06 Nissan Frontier King cab 6 manual 28500 mi. Just had my rear axle replaced under warranty because it leaked around the bolts on the diff. I put some marks on the old axle to see if it was really replaced. I pick up the truck Monday. What should I look for? I’ll test drive it I guess. I know the rear brake lines had to be disconnected to take the axle out. Should I cruise at 40 or 55 mph?? Don’t want to have failure. Thanks.
Uh, do you think the dealer is trying to fake the work performed? Does it have a bad reputation or something?
If you could, let us know what sort of symptoms/noises were present with the original unit that made the warranty replacement necessary. Based on that, we can tell you what to look for.
Well, it’s a big job AND it’s warranty. Just wanted to make sure the job was actually done. After all, their insurance reasons preclude me from being in the garage to see it done. Normally I would ask for the ‘old’ part but what am I going to do with an axle?? My old diff was leaking just around the diff cover bolts and it would whine at 40 and 55 mph. that’s why I brought it in.
When you get it back, see if the whine is still there. Time will tell if the leak is fixed. You won’t get parts back on warranty work even if you asked for them. You didn’t pay for it and it might have to go back to the factory for inspection. It’s not that big of a job to replace the axle but that said, you don’t need to replace the axle for leaking differential cover bolts. Maybe you didn’t state the problem correctly?
Of course, if you had gear whine, there is damage to the gears. This damage cannot be covered up with special additives. The gears must be replaced. If they replaced the entire axle, I wouldn’t have any worries. If you must, check the level of fluid in the rear axle. Don’t baby it. Drive it normal, and make sure it will perform as expected. Also, test the brakes in an empty parking lot. Do a series of hard stops, and make sure the brake system will work fine. If something breaks, or doesn’t work like it should, take it back.
Sounds like you had your differential housing complete with differential and axels replaced.Didn’t you care enough to answer my questions about vehicle service intervals that I asked on your previous posts?
oldschool,
I’m sorry but I forgot that I posted about this before, therefore didn’t see your replies. I’ve had my service done and getting ready for 30k service.
My question was,wasn’t the diff leak noticed during regular service?As I calculated only 1500 miles passed before you noticed the leak and wine in the diff.I felt it was either an oversight to miss the leak,or it only took 1500 miles to leak enough to damage the diff.Better 1500 miles passed since last service and then diff. problems.Maybe there was nothing to notice at the service immediatly proceding the diff. wine.
The marks may mean little. A warranty repair does not generally mean an entire replacement of a certain part; it usually means repair of that part. Maybe the original axle housing, with marks, is still in place but the innards have been replaced.
And to avoid any potential “problems” in the future make sure you receive a paper copy of the repair order and warranty claim.
To reiterate what I stated earlier on this matter, it’s also possible that a whine can be caused by uneven tire wear. A tire that develops a feather edge may whine just like a ring/pinion gear in the differential and and one would hope an inspection for this was done first.
You should not have to worry at all about speeds or break-in procedures if this is an area of concern.