So I bought this 2000 crv a few months ago at 211,000 KMS on it. The previous owner said he replaced the diff seal, and showed me paper work to prove it, but I never asked which seal exactly.

Anyways, after owning it for a few days I started to notice drips and the rear diff was leaking which appeared to be from the driver side axle seal. I bought OEM seal from Honda and took it to a friend who is a mechanic, and we changed it. When taking out the old seal I had noticed it look pretty new like it could of been the seal the previous owner said had been replaced. It the sides of the seal were all wet as it had been leaking. The seal I took out did not look worn out at all.

So anyways we took it out replaced with the new seal, filled up the diff, and away I went. Next day leaking from same place. My friend even put silicone around the seal and we cleaned it really good.

What could cause this to still be leaking could it be the axle itself?

 

If there is a bad vibration the axle then that could cause an issue. This assumes the seal was installed correctly of course. Another problem I have seen is where the spring comes off and makes a groove. If new seal is sitting on that groove it will leak.

 

I've seen a few link this. One was a damaged shaft from a minor accident caused the seal to sit funny and leak, the other was a axle that had simply work and was letting oil pass between it and the seal.

2 new seals and still leaking. Most likely need a new shaft.

 

I believe he put it on properly. Would the vibration be coming from the axle shaft itself. I do not feel anything odd while driving. Is there any way to determine the shaft is gone bad. The boots are all intact no rips or anything.

Where is this spring located you are talking about. I never saw a spring. One thing I did notice after we had the old seal out was if you slide your finger along the circle where the seal sits. There is like a hairline perfectly straight that goes across the where the seal sits directly at the bottom in the center of the circle. Almost like it was meant to be there not like a scratch or anything.

I guess the next thing I can try is getting a new axle shaft. I don't believe this crv was ever in a accident before.

 

Yes, from the shaft. There is a lot of engineering back there to minimize any rear vibrations. Take a look around - boots on subframe cups, dual soft mounts rather than rigid subframe, diff harmonic balancer, etc...

Grab the cup and then the shaft and twist in opposite directions. If there is a decent amount of play your axle is bad.

The spring is built into the seal on the inside lip. It is there to retain tension on the axle. They can pop off from improper installation or extremely old age.

The groove would be on the machined land of the axle stub (sealing surface).