So I’ve got a leak in the rear diff pinion seal, and it needs to be replaced. I have a 2000 Jaguar XK8. The dealership said it will cost about $400 in parts and god knows how much in labour. A while back I looked online and saw a rear pinion seal for $60, but now they’re out of stock. Is there any XJ8/XJR or S-Type models/years where the pinion seal is the same, so I can order it instead? Or do I need to wait for it to go into stock again. Thanks!

 

honestly please leave it alone and just keep adding fluid. less chance to mess up your diff, which is a massive POS in the first place

 

Sorry, can't agree with the leave it alone approach. Diffs aren't black magic and the pinion seal is easily enough replaced with no downside so long as the pinion preload is duplicated at assembly.
The parts cost quoted is likely because of the bundling of the seal with pinion flange and nut etc. Plenty of other models used the same diff setup so a cross match shouldn't be hard.