[DieselDude06]

Has anyone else experienced differential fluid leaking from the rear differential on a 300C (RWD)? I noticed a small (about 2" in diameter) puddle of fluid underneath the differential. Checked it out and found that differential fluid was coming out of the vent tube on the top of the right (passenger) side of the differential housing? Dealer replaced vent with new design vent tube, but still leaking. Anyone else?

Great car other than this issue...

 

[Redman]

Hot Stuff?

You're not "heating" up that fluid extra hot now are u?

 

[jcsganga34]

What color is the fluid? Some people(including me) had bad tranny seals causing tranny fluid to leak right around that same area. Are they sure its differential fluid and not tranny? Just a thought...

 

[DieselDude06]

No, I wouldn't be running it like that in order to heat it up that much! But seriously, this is just from normal city and highway cruising. I did check fluid color and it's clear, and smells just like conventional rear axle fluid (even though I beleive our 300C's utilize synthetic differential fluid).

Dealer told me that Chrysler has seen this problem on a good deal of 300's, but I haven't seen anything else on this forum (?). I have supposedly had both the old vent, and the "new" design vent tube on my car and both leak.

Anyone else seen anything like this? It would first appear as wet looking at the top of your differential vent, and then run down the side of the differential housing and drip from the bottom. Not a lot of fluid, but I don't like the idea of burning up the differential on a car with only 5K miles!

 

[HemiHog]

Good friend of mine had differential fluid leaking on his, but the fix was replacing a seal of some sort, not the vent. Since no one here had reported having the problem, I did not press him much on the details figuring it was just a one-off issue. I'll try to find out more and post again once I've had a chance to talk to him.

 

[DieselDude06]

I had this problem initially diagnosed as the right side output shaft seal leaking. The seal was replaced, however, the diff fluid continued to leak. Upon a more thorough inspection, the dealer was able to see it was leaking from higher up on the differential, from the top of the vent tube. I was able to take a picture of it from the underside of the car. Thanks for asking your buddy, I'm looking forward to see what he says. Here's what it looks like...

 

[HemiHog]

Sorry, DieselDude, but my buddy only knows it was a "seal kit" that was installed. Chances are it was the output shaft seal, same as what you mentioned, however, he no longer has any leaks, so whatever they did put the cure on his.

I wonder if perhaps the differential was over-filled by your dealer during one of the attemps to fix the problem, thus the leak out of the vent?

 

[DieselDude06]

Thanks HemiHog. That's a very good possibility. As soon as I find anything else out I'll post back. Maybe someone else has seen the vent leak.

Hope you continue to enjoy your Hemi(s).

 

[RobertR]

Noticed the rear end leaking on my 2005. I have 11,000 miles and will be 2 years old in May. I change my own oil and when it was up on the lift last week the rear end seems to be leaking from the top. Notice the leak worse when it's cold.

Any advice?

Bob

 

[LegalShield]

Well I was under the car today and noticed a class II oil leak at the diff. passenger side, right where the drive axle goes into the diff. Its not leaking to the ground but forming a drip. I got 12,450 miles on it and I just noticed it today. I have all the ammo I need for the dealer and I'll be taking it back tomorrow, and to think I just got it out of the shop today for a dash rattle. This car is really testing my patience, but I love it to much to let it go.

 

[jamming321]

I have this problem as well, and the car is brand new-noticed it the second day I had it. Presently have it in for service, but I am getting the runaround as usual. Full report to come, as well as a nice letter to the district manager of Chrysler.

 

[LegalShield]

I have this problem as well, and the car is brand new-noticed it the second day I had it. Presently have it in for service, but I am getting the runaround as usual. Full report to come, as well as a nice letter to the district manager of Chrysler.

Give me the address please!!!

 

[jamming321]

I will, as soon as I find it. My service rep, of course, did not know who the district manager is. I'd rather find it myself than talk to these guys anyway. Its hard to trust someone who can't even tell what's going on five feet from his own office, and contradicts what his own manager says.

