I need the following info for my: 2007 XJ8 Vanden Plas.

Diameter of the axle (inner-side) drive shaft (drivers side) (pre-technical bulletin), the section of the shaft that makes contact with the differential drive axle seal.

Most likely reason why my rear differential is spewing the expensive synthetic lube is because the part of the shaft that makes contact with the seal has machined a groove in itself. One might ask how could a rubber seal erode metal that is several million times harder -- The answer is easy.... During the ware-in period of the differential (because slight imperfections in the toothed gears) metal filing were created and started circulating in the oil.... Eventually some made their way in-between the seal and the shaft and eventually they filed a grove in the shaft.

 

Obviously a problem you would rather not have, but why do you want to know the shaft diameter ? Oil seals fail without the output shaft necessarily being worn. If it is worn then I would say an exchange diff is the best solution.

How many miles on the car ? No leaks on the other shaft ?

 

The idea is to restore the shaft to its original (or slightly above original) diameter using a speedi sleeve: eCatalogs

The Car has 140000km - there is no leak on the passenger side. The seal has already been replaced but it leaks just like before. When I was shown the shaft while the seal was being replaced I noticed the grove and thought it was quite deep.... I would approximate that the grove was 1/5 to 1/4 millimetre deep. I would rather know the exact size now so can order the exact sleeve for the diameter of the shaft (rather than taking it apart again just to measure). I would rather spend $300 to fix the leak with a sleeve than $3000 + labour for the new differential (tech bulletin: JTB001754)

 

So anybody got an axle drive-shaft lying around ???

 

The shaft diameter is: 46mm.
SKF Speedi sleeve part number: 99181 will restore the grooved shaft to its original (slightly over-size) size. It remains to be seen if the leak actually stops

 

Have you been able to fix your differential seal leak? I would like to know more. My 2008 VDP is now leaking on the driver side seal at only 66K Kilometers = 40K miles. Not dripping but coming out at speed. If mine is only the seal, what is the part number to replace. Is there a shortcut procedure. Also can you post a copy of the technical bulletin -the one above does not work as it leads to Alldata and requires an account.

Also is there a breather on this year differential. On older jaguars, some have found that they had a breather that got clogged causing to much pressure to build up thus causing fluid to leak out of the seal and a simple clean or replacement of this $10 part fixed the problem.

LCMJAGUAR
2008 XJ8 VDP
1988 XJ6

 

As mentioned in the title, the leaky/worn/grooved drive shaft has been fixed by putting on the correct size speedi sleeve (http://www.skf.com/files/344136.pdf) (other manufactures make same kind of sleeves). I've done at least 20000 km. and so far everything is good.... just make sure to wash the diff area with degreaser and hot water after making the fix; as the 80w140 oil is extremely thick and may drip for weeks after the fix (if not washed) from all that has accumulated on the underbody while the leak was active.

It is note worthy that for best results one should flush the differential (case) as much as possible - as the original cause that contributed to the damage (grooving) of the shaft; was metal filings in the diff; circulating with the oil; eventually making it's way to the seal; in-between the seal and the shaft, where over time they ate away at the surface of the shaft (by metal to metal contact) making a groove.

Flushing the diff case should be done by utilizing the Venturi tube (Venturi effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) - as there is no drain plug at the bottom of the diff case. This will guarantee that most of metal filings inside the diff case will be sucked out with the oil. (also; don't forget to clean the magnet integrated into the diff drain plug/screw).

Also: there is no need to buy the overpriced "Jag diff fluid"... simply put any synthetic diff fluid of correct viscosity designed for limited slip differentials (GL-5).

PS:
1) There is no breather in the 2004-2009 Jaguar vanden plas differential
2) Forget about the technical bulleting, it's useless.... God damn idiots at Jaguar basically suggest to replace the differential and driveshafts with "new/redesigned" ones..... (at approximate cost of $3000 (parts only).
3) You don't need a part number, just go to the Jag dealer and ask for a differential seal
4) Get the speedi sleeve from any (good) parts store.

 

The leak came back after close to 1 year of no leaks (after the sleeve was installed along with a new seal.) I have not had time to take it to the mechanic yet.... I will update soon.

Cheers from Ottawa.