80 Rear End

[black4s80]

I have dismantled pretty much the whole back end of my 80 (doing brakes, wheel bearings, etc.). I got carried away and dropped out the rear end because it was a mess and has leaked oil pretty heavily for awhile. I cleaned it up and discovered that almost all of the leakage is out of the "front" or pinion seal. I drained it and pulled the cover/cross-member piece. To my untrained eye, the whole unit seems pretty good - pretty clean inside, gears look good, side yoke play seems fine. I'm not afraid of tackling the rebuild - I'd like to do it to learn - but it seems like a little overkill right now. I haven't torn one down before and I'm finding that good, descriptive info. is sparse. Is there any kind of "shortcut" to solve the heavy oil leak without the time and expense of a full rebuild? Or do I have to do it all (or should I just do it anyway)?

I've seen alot of good posts on this topic and learned quite a bit. Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[jclit]

If you already have it out and the rebuild kit is not too much, you mite as well go ahead and rebuild it. This is the way I do things; the only problem is sometimes the car I’m working on is down way too long. All those little things you fine once you get into something. Good luck

Jim