leaking front differential and small leak on oilpan

[lyle]

first time posting here. new to the awd asto/safari's and so far love it, but dont know my way around them much yet. my safari is an 03 and when i got it i changed every thing to synthetic fluids (oil,differentials) but noticed the front diff. hardly had any fluid in it, and it looked to be leaking, put new fluid in and yes it is leaking around the gasket, how hard is it to just put a new gasket in, what all do i have to take apart, dont want to mess any thing up. also had the trans rebuilt and the mechanic left me know that i have a small engine oil pan leak and said it is not a rear main seal, can i just drop the pan and put a new gasket in? is there enough clearance to do this? this is the first gm i ever owned. did plenty of work on my 03 hd ram 4x4 and my 96 bronco, so im not totally stupid but just dont want to dummy up. thanks,lyle

[Smiliesafari]

Welcome to the site, Lyle. The jobs you mention are pretty much routine. Really nothing there to mess up. Go ahead and jump right in. Post some pics when you get a chance.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

If the front diff is leaking where it splits rather than an axle seal, it has to come out to be fixed. Nice thing is that RTV is all it takes to fix it! Do a search for the removal process. Once the front diff is dropped, the oil pan is very easy to access. This is the perfect time to tackle that.

Here is what the diff will look like on your bench...



Split...

[doyoulikeithere]

Thanks for the excellent photos and encouragement!
Did you snap any shots of the whats inside where the black tube meets the aluminum?
On an S-10 Axle, thats where the hublok actuator bolts onto, and theres a few extra bits inside that allow it to lock/unlock.
I guess the astro just has a solid left axle instead, so the front driveshaft can never idle.

[Meterpig]

Being AWD, I think it would be impractical to lock/unlock the front axle in the time needed as the transfer case can move in and out of AWD in less than one second.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

Did you snap any shots of the whats inside where the black tube meets the aluminum?

Here you go.



And driver side opened up.

[doyoulikeithere]

Many Thanks!
My van is 4wd, not AWD, So I have an S10 front axle.
it it should have more stuff inside there I guess, where I see the bronze colored tab on yours.
Yours looks kinda empty there. Mine will have a pull cable coming from the cab lock lock it up on the fly.
I'm gonna have to pull mine and reseal it too, Thanks for sneek peek at what to expect!
I believe I will need to re-tap the very bottom hole where the black tube buts up to the aluminum as well.