I've noticed an oily seep on my front axle (2005 FX4). It seems to be coming from between the flanges where the half shafts bolt to the axle (see pics). It started on the passenger side first. I've wiped the flanges clean the last few oil changes only to see the oily wetness return. While changing my oil this afternoon, I noticed that the drivers side has started seeping too. I don't think it is coming from the axle seals, since the backs of the axle side flanges are dry. Anyone familiar with this problem?

Here's the passenger side. You can see the flanges are wet with oil and also where oil has flung onto the lower control arm bracket.


And the driver side...not nearly as bad as the passenger side yet. The passenger side started out like this, and gradually got worse.


The truck is still under warranty and I plan to take it in, but I wanted to see if anyone has had this problem first.

 

I haven't had this on my '04--yet. I have seen it before on front drive vehicles, it's just the axle seals. Not a hard job just time consuming. The half shafts need to come out, then pull out the old seals and drive in the new ones. It's not an uncommon issue.

 

Maybe I don't understand, but how would the axle seals leak from between the flanges? As I mentioned, the backs of the axle flanges are dry. If it were the axle seals, they should be wet on the differential side, right? Why would there be oil between the flanges?

 

the inner seal is leaking.Whole nother deal.

 

I believe you typically have to remove the output shafts from the axle housings via c-clip, on an independent diff I'd be curious to see the process!

 

If it is under warranty will the dealership flip out with the leveling kit installed?

 

Where is this inner seal located? The axle shaft would have to be hollow in order for differential oil to get where I see it seeping from.

Picked this up from Rancho's website...instructions for installing their 4" lift. Illustration 11 on Page 6 shows the driver side end of the axle with the half shaft removed (best picture I could find). The shaft doesn't appear to be hollow, nor does there look to be any reason for gear oil to be there.
http://www.gorancho.com/html/install...ord/88088b.pdf

How about the CV joints? I assume they are packed with grease from the factory. Could the grease be leaking from the half shafts down between the flanges? What does the inside of the half shaft flange look like?

I was thinking that someone who has installed their own lift kit would have seen what is between these flanges (and maybe has more pictures).

Thanks for all the responses!

 

I had the exact same leak on mine last year. Really its more of a seep than a leak. It was coming out of the seal on the end of the axle tube on the passenger side. It seeps around the flange where the halfshaft bolts on just like yours is doing. It an easy fix under warranty but you do have to remove quite a bit of the front suspension to get the shaft out to fix it. Mine has been dry for over a year now. Hope this helps.

 

The half shaft/differential housing seal is leaking or seeping. It in not uncommon to see oil all over the place since it will wick across metal surfaces (just like penetrating oil). It only appears to be coming from in between the flanges...impossible. There is no opening at the ends of these shafts. As you drive, the oil is running out to the edge of the flange, then wicking to the other side. I have never had to replace one on an IFS 4X4 before, but could see why it's time-consuming.

 

This seems to be the same problem I'm having on my 2005 (which I posted a reference to in the Transmission forum). Any idea how much this would/will cost to fix, since my truck is out of warranty, when I take it in?

 

Well I finally got the time to take the truck in to the dealer for this. They inspected it and wrote it up as a leaking CV joint. They replaced the passenger side half shaft assembly, complete with CV joints, with new. There's no indication that they pulled the differential cover, or removed the axle shaft to replace the seal.

The driver's side seems to have either stopped seeping, or was dirty enough to hide it, and they didn't work on it. I argued a bit, but needed the truck back, so I left. It was covered by warranty, with no comments about the leveling kit.

Do the CV joints have lubricant inside the boots that is somehow sealed? This is my first IFS 4x4, but that's all I can figure, for a new half shaft and CV joints to be the fix. I plan to watch them closely and see if they stay dry, since I'm almost out of warranty.

My invoice sheets don't show the prices of the warranty items, but I saw their copy before I left. The half shaft was listed around $350 and the labor was around $150. This was for one side only.

If this is in fact the fix, it really wouldn't be that hard of a job to do yourself, and the half shaft assembly can be had for $216 from www.fordparts.com.