2001, Half shaft seals leaking

[metalgouger]

Dealer reports that the half shaft seals are leaking and transmission fluid is being lost. The Dealer has scared the Poopie out of my Girlfriend.
$30.00 with of parts and a $470.00 labor charge.
What's involved with changing out these seals?
What kind of seals are they? (shaft seals I hope).

[maspoon]

this job is not all that bad but you need the right tools and an idea of what you are doing. I have done a lot of half shafts and seals pretty much the same on all the cars that ive done anyway. If you are gonna try it your self first get a repair book hayns or chiltons ($15 at autozone) and read that before you do anything. These books will tell you whats you need to know. they are a good investment for anybody who wants to do the repairs on their car. the most important thing is to get the seal in the tranny square and strait or youll be doin it again.

[metalgouger]

The real question is what's involved with removing the shafts themselves. Do I need special pullers.
Are there "keepers" that have to be removed first?
I was told the keeps stay with the shafts when you pry them out. Is this right. Are the seal flush mount or recessed. Do i need a specicial size seal pusher?
Thanks for your help :0)

[metalgouger]

do i need special pullers or seal knockers?
are the shafts tough to remove?

[Willyum]

I don't think that this is a job for the inexperienced. If you plan to do it yourself you need to investigate the procedure thoroughly before starting. As maspoon told you, get the manual and see if you are up to what it describes.

[maspoon]

yes there are some special tools you will need, but if I dont have them when I do something I have to improvise or go buy them.
for me they are not usually a problem but like I said Ive done a lot before.
the only way to learn how to do it is to just do it, but please do your self a great favor and get the repair manual its a small price to pay. if you dont and you have no idea what you are doing you could cost your self alot more money than the original dealer quote to fix it.if you do it your self and right youll save a lot of money
as for the question about the keepers, they are on the end of the shaft that goes into the tranny, I call them retaining clips, should be one on it and should come out with the shaft.
for the seal I just use a socket a little smaller than the seal.
the shaft it self is not tough to pull out its the rest of the stuff you have to take off to get it out.
if you do do it your self get the book, get the seal in strait and square, make sure the half shaft is in ALL the way, make sure everything is torqued properly, and there should be a spot on the new axle nut( get a new one if possible ) to bash in with a screw driver to lock the nut onto the axle, or something to lock it to the axle. reserve plenty of time to do the job so you arent in a rush cuz it will take at least 4 or 5 hours if you never did one before. just reserve the weekend. also a good idea to make sure the cv joints are good before you reinstall them, if they need replaced better to do it now while they are out. its usually cheaper to get an entire half shaft than just the cv joint.
I hope at least some of this helped, good luck and please let us know what you end up doing and how it works out