i have a class “A” motor home that had a rear axel seal failure. because there was some moisture in the differenial oil the warranty company refused to honor my claim saying there was water “intrusion.” is condensation in the differential a natural occurance and if so would it cause seal failure? hope someone can advise me. thanks.
Rear axle seal ? Pinion or wheel seal ?
Not quite enough info but…
Much like my 79 pickup, Class A motor homes are often parked for much of the year and un-driven seals can dry out. ( such is my case for transmission fluid loss between drivings and only 70k total miles. The tech says I’m losing fluid because I DON’T drive it. )
Condensation would be miniscule and in my 30 years as a parts man I’ve not seen condensation to be an issue.
‘Water intrusion’ would be much more than condensation and be assumed to indicate the rear axle being submerged under, or driven through deep water.
A class A motor home probably has a Dana 70 or 80 series full floating axle where there is no grease in the wheel bearings. They and the seals are dependent on the flow of oil from the differential. Lack of driving could dry things out BUT…
IMHO, I’d still think it to be warranty if ok by mileage or time.
But then again you said “warranty company”:(…and that may be self explanatory right there ! Appeal their ruling at least.
thanks for the opinion. the motor home does sit for long periods while i live in it in florida in winter and park it for long periods in summer. this is something that is unavoidable. you were right about the warranty as i purchased an extended warranty from Easy Care and was assured that those parts were covered. i feel the same as you after talking with other knowledgable people that it was just condensation and not intrusion.
How was it determined there was moisture in the oil? How much? Any chance the rear axle was immersed? Sounds like ‘Easy Care’ trying to avoid $$. Who did the repair?
Unless the rear axle spent time under water there’s no way for water to “intrude.” Rain won’t do it. Driving on wet roads won’t do it. If there was “some moisture” in the differential oil I’d want to know, “how much?” Exactly how much moisture was in the oil?
And then I’d want to know, how much is normal, and how much is too much? And I wouldn’t take Easy Care’s word for anything. I’ll bet lots of people’s differential oil has a certain amount of moisture in it, especially in a motor home that sits still for extended periods of time.
Easy Care is trying to get out of paying a claim, which is what extended warranty companies do.
Fight them.