Hey guys(and gals),
I just bought my first nissan, a 2001 pathfinder LE with 132k. It is in pretty good shape except when I took it for an oil change today at firestone they brought a few things to my attention. The first and most important is they said the right rear axle seal is leaking and has soaked all of the brake hardware back there. An emergency brake test while moving does confirm that only the left rear is working.
I've read conflicting things, some say that the seal is easy to replace and you can leave the grease seal alone, and others say that it is a royal bear. Can anyone confirm/deny the simplicity of this DIY? Would it be smart to go ahead and rent a slide hammer with hub attachment when I purchase the parts?
Second question is for the front cv axle, it looks very straight forward however after my last debacle trying to replace the wheel bearing on my 3 series and being unable to budge the half shaft out of the hub, I am slightly scared. How common is it for the spline to get frozen into the hub on these? To compound my fear this is my first northern vehicle I will have ever worked on(being a florida boy and just moving to NOVA).
Pricing up the parts(autozone website) I come up with a very conservative price of 375.00 for what firestone is asking almost 1200.00 to get done, seems like it may well be worth a saturday afternoon assuming that the axle seal doesn't require a press etc.
I appreciate all the help you can give,