2008 E320CDI "Oil leak on rear deef"

[Stocho]

Looking at MOT history of a car I consider buying I noticed that MB dealter put "Oil leak on rear deef".
What is "deef" is it mispelled differential or something else? How serious could this be, especially if the car was driven for quite some time after the MOT with no evidence of it being fixed?

 

[markjay]

Diff - or differential.

They 'weep' oil from the drive shafts seals.

Very common issue... labour cost to fix can be high. Have the diff oil level checked and topped-up at next service. Depending on how much oil you lose, decide on whether to fix it or not.

The oil diff level will need to be monitored though the diff itself is pretty robust and can withstand small quantity of oil loss.

 

[Clk3201997]

I need to replace the differential output seal on an SLK R170 due to a leak. Can the rear axle be removed from the differential without taking off the backing plate. Some people are saying clips need to be removed from the inside and others say it can just be pulled away from differential.

 

[BTB 500]

Diff - or differential.

Old thread, I know! Would be a little odd to say "rear diff" though, on a vehicle that only has one?