back together. just checked the front axle oil level when i changed the engine oil a week ago and my oil level is still good, no leaks from the front axle. yes it would have been nice if they had designed the c.v. shaft to slide out through the knuckle rather than have to remove the knuckle from the control arms. poor hindsight seems to be a common g.m. theme. like the location of the fuel pressure regulator, and the fittings on the fuel lines at the firewall you have to take apart to remove the plenum cover. now ive got a igntion switch issue to deal with and it looks to be a 2 hr job. i think g.m.c. does indeed stand for Garage Man's Companion!