Front differential pinion seal leaking

[Bo-Ronco]

Guys, I could use some advice here. I changed my oil this weekend and noticed that pinion seal leaking. It wasn't leaking at the last oil change 2 months ago, but now the underside of the differential is pretty saturated. I brought it to the dealership and they are telling me the part is backordered a month out.

The problem... I am taking our family on vacation Saturday... A road trip to Colorado from Houston.

I have no other vehicle to use for this trip as my other truck is in the shop for maintenance as well.

Someone who is more familiar with the risks here... what would I stand to risk if I took this thing on that road trip with the leak?

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[SPITmadFIRE]

Guys, I could use some advice here. I changed my oil this weekend and noticed that pinion seal leaking. It wasn't leaking at the last oil change 2 months ago, but now the underside of the differential is pretty saturated. I brought it to the dealership and they are telling me the part is backordered a month out.

The problem... I am taking our family on vacation Saturday... A road trip to Colorado from Houston.

I have no other vehicle to use for this trip as my other truck is in the shop for maintenance as well.

Someone who is more familiar with the risks here... what would I stand to risk if I took this thing on that road trip with the leak?

I’ve been driving mine pretty consistently since I noticed my issue. It’s pretty easy to get under the truck, remove the fill plug, and top it off with a quart bottle pump top for a little extra peace of mind. I’ve done that twice now before road-trips, and my diff seems to take 6-8oz of fluid each time. The diff is supposed to hold roughly 32oz when full.

 

[Bo-Ronco]

I’ve been driving mine pretty consistently since I noticed my issue. It’s pretty easy to get under the truck, remove the fill plug, and top it off with a quart bottle pump top for a little extra peace of mind. I’ve done that twice now before road-trips, and my diff seems to take 6-8oz of fluid each time. The diff is supposed to hold roughly 32oz when full.

What mileage would you say is it leaking that 6-8oz? And is it your pinion seal that is leaking as well?

 

[SubmarineNuke]

Yep, I had this problem in December, part was on national back order. They got lucky and found one in Oregon. Only reason we found it was I took the Wildtrak in for the drive shaft recall fix. I was PISSED!

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

What mileage would you say is it leaking that 6-8oz? And is it your pinion seal that is leaking as well?

Pretty sure the 6-8oz seeps out very soon, like within the first hundred miles or so. My leak seems to stop at that point (for now) but the only way to really check how much fluid is still in the diff is to fill it up and see how much it took. And yes, my diff is leaking from the pinion seal.

 

[Bo-Ronco]

Pretty sure the 6-8oz seeps out very soon, like within the first hundred miles or so. My leak seems to stop at that point (for now) but the only way to really check how much fluid is still in the diff is to fill it up and see how much it took. And yes, my diff is leaking from the pinion seal.

I have a 2200 mile road trip starting Saturday. With mine leaking, I'm curious if taking this trip and having low diff fluid is going to cause any problems. Seems like as long as it's not so low that the gears aren't bathing in oil it should be fine. But I'm no expert.

 

[ByrdDogX]

I just changed my oil and see that I now have a front pinion seal leak, on top of a service charging system message that comes and goes. Had to charge battery back up a couple of weeks ago.

Called dealership and they said that they cannot schedule a service time for me and there are 40 cars in front of me before they can look at it

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I just changed my oil and see that I now have a front pinion seal leak, on top of a service charging system message that comes and goes. Had to charge battery back up a couple of weeks ago.

Called dealership and they said that they cannot schedule a service time for me and there are 40 cars in front of me before they can look at it

Hello, Jason! Send us a private message with your VIN and the name and location of your local Ford dealer. I’d be happy to see what I can do to assist with this leak concern. Thanks!

 

[nabronco21]

Noticed today while doing my oil change I'm also in the leaky pinion seal club

 

[mike12779]

My dealer has been telling me the seal is on backorder with no estimated date so I have been waiting. I was able to source one from another dealer and have it shipped to me. Hopefully my dealer will allow me to give them the part for installation.

 

[Rubisquatch]

Yep, I had this problem in December, part was on national back order. They got lucky and found one in Oregon. Only reason we found it was I took the Wildtrak in for the drive shaft recall fix. I was PISSED!

Same here. Had the bronco in for the drive shaft recall in December and the dealer noticed the leak on the front (which I am glad they noticed and told me, then fixed it). Took them 2 weeks to get the part, then changed under warranty.

 

[divedog101]

Same here, leaking front pinion seal at 24k, waiting on part. My co worker just had the same issue with less mileage than I have.

 

[unfortunate]

Did any of you exhibit the symptoms on the thread link below? I’m wondering whatever is causing this is causing premature failure of the seal? I had my pinion seal changed last month with the new part number, now I have another appointment in 2 weeks to get it changed a second time for an even worst leak.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...-the-break-after-stopping.72699/#post-1921624

 

[toughtoaster]

I believe I have this issue too. Took the Bronco in for an oil change at 5300 miles and wanted to check their work so I removed the oil pan bash plate on my 2022 Badlands and there was oil everywhere. Originally thought they did a bad oil change job and didn’t clean up but the oil filter plastic drain run way was bone dry (hoping they changed the filter and weren’t lazy…). Cleaned everything up and left the bash plate off for a few day of driving and check this morning to find oil coating a few areas. No drops on the ground however. Might be where my “burning oil” smell is coming from every time I park it in the garage.

 

[toughtoaster]

I believe I have this issue too. Took the Bronco in for an oil change at 5300 miles and wanted to check their work so I removed the oil pan bash plate on my 2022 Badlands and there was oil everywhere. Originally thought they did a bad oil change job and didn’t clean up but the oil filter plastic drain run way was bone dry (hoping they changed the filter and weren’t lazy…). Cleaned everything up and left the bash plate off for a few day of driving and check this morning to find oil coating a few areas. No drops on the ground however. Might be where my “burning oil” smell is coming from every time I park it in the garage.

Update: I have this issue according to the dealer. Good news is they said the part should arrive tomorrow so doesn't seem like its on back order anymore.

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