Agreed!
Nosgiba, I would most definitely NOT remove the inner wishbone fulcrum because:

• this cannot be done cage in car
• It is VERY tricky to get it back in again
• The best thing is to remove the shock absorber lower fixing pin and the bottom wishbone can be pulled down enough to get the disc out. Best to drive the pin out TOWARDS the engine.

 

I was able to get the rotor off once I unbolted the trailing arm from the lower control arm, giving it a greater range of motion.

Ok, I have the output shaft components out and disassembled - while everything was out it made sense to inspect not only the carrier o-ring but also the shaft oil seal.

The carrier o-ring looked to be in good shape and wasn't cut or nicked anywhere. It also stood proud of the adjacent OD so I don't think it was squished or had "taken a set". Also shown in the following picture is the offending drain hole which leads directly into the passage on the differential casting where the oil was coming from.



Someone has already been in here - vice marks (not from me!)


O-ring standing out against the adjacent diameter.


While I was in there I figured I'd also inspect and replace the output shaft oil seal. It's a National 471868. There must be an applicable domestic replacement - anyone have a PN?





Finally, the output shaft itself looked to be in good shape. A few small polished rings but nothing that could catch a fingernail. The seal also looked decent once I cleaned it up.





Overall I am a bit puzzled as to where specifically it was leaking from but would like to replace both seals anyways. If anyone has part numbers for domestic equivalents (available locally at a NAPA or similar) that would be great.

 

Rather than looking at automotive suppliers, I went to an industrial bearing and seal supplier and they matched up the seal for me. You already have the National number, that will be easy to cross over to any other supplier.

 

That seal does not look good to me!

 

Ok folks, great news!

Replaced the seal with a new one from a local supplier, Buffalo Bearing. An old company and location, only a few old computers, the rest was catalogs and parts stacked on shelves floor to ceiling.

A very thin layer of gear oil safe RTV around the OD of the seal just to be safe, and reassembled the output shaft assembly. The old o-ring was reused as it was not damaged in any way - I coated the ID and OD with the same sealant as an extra precaution, taking care not to plug the weep hole in the carrier cover.

Bleeding the rear brakes was a bear - no access made it aggravating. I will be whipping up some remote bleeders once the cage comes out.

Decided to bleed the front brakes while the fluid, equipment and assistant was available - that ended in more frustration once I realized the bleeders were clogged. I cleaned the nipples as well as the bleeder passage in the caliper and VOILA, fluid.

Car drives down the road nicely and most importantly - NO LEAKS!!!!

Mission accomplished, I will finally put on some real miles at least for a few weeks before winter hits and she goes to take her annual nap.

A huge thank you to all those that helped shed some light on the issue - it was challenging and interesting to peel back one of the many layers of engineering on this platform.

 

I join in on output shjaft seals. old age deterorated li.