Not GM's fault its the supplier..Just ask Toyota on thier policy of blame..

At least GM took the blame..maybe this is how Toyota people feel..this did not worry me to much since there has been so much good stuff comming out with GM recently..hmmm..

 

Yea, like, 10 years ago. Leaky pinion seals have long been part of the GM ownership experience.

I seriously doubt that this would have triggered a recall were it not for the accidents. I'll also confess that I'm a bit surprised that enough fluid loss can occur to cause the axle to lock up.

 

Because lemons are accidents that happened to one car a recall happened to every car. Business is business.

 

Is that what is happening, or are teeth breaking and getting wedged between others?

 

so does that mean we can expect similar notices for our f-bodies? i think mine is leaking yet again...

 

I've only repaired mine four times in 12 years.

 

It was probably more like and unauthorized change to save the said supplier money , or it could go as deep as their material supplier not conforming to the cert . Typically "unauthorized" changes are made to save a buck because GM(or any OEM for that matter) would never have approved such a change . Wether it be the teir 1 supplier of the seal or their supplier or the material supplier not complying to material certs .....somebodys gonna have one hell of issue to deal with . An issue like this would cripple my teir 2 company if we ever cut corners and there was a large scale failure . The fines are MASSIVE .

 

it made the 6 oclock news..

 

I understand what constitutes an unauthorized changed. I'm just saying that by 2005 everyone involved down to the seal supplier would have been aware there's a problem with leaks, and perhaps someone in that chain tried to quietly improve the situation. If they knew this was already a problem area, I find it hard to believe they'd choose *that* component to try to save a few pennies. In general I try not to automatically think a supplier's motives are always bad.

 

That's a rare attitude in the automotive world

In this particular case, I'm a bit mystified as to why the supplier would perform an un-notified change in an attempt to fix a known problem. That sort of thing happens all the time in an attempt to save some money, but if the spotlight is already on a particular component because of warranty issues, it'd be suicidal to change anything about that part without permission.

 

Having experienced a "seized diff" at 70 MPH, I can emphatically state that is is not an experience I wish on anyone.




Mine happened shortly AFTER a leaking pinion seal was replaced.

 

Are they losing fluid that fast, or could that have been an install problem since it was just replaced?

 

It happened with the Camaro and I'm inclined to believe it was an assembly error on the part of the technician that did the pinion seal replacement. There was lots of fluid in it when it seized.

It's the experience of having it happen that I was commenting on.

 

Ahh ok, misunderstood

 

A safe guess would be that the pinion nut was overtightened. If the nut is tightened with the diff carrier still in the vehicle, it's tough to measure or "feel" if the pinion bearing preload is correct.

That does not look fun.