 

[RobertR]

This is the second winter I have had my C, seems to only leak when it is cold. Have not driven my car for a few weeks now and cleaned the oil off the rear end before I parked it in the garage. Guess what...no leak. It only seems to leak after it has been driven and it's cold outside.

 

[jamming321]

Well, I'm in South Florida, so no cold weather here. I love this car, but having two problems (car was also idling real rough, dealer said it was the computer and it is fixed now) in under 1,000 miles does not say much for Chrysler's quality control. They've had two years to work the bugs out on these cars.

 

[Gobster]

2006 300c Rear Differential Leaking & Dash Rattle

I have my 300c in the shop right now. They told me the shft seal is leaking. Also, they can't pinpoint the loud dash rattle coming from the car. This car has been eating tires and they aligned it with 3800 miles. It might be worn out, it has 5270 miles. I have owned Chevy Suburban's and Tahoe's without any major issues, run like champs. This is my first and last Chrysler. I love the horsepower and looks but I think this car will be in the shop quite often. Thank goodness, I bought the extended warranty.
My DVD system (factory installed) is messing up. It gets louder quieter after about 2 hours of play. I think these cars will be problem children. I just can't get myself to buy in import.....Anybody experiencing the same problem, shoot me an e-mail.

 

[Gobster]

Well just tried to pick up the car and the rear end whined like it didn't have fluid and my dash rattle was 10 times worse. I took the car back to the dealership. Olathe Chrysler Jeep of Olathe KS (do not get service here, Kansas City Hemi owners) Anyway, I got to the dealership at 4:40pm, drove the car 100 yards and was completely blown away at the job "not done". The Service Manager acted as though I was a problem. The car had grease marks on my A pillar and was a complete mess when I pickekd it up. They commented on Friday nice it looked when I dropped it off. Shouldn't you receive a car in the same condition as it was in, less mechanical failures. The car was taken back into the shop area, and I had to ask for a car to drive. He told me to call Enterprise and set something up, because they don't have loaner cars. I was about to blow a gasket and he decided he better call Enterprise. I finally was picked up by Enterprise at 6:00pm only to find out they didn't have any cars. They took me back out to my house and I finally arrived without transportaion at 6:40pm. . I will NEVER buy another Chrysler again. I want everyone to know these cars have a terrible fit & finish. They are cheaply built on the inside and out, just push GENTLY on the lower quarter panel....you'll see what I mean. Don't let the power fool you, there are better built cars with matched performance.....don't be fooled by looks. There is a turd in the middle of the metal wrapping. What is even more sad, the Service Department in this case could have really improved Chrysler's image by going the extra mile, but we all know customer service doesn't exist anymore, it's all about "how cheap can we get it", all of us are guilty of that.

 

[Gobster]

Well, the saga continued for 6 different vists. My rattle was actually the hood hitting the plastic cowl. They shimmed the hood pads on both sides and this fixed the issue....finally. The rear differential was not the seal at all, but actually the vent tube as I saw on this forum. I told them on the 1st visit what I saw here. They completely ignored it and replaced the seal, but guess what...it leaked! They replaced vent tube, no problem since........

 

[SoCal-Al]

Hello Everyone,

On the subject of rear differential leaks, my car has been in a couple times for the seal leak but the rear end still leaks slowly.

The dealer says I need new rear differential hub parts to get the seal to seat properly and wants to rebuild the rear end under warranty to fix it properly. They would have the car for a couple days.

1. Anyone else experience this or had their rear end rebuilt?

2. Is this a repair with high risk ? Do the repairs go well ?

3. Should I get a couple other opinions ?

Appreciate some help here.

Many Thanks

SoCal-Al

 

[MoparCanuck]

I had a leaking rear diff from the moment I bought the car. I changed the rear seal twice (under warranty). Never lost enough oil to damage the gearing though (it shouldn't bleed THAT much out). It turned out it was the vent tube, and after replacing it, I haven't lost a drop yet.

IMO, I would get a 2nd opinion. I think the dealership may want to pad his bottom line with extra warranty work billable to Chrysler. Not your problem, but why be without your wheels for a few days?