Hello, Just got my car fixed not to long ago but i was taking it out today to do emissions and on my drive i heard like gears spinning every now and then, more so when i took a gear high. It seems to be coming from the rear axle, I do believe that the rear main seal needs to be replaced, is there any way to check the oil in the axle? I think it may be dry and its making the noise due to no or low fluid. I took a look under the car and its wet all on the bottom of the rear axle, where the gears are and seems to be like a small dripping but i cant tell if its dripping from there due to how slow its dripping, but i was told my "rear seal' needs to be replaces, what rear seal i don't know. Any help? Thanks


soon as i heard the noise i turned right back around and parked the car back at home, just to be safe.

 

To clarify: "rear main seal" is at the back of the engine where the crankshaft connects to the flywheel. The "pinion seal" is the seal on the front of the rear axle where the driveshaft connects.
You can check/add the oil in the rear axle. There will be a fill plug (it may be rubber) about half way up in the back. If it takes more than one quart of oil to fill it up and it was making noise, it will have to be repaired.

 

It's probably the "pinion seal" that's leaking. It isn't uncommon for the pinion yoke to come loose, causing the seal to leak, and then things start getting ugly.

You did the right thing. The fill plug is located on the passenger side, above the cast-in web on the front of the "pumpkin". You would be best to get it to a shop that can fix rear ends and have them check it over. Although it is possible to properly re-tighten the yoke when replacing the seal, if the yoke is already loose, you don't have a starting point and the shop will have to determine the proper tightening of it.

Don't be surprised if this starts getting expensive. The bearings, and possibly the gears, may have been damaged.