So I had gear oil spraying all over my rear passenger tire and attempted to replace the axle seal this weekend. Pretty simple right? Disconnect brake line/parking brake, drain, unbolt the 4 flange bolts, slide axle out, pull seal, replace seal, done. I make sure I dont ride the seal when I put the axle back in the housing.

Problem is today on the way to work I am getting all kinds of clicking and clacking and whining. Rear lockrite is banging and gear oil is now spraying worse than ever from behind the backing plate. Truck is also pulling to the passenger side.

WTF could have gone wrong? I guess it could have been the outer seal that was bad, but the bearing had no play in it. Bout to crack this thing open and do it again, but curious as to anything I need to watch out for when doing this? I just rebuilt this rear end about 20k ago so I am guessing i am making a mistake.

 

Temperatures getting warmer was your vent plugged that caused the initial leak .

Your axle came out without a slide hammer??

If it did that might be a part of the problem.

Put something together wrong that your getting all the noise

No gear oil on the brake shoes ??

Then maybe you do now which is causing the pulling

Get the brake adjusted tighter on the right??

One of those things you will find it once apart.

 

Vent tube is not clogged. I have extended breather and I can blow through it. Also just checked the oil and it is still full.

Should I really need a hammer just to slide the shaft out of the diff? This is the rear axle. I have never had an issue pulling one out.

I am sure there is still some oil in the brakes but I am more concerned with the banging. I just pulled out of a parking spot and it made a loud bang. There is an automatic locker in the rear diff that seems to be doing most of the complaining.

I am thinking there is something wrong with the locker or how the shaft is seated in the diff, but if that were the case, I shouldnt be able to bolt the axle to the flange all the way I would think. I spun the tire on the side I replaced and the other tire moved so I know the splines are making contact. If the splines are lined up in the diff how else can you screw that up?

 

I have never been able to get a rear axle out with the bearing intact by hand.

Expect the Full floating kind

Knock something loose in the differential putting the axle back in.

Seals tend to go bad from old age the rubber gets hard and brittle or bad bearings

wrong seal ??

Did you replace the seals and wheel bearings when the differential was rebuilt

I am sure you will find it when it comes apart.

 

Sorry, I didnt replace the bearing or the outer seal if thats what you mean. I only replaced the seal on the axle tube itself inside the flange.

and yes I hope it makes sense once I pull the axle out again but I hope nothing breaks as I have a 1 hr drive home from work today. I just hate when I rack my brain trying to think of what it is and in this case I am stumped until I can pull it.

 

Pull the rear drive shaft and just use the front

 

There are three seals - one O-ring, two shaft seals - at each end of the rear axle, and you replaced just the one (most logical one). Something went back together wrong, either at the hub/wheelbearing or at the diff. How'd it turn by hand when you reassembled? If it turns by hand ok, then I would park the rear up on jackstands, let it run in gear, and listen for where noise is coming from. Either way it sounds like it has to come apart, but as you know, that's no big deal.

Oil slinging might be residual, or the seal might be leaking. Get in and see. Did you use any sealer when you replaced it? Checked for burrs?

Wyoming (in PA?), you're thinking the axleshaft and bearing housing coming apart. That one can be a hassle for sure, but only necessary to change the outer seals, so OP didn't do it. No slide hammering required for this job (unless something's really FUBAR, I suppose)

FWD truck FTW!

 

Lockrites can do a lot of banging and clanging with a manual tranny. A spartan auto locker might do less banging but it's the nature of the lunchbox type of locker to make those noises(with manual tranny). Some folks that have auto transmissions and use a thicker gear oil report no noises at all with a Spartan. My dad is one that comes to mind.

If the 4 fragile pins inside the lockrite break, then may I recommend a Spartan....or even an Aussie? Broken pins have the general symptom of staying locked up in the corners and the tire will make a howling noise even with no gas applied.

Are you over-filling the rear axle?
Your gear oil spray could still be the seal. It could also be a bad roller bearing. Sometimes, they are hard to tell when they are actually bad. With the tire off the ground, spin the tire and can you hear the bearing making noise?

 

Nail on the head sir!

