I have a little oil leak on the rear diff of my AC 400i. It is leaking between the housing and the metal pc that holds the rubber boot. I'm assumeing that it is just the seal on that side of the diff housing. Has anyone changed one of these seals on their bikes? Can anyone give me any tips or tricks or let me know of any special tools I might need?

 

I have put in 2 fronts and 1 rear so far, and now I keep a couple of spares just in case. the only real trick is getting the darn thing out, and it seems like the last time I did it, i removed the rear axle and then put a socket(very clean one) on the inner race of the rear diff bearing, and gently pried the seal out with a farily large screwdriver. I am sure that ther are tons of people that are cringing in horror at the thought of applying pressure to the inner race of the diff bearing, but I dont think that there was enough force to do any damage to the bearing. Just make sure that you use a socket that applies pressure to the inner race and not on the bearing shield. THe other option, is to get a very small, thin screwdriver and gently try and pry the seal out of the housing from the outside edge of the seal. The problem that i see with this method is that the metal on the outside of the diff is very thin in this area and I believe that there is a real risk of breakage around the outside of the seal seating surface. I have used both of the above methods and I like the socket method the best. If all of this sounds like greek to ya, then you would be better off taking it in to the dealer.

 

Scottdog,
Thank you for the tips. Sounds like you are getting good at it. Did you buy the seals from your dealer or did you order them from somewhere else? How much did you pay.

 

got em from the dealer, they will most likely have to order them... Last time I had them order 3 of them (about $6.00 each from my dealer)