Hi everyone, I am a new member and have a nice running 07 Element with VERY high miles (273K) that runs and drives great that I picked up this summer for 500 bucks. It was FILTHY but from the records it was well maintained...just not in the cleanliness department. I removed the ENTIRE interior and cleaned it within an inch of its life and its is ok now.

The issue I have is the left front axle leaks... I removed the axle to replace the seal. It appears that an axle probably went bad some time in the past and apparently wore some of the material in the case just behind the area the seal sits. if you look at the picture you can see the part I am talking about. It has 4 notches in it that I assume is for a special honda tool to fit. Is that actually part of the differential? It doesn't rotate when you turn the opposite wheel though you can see the spider gears turn inside it.I replaced the seal with a factory seal and it still leaks...i need to take it back apart to see if i damaged the seal installing it (quite possible as it is tough to do in the car).

My question is if i want to fix this issue...is that worn area causing the axle to move and wearing the seal...it doesn't vibrate driving it and if it wasn't leaking it would be fine...
it is obviously an aftermarket axle but the new seal fit perfect on the axle... Obviously I dont want to dissasemble the whole car if I dont have to... ANY info would be GREATLY appreciated...