Stub axle seal in the differential is leaking differential oil.

 

Yes, the seal is leaking. You could probably keep an eye on it along with fluid levels for a while. Actually, just changing the seals is pretty cheap. A couple of seals and a couple of nuts. Some oil. I wouldn't say it is necessary to replace the axles but 14 years in service.

 

Thanks! I think I’ll just do the axle too since I’ll have to pull the thing out, and like you said, 14 years in service. Any suggestions on getting the new seal in place? There doesn’t seem to be a great way to do it except by finding a socket that may fit over it and lightly tapping it in.

 

Google Search

This is for my car, a 2010. The method should be sound if not the details.

 

@donkpow Very much appreciated. Doesn’t look as bad as I was thinking.

 

Youtube videos abound on pulling the axles. If you are reasonably careful, you can use some shortcuts to pull the axle without disassembling your car.

 

I was finally able to get to work on this today. Everything came apart with ease, but once I pulled the CV out, I realized it wasn't the seal the cv slides into. It looks like it is the oil seal retainer (at least that what it looks like from the manual). Is this a change left to professionals? Easy? Tough?

 

I ended up removing that sundial/diff bearing carrier and replacing the 3 dollar seal. I can honestly say that removing it was stressful. I was a bit nervous I might mess it up. I ordered a Company23 sundial bearing carrier tool to remove it. Even though it lines up to the notches, getting that thing to turn was a bear. With such limited space, it finally came down to an impact wrench on a very low setting so I wouldn't break the notches (I broke one trying to get it off there with a youtube suggested oil filter claw, if you are thinking about that, don't do it). I believe I hit about 6.5 turns before it finally came off. The o-ring was a mess, which could have been from removing it or it was just disintegrated after 14 years. The removal using that Company23 tool had me worried towards the end. The notches (as you can see in the pic) eventually started to bend a bit. The first 4 turns, that thing was tight. I was careful though. After cleaning the threads up and checking everything out, I put the new o-ring on and tightened it back up to the exact turns it took to remove it (I had marked the dial with red paint).

That was 2 weeks ago. Since then, no seeping. I had some light seepage for the first week initially, but I think it was attributed to all the gear oil I used to lube up the threads and seal before putting it back in place.

On a side note, I had contacted the Subaru dealer before taking this on myself. They wanted $179 to "diagnose" even though I told them exactly what I wanted done. Eventually just canceled the appointment.