Joining the rear diff club

[G-142744]

If mine would have just stayed "damp" it wouldn't have been a problem. Unfortunately, damp turned into a dripping leak and I didn't feel like crawling under the car and topping up the rear diff. as part of my regular maintenance, as well as having in the back of my mind complete seal failure every time I drove the car.

My rear diff is being replaced when they get the part. My question is- with what, the same as the original? Or have they solved the problem?

 

[jdoodle]

I don't know whether or not it is the same. So far about 4K miles with no leak. It affected the ride quality of my car. It just has an undefinable rough feel to it not the previous "Buicky" smooth ride. My TourX is okay but I just haven't been able to fall in love with it, great gas mileage, though.

 

[remmy]

I don't know whether or not it is the same. So far about 4K miles with no leak. It affected the ride quality of my car. It just has an undefinable rough feel to it not the previous "Buicky" smooth ride. My TourX is okay but I just haven't been able to fall in love with it, great gas mileage, though.

Nothing to add other than wanting to point out that you used ‘affected’ in its proper scenario. Thank you. That is all.

 

[Jaxon]

UPDATE: left rear axle seal gave, lost about half of the fluid, remaining fluid is black and has metal pieces. Have to replace entire differential. Repair is ~$3,000, waiting for extended warranty to cover the cost.

Any update?

 

[BenD]

I folks, anyone have ever check the driving shaft? I brought my Gs 2019 to a transmission and differential specialist and my shaft seems not to be straight and causes a vibration like an unbalancing. there are two bearings on the driving shaft line and the brackets are too tight and must be shimmed so that the shaft is straight and then the vibration disappears. I’ll ask my dealer to have a look.

 

[Jaxon]

Here to say that the GS is susceptible to the same issue. I just returned home from a road trip(900 miles) and noticed my car left a puddle of fluid on the ground and smells hot. Also it's making a loud humming noise when moving. It will be going in next week for repairs, although it may hurt as it has 88,000 miles and is only covered by an extended warranty. Will post updates once they have diagnosed the problem.

Who did you get the extended warranty through? I'm a new owner of an '18 Essence w/ 71k miles

 

[ZB Commodore Owner]

In post 147 I mentioned the dealer had noticed my rear diff was leaking. They fixed a blocked breather. I got the distinct impression this was a known issue. As the diff heats up the air inside the diff expands and since the breather is blocked oil is forced past the seals.

Recently I took it back for them to check and the leak has stopped.

It might be worth mentioning to your dealer to check the breather.

There's another chapter to this saga. Took the car in for a service this week and when I picked it up I was told the diff was leaking, again....
It can't be too bad as there are no drips on the floor. Total k's just under 40,000.

The initial reaction from the service agent was they'd get it back to check the breather. When I said they'd done that last time they had a look at the service record and said they'd need to talk to the warranty claims person. Waiting to hear back what the next move is.

 

[TourREX owner]

No warning on the dash?

I think mine was built about the same time. Probably a bad batch of units as mine is moaning when going around a turn to the right.

 

[ZB Commodore Owner]

There's another chapter to this saga. Took the car in for a service this week and when I picked it up I was told the diff was leaking, again....
It can't be too bad as there are no drips on the floor. Total k's just under 40,000.

The initial reaction from the service agent was they'd get it back to check the breather. When I said they'd done that last time they had a look at the service record and said they'd need to talk to the warranty claims person. Waiting to hear back what the next move is.

The dealer rang last week saying the warranty repair had been authorised, now waiting for the new seals to arrive, which should be in a few days.

 

[94cruiser]

If I don’t have anything on the outside of the seal but little “condensation” - seepage on the inside of the seal and shaft - enough to get fingers dirty should I be concerned?

 

[ZB Commodore Owner]

I never saw how bad my leak was. it sure wasn't dripping on the ground. It was picked up by the technician during a regular service.

I'd monitor at the very least. If it is still under warranty or even if it's not under warranty I'd be talking to the dealer sooner than later to have it recorded that it is leaking with the aim to be able to pursue a warranty claim if necessary.

 

[remmy]

I had a sheen all over the back on mine. No drip evidence but a pumpkin that’s supposed to be sealed is dry.
But honestly, I’d expect a dump truck to have crud on its pumpkin after 250k miles, not a passenger car that’s less than 5 years old with >100k mikes.

 

[Sweden]

Hi.
I just read this 10 pages with horor.

I had myself a leaking pinion seal in 20k miles (picture), no sound issue. Dealer replaced seal durung warranty. Now 6k miles later it seems OK but I am worried because warranty has runed out.

Build date 12-17

 

[94cruiser]

2018 warranty
4y / 50k b2b

6y / 70k drivetrain

 

[Jack GS]

2018 warranty
4y / 50k b2b

6y / 70k drivetrain

If @Sweden's car is a real Opel, they may have a different warranty than is offered by Buick.

 

[Sweden]

If @Sweden's car is a real Opel, they may have a different warranty than is offered by Buick.

3 years sadly

 

[Jack GS]

3 years sadly

Even if it is out of warranty, the dealership may still honor it if the first seal replacement was documented. Bottom line is, the issue arised before the warranty period was over and has clearly not been resolved. That alone should put pressure on the dealer to do the right thing.

 

[kbtuba]

2018, Mine is in the shop today getting fixed (yes under warranty). I have not seen any signs of leakage, but did have a noticeable 'groaning' sound, again mainly when turning and at low speeds. I had not noticed any sound at highway speed. I don't have much info yet, the tech said that there was a lot of metal shavings in the fluid. I should be getting it back tomorrow, so I will be pressing them for plenty of details. I'll post any useful updates.

 

[adam728]

Need to get my 2018 in. No noise, and not a lot of leakage, but leakage. Appears to be the pinion seal. Cleaned it up real good and it was wet again within a week.

 

[jdoodle]

Need to get my 2018 in. No noise, and not a lot of leakage, but leakage. Appears to be the pinion seal. Cleaned it up real good and it was wet again within a week.

Yeah, that's the primary indicator. Good luck with the process. If they just replace the seal like they did mine, tell them you'll see them again next month.