I have a lockrite and have dealt with this issue before when I first got the axles and the pins came broken. I decided to bring the truck in to a local shop bc I hate messing with differentials and he said the diff was permalocked and he believes its the same problem as last time. You also got it right when you said the whining was occurring after I let off the gas which is something I didnt post but noticed yesterday after work. They are going to tear into it as well as replace the wheel bearings. The diff was just rebuild 20k ago.

I will say before it broke with my A340F it ran quiet as a mouse...no banging, no bucking, nothing. Never even knew it was there. I use 80w90. I am a little worried though bc this is the second time I have had issues from this locker with the pins. I am going to give it one more shot and then move to an ARB or just say screw it and go tons lol.

 

wberry- Just read your build-up of your 3" SAS. Nice job. And I picked up that you have an auto tranny with the 22RE. Just a heads up that is a good combo with 571 G2 gears. All the low end torque you will probably ever need and no big expenditure on transfercases....and the associated possible issue that some guys are having with the center coupling bearing between the cases
With 571 gears, your combo will have plenty of zip from the green lights. I can speak with authority on how 571 gears will work because I had a 1987 Runner that had 33"/22RE/auto/571 and I was happy as hell.

As is the case with any gear install and especially gears installs involving big tires.....they should be installed to high standards..... especially in the rear. I can do that if you don't have the resources near you.

ps----Because you have an auto, you now will experience extra long life on ALL your driveline components. Birfs will last much longer....gears too, of course. All bets are off if you decide to switch to manual.

If your lockrite is making noises with the automatic then you may want to change it out to something else other than a Lockrite.

Ken

 

Yes apparently I have the fabled 22RE/A340F combo. Only thing I wish is for a gear driven transfer case.

I trust the guys working on the diff. The mechanic is KNOX over on pirate. He just happens to work at a local offroad shop near me. He does good work but if it breaks again maybe I will let you take a crack at it and I'll move to a different locker too.

One question for you, both me and mechanic are both completely confused over how pulling a rear axle shaft and replacing a seal could cause the locker to act up. Have you ever seen anything like this? I would be the first to admit I screwed it up, but HOW? You can only line the splines up one way...how is it even possible to mess that up?

 

No way that the seal or bearing could cause the locker to act up....makes no diff if it is a gear oil leak or a sloppy bearing, that will not cause the locker to "act up". Probably has more to do with coincidence/fate.

As far as the new seal leaking....is it possible when you banged in the new seal that the garter spring fell off?

 

It shouldn't happen. But I've had new radial lip seals leak briefly before becoming worn in enough to seal. The lip is too sharp. I've seen it happen so often and in so many different applications that a leak from a new radial lip seal doesn't even raise an eyebrow.

Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they do. It's a continual leak that I watch for. But I've never seen a new radial lip seal not seal up eventually.

 

Well just to bring closure to this issue, it turns out the pins inside the locker were sheared and the carrier was very worn. The bearings could be pulled out by hand. My mechanic thinks the pins had been broken for a while and just fell out somehow when I pulled the axle? Second time I have sheared the pins on this lockright so I am not too happy with the durability so far. I'll give it one last shot and then prob look into a selectable locker.

Also the seal that was leaking was the pressed seal on the axle shaft so good news is I didnt fubar the inner seal job I did.

 

But...if no oil leaks passed the inner seal...there's no oil to leak passed the outer seal. Unless the oil isn't leaking passed the inner seal...but is instead leaking under the lock ring/bearing retainer. Effectively bypassing the inner seal. Which would make sense if what you mean by "the pressed seal on the axle shaft" is actually the bearing retainer. Other than that, what you're saying doesn't make any sense. Since there is no "seal" pressed on the axle shaft.

If you do mean the bearing retainer is leaking, then yes, unfortunately, something is indeed FUBAR. And that something is probably the axle shaft. A new inner seal or outer seal, or even a new bearing retainer will probably do you no good at this point. The axle shaft has, probably, somehow been damaged to the point that there is no longer a tight enough press fit between it and the bearing retainer to provide an oil tight seal. In which case the axle shaft will, probably, never seal oil again. I suppose it's worth trying a new bearing retainer first. Just don't be too surprised if it doesn't solve the problem on its own. Whereas a new axle shaft and a new lock ring/bearing retainer most likely will.