I just went out to the garage and when I backed my 99 Z28 out I noticed a puddle of fresh oil on the floor. Upon furthur inspection, I noticed that the seal where the drive shaft meets the rearend (pinion seal I am assuming?) is leaking and slinging some rear end fluid all over. It is not too bad. Is this a common problem on the 10 bolts? The car only has 25,000 miles on it and is rarley driven except on weekends? It has only been to the track once in it's life. How much of a project is this to change and should I do anything else to the car while I have the drive shaft out? Bye the way, the car has synthetic fluid in the rear with the GM additive, would this cause the seal to start leaking?

Thanks for any info.

 

Pinion seal leak is very common on LS1's. The damn 10 bolt is weak & leaks. If you're still under warrenty have them fix it. I don't know what's involved if you try to fix it yourself.

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2002 SOM WS6 Trans Am
Former 2001 Camaro SS
Former 2000 WS6 Trans Am
Former 1998 Firebird-no pics

 

I have 30,000 miles on the car and changed it already 3 times... so it's my 4th one.
I'm pissed at it... and am simply getting a freaky 12-bolt this fall.

 

Thanks for the response. I guess there is no way to remedy this problem other than to keep replacing them?

 

No, they all leak. They aren't really that hard to replace, though. Undo the straps holding the driveshaft to the rear end and slide it out of the way. Remove the pinion yoke nut, and pull the yoke out. Use a seal puller and remove seal, install new one lubricating the seal lip so it does not run dry the first few revs, and reinstall everything. The goal is to get the exact same preload on the pinion nut. I have done a bunch of these, and have never had a problem. I just nail them on with my junky air gun. Good to go.

Permanent fix? 12 bolt, 9 inch, etc....

 

Actually what you want to do is make a reference mark between the yolk and the pinion shaft with whiteout or a light colored nail polish- something that'll be accurate and visible when you make the mark. Then you can pull the nut, remove the yolk, exchange the seal, and put the nut back on the same number of turns to duplicate preload.