Dust Cover on D30..

y2kcrawler

y2kcrawler

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Location
Lake Wylie, SC
My Dana 30 on my wrangler is leaking oil from the dust cover at the knuckle on the drivers side. Anyone ever have this problem? Know of an easy fix? Also, when I fill up my Diff will this replenish the oil that was leaked out of that cover? And one more thing, I have a D30 front and 9" in the rear, will those both take the same oil? If so what kind? Thanks yall, I hope to tackle this stuff this weekend.. And ill also have a new front bumper! Thanks Mike!
 
Are you sure that's not a brake fluid leak?

as for fluids for the Diffs, do you have a trac lock in either? If just open gears, or locker, then you should be fine running 90w Gear oil or whatever your preference is.
 
If it is in fact gear oil, you will need to fill it up thru the diff. There is no easy fix if your axle seal is leaking. The seal is inboard of the carrier, requiring almost a complete teardown to get to. If its not much oil leaking out, since its a front axle, I'd just forgetabout it, maybe top of the oil. They make some tube seals the sit inside the axle tubes of a D30, but they are quite pricey.

BTW, changing the front bumper won't help your fluid issue :flipoff2:
 
mbalbritton said:
Are you sure that's not a brake fluid leak?

as for fluids for the Diffs, do you have a trac lock in either? If just open gears, or locker, then you should be fine running 90w Gear oil or whatever your preference is.
Click to expand...

Its not brake fluid, although I need extensions in that department.

its open gears. So I will just flush that oil and refill with some 90 weight. Thanks!

RenegadeT said:
If it is in fact gear oil, you will need to fill it up thru the diff. There is no easy fix if your axle seal is leaking. The seal is inboard of the carrier, requiring almost a complete teardown to get to. If its not much oil leaking out, since its a front axle, I'd just forgetabout it, maybe top of the oil. They make some tube seals the sit inside the axle tubes of a D30, but they are quite pricey.

BTW, changing the front bumper won't help your fluid issue :flipoff2:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I havent had any signs of anything wearing out in the D30, but i dont want anything to happen to that 9", i know they both are low on fluid. I will hit up Autozone today to get that oil. Anyone know a good brand?

Changing out the bumper wont fix my fluid problem!?!? Looks like im screwed! :fuck-you:
 
y2kcrawler said:
... I will hit up Autozone today to get that oil. Anyone know a good brand?
Click to expand...

I ran some Valvoline synthetic blend in my AMC20 for like 10 yrs. When I popped the cover off, i was expecting some nasty goopy mess, but was surprised to find everything looked good as new, of course the oil was black. I cheaped out on refill though and used the cheapest AutoZone had, Coastal.
 
Valvoline synthetic, ill check it out after work. I might need a new seal as well, but ill check it for leaks after I top it off. It should be a plastic plug for the D30 and im not too sure on the 9". But Im sure they are prolly almost empty, do I fill till overflow or use half a bottle?
 
Ive always used just regular coastal 80w90 and have never had a problem with it.
 
y2kcrawler said:
Valvoline synthetic, ill check it out after work. I might need a new seal as well, but ill check it for leaks after I top it off. It should be a plastic plug for the D30 and im not too sure on the 9". But Im sure they are prolly almost empty, do I fill till overflow or use half a bottle?
Click to expand...

I dunno about the 9", but the D30 cover has a steel fill plug with a square hole. Use a 1/2" ratchet with an extension to get the fill plug out, fill it to the top of the hole, til it starts to overflow.

To drain it, you have to pop the diff cover off. I think it takes about 1.5 quart bottles to fill it up, but don't quote me on that.

To change the axleshaft seals, you need to pull everything off the wheel ends, pull the axleshafts, then pull the diff cover and yank the carrier out. Lots of work for a $2.98 seal :bounce2:
 
If it's not your DD and it's a trail only rig like mine, get some black foam pipe insulation and cut a chunk about 6" long and stuff it in there. Roll bar padding also works well. I get very minimal leakage from them even when sitting off camber for very long periods of time.

off topic

I'll add one pain in the a$$ repair for a cheap simple part to the list. Try having any of the three freeze plugs on the back of the block on a SBC go out on you. Drop the transmission for a 99 cent part. I was one highly pissed indivdiual. I replaced all three while I was at it. There's also one on each side of the block convientley located behind each motor mount. Had to replace one of those about 6 months later.
 
Back
Top