Rear axle seal, and front CV axle DIY? New pathfinder owner

[RG5834]

Hey guys(and gals),

I just bought my first nissan, a 2001 pathfinder LE with 132k. It is in pretty good shape except when I took it for an oil change today at firestone they brought a few things to my attention. The first and most important is they said the right rear axle seal is leaking and has soaked all of the brake hardware back there. An emergency brake test while moving does confirm that only the left rear is working.

I've read conflicting things, some say that the seal is easy to replace and you can leave the grease seal alone, and others say that it is a royal bear. Can anyone confirm/deny the simplicity of this DIY? Would it be smart to go ahead and rent a slide hammer with hub attachment when I purchase the parts?

Second question is for the front cv axle, it looks very straight forward however after my last debacle trying to replace the wheel bearing on my 3 series and being unable to budge the half shaft out of the hub, I am slightly scared. How common is it for the spline to get frozen into the hub on these? To compound my fear this is my first northern vehicle I will have ever worked on(being a florida boy and just moving to NOVA).

Pricing up the parts(autozone website) I come up with a very conservative price of 375.00 for what firestone is asking almost 1200.00 to get done, seems like it may well be worth a saturday afternoon assuming that the axle seal doesn't require a press etc.

I appreciate all the help you can give,

[RG5834]

Well, I decided I'm going to go for it. Pepboys has a 25% coupon code for ordering online right now, and advance has a 15% off and 25$ kicker so between the two sites I ordered everything I should need(and then some really) for under 300.00 (that is a savings of over 800.00 before taxes etc from what Firestone wanted to charge).

I'll attack it next weekend and if it all goes to hell I will have it towed and fixed else where. Until I sell my BMW it is still available for work the next week so I figure if I've ever got a chance to do this it is now.

I plan to replace inner axle seals on both sides, both rear shoes and drums, both rear wheel cylinders, all the springs associated with the rear drums, and of course do a rear diff fluid service. The goal is to NEVER have to go back into the back end of the pathfinder during my projected ownership(next 2 years or so).

If time allows I will also replace the drivers front axle assembly. After all of this and the basic service we should be all set for our camping/wheeling trip to George Washington national forest in October. The axle is not making noise yet so if I can't get to it I will at least pack it full of grease again and maybe instal a split boot kit until I have time to fix it right. Truth be told those damn split boots end up taking almost half as long to install as the whole axle though...

Wish me luck!

[smj999smj]

If you buy from advance auto parts online, code "TRT30" will get you 30% off. If you go to Rockauto.com, you can get a front axle shaft for only $60 shipped and less if you use a 5% discount code (just Google for the code).

If the rear axle is how I remember it, there's a seal in the axle tube and a grease seal on the axle. If you need to replace the grease seal on the axle, you need to press parts off and on and will need to replace the wheel bearing and lock washer, as well, and bleed the brake line as it will need to be disconnected. I wouldn't think you need to replace the brake drums, but you would need to clean them up and I would recommend have them resurfaced. There's a good amount of "meat" on those drums to work with.

[RG5834]

I'm not going to mess with the grease seal just yet, i'll try the oil seal and if it still has issues after that then mess with the grease one(or pay someone else to).

One other question, I realize i'm operating off of 3 wheel braking right now, but the truck does not seem to have much braking power under panic braking conditions even considering that. What I mean is I can't even engage the ABS with a panic stop except for a brief 1/2 second. It definitely stops, and the front end dives towards the ground, maybe i'm just used to my BMW 330's phenominal brakes?

Would a pad change to hawk etc in the front make a huge difference, or is the one rear wheel being coated in oil making a bigger difference than i'm thinking it is?

[smj999smj]

Well, I wouldn't compare the brakes of a sedan with an SUV to being with, as it's like comparing apples to oranges. The Pathfinder has a lot more weight and a lot higher center of gravity. I would suggest you take care of the oil leak and rear brakes, first, then see how the brakes are. You might also want to make sure the front struts are good, as well, and check the condition of the rotors for glazing and condition of the front pads. I can't speak for Hawk pads as I've never used them. I generally use either Akebono Pro ACT ceramics (Akebono is an OEM supplier of brakes to Nissan) or Raybestos Professional Series ceramics and both have worked well for me.

[RG5834]

Thanks for the reply. It has been a long time since I've had an SUV/Truck, and as I got to thinking about it I realized that our Odyssey reacts very similar to panic braking scenarios. I think I am used to my 330 which essentially has track ready big brakes right from the factory, there is a large part of me that is going to miss that car terribly.

Additionally, carfax indicates Nissan replaced the front pads and rotors about 12000 miles ago, so that is a good thing. It also appears they did something with an axle at the same time, but the records are dicey at best.

I called to get the two recalls squared away today, when I put in gas this afternoon I realized it was leaking out in front of the tire-classic symptom of the fuel filler neck recall. Hopefully this problem gets fixed on Nissan's dime on Friday. I'm also hoping they may be able to pull up the service history on it and give me a better idea of what has and hasn't been done.

I'm hoping I figure out all these gremlins before I'm off in the trails at GWNF!