I just need to rant to make myself feel better about my axle seal, maybe somebody will listen here

Well after doing some repairs to my rear axle like having my gears looked at and replacing the wheel bearings, seals etc, my carrier was leaking because I didn't do such a good job sealing with RTV sealant. I bought a paper gasket and pulled everything apart again and got that fixed but when I was putting the driver side axle back on, I think I damaged the oil seal because the axle backing did not sit flush with the housing until I forced it to by tightening the bolts down all the way.

Well I noticed that I had gear oil leaking into the wheel from the backing plate a few days later, damn! I buy a new seal and spend a few hours replacing it again over the weekend and I though all was good but today I notice that the damn thing is leaking again after driving on the interstate. Even worse,now I think my brand new bearing is bad due to the gear oil washing out the grease. (I get a whining noise at 50mph when I am coasting and the gear oil has turned gray)

When I was installing the seal this last time, I noticed that it got bent in my one of my many attempts to get it to seat in the axle using a 35 mm socket to seat it. I also noticed that there is a small nick in the axle housing from my first attempt to remove the original seal. I don't think that is the problem though because it it is at the very front of the lip and I believe the oil seal gets pushed passed it to make good contact when I put the new seal in.

So today I ordered a Harbor freight seal driver kit to give it one more go before I give up and take it to the dealership. Thanks for listening if you read this, I feel a little bit better now! Also, I plan on leaving the bearing for a while after I fix the seal again, could a dry bearing cause any damage to the new oil seal? The bearing doesn't have any play but it doesn't spin very long when I spin the backing plate on the axle If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear. Thanks.

 

dunno if the newer axles are the same as the older ones

theres an O ring around the outside
And a seal on the inside.

If theres a nick in the tube surface - grind it off (carefully) before putting in a new seal - good gear oil will creep though some small gaps.

I put a seal in with a short peice of 2x4 and a plastic faced hammer...

I DO NOT seal the diff to axle side with RTV.
I use an OEM paper gasket and coat it in Permatex 300.

Dunno if one is avail for later axles..

 

Thanks ewong. I think you replied to use a paper gasket coated with Permatex when I posted about that leak. That worked like a charm! If I decided to try and grind the axle housing, will a dremel do fine? I have access to one but I don't know what attachment to use. Also, your description of the earlier axle sounds just like mine. I would try the 2x4 trick but I am not taking any more chances with these darn seals!

 

Dremel will work fine

Depending on how steady you are determines if you use an agressive bit (like a steel grinder) or a sanding drum.

Heck - a pencil wrapped in plumber's emery cloth would work too - just slower.

But I cant see the nick so its hard to say.

The idea is to knock off the "high spot".

The 2x4 is becuase
-- its soft
-- theres a 12" peice that I keep as a SST for a VW repair trick
-- theres usually some scrap of one around the garage

 

Marlin has a seal with a lip on it that makes installation an ease on the rear axles.

http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/axles.htm#hdseals

 

Those look nice but they don't work on axles with ABS unfortunately. Thanks for the responses though!

 

So I used my new Harbor Freight seal driver to install a new seal after attempting to grind down the uneven surface where the seal fits into the axle housing.

I thought all was good but I noticed one drip of oil today after driving about 50 mi. on the Interstate.... Maybe all is good though, maybe that leak is just left over oil that leaked past the old seal and was trapped somewhere in the brakes or around the bearing. Maybe the oil is being pressed out of the soaked brake shoes

200 Posts! Whoohoo!

 

Alright, I am sure anyone reading this is saying "This kid shouldn't quit his day job" because I still have a small leak. So small it's about 1 drop every 24 hours hanging off the bottom of the backing plate. Ewong, I grinded down the high spot with a dremel and a metal grinding bit like you said. It's hard to see so I think I either didn't take quite enough off or maybe I took too much off and now there is a low spot. Does anyone know of any substance I can use to fill the low spot if that is my problem? I am thinking I need some liquid substance that hardens like metal once I put it on the axle housing.

 

Put a thin layer of oil-resistant RTV around the outside surface of the seal before you drive it in. That will stop any leaks between the seal and the axle housing. I like using "The Right Stuff" by permatex, because you don't have to let it harden before refilling your differential with fluid. Also, you may be doing this already, but make sure you smear some grease on the inside sealing surface of the seal before you re-install the axle so that the axle doesn't spin on a dry seal the first time you drive off after the seal installation.

 

GS,
Thanks for the tip. That's perfect because I already have some Right Stuff left over from the time I pulled my third member! I appreciate all the help, everything should be all gravy once I give this thing one more go.

 

No prob. Good luck.

 

Alright, I am bringing this one up again one more time for one final question

I've got my new bearing pressed onto the axle, put in the new seal with the "Right Stuff" and put new shoes on the drum brakes but I am a little reluctant to fill the axle with gear oil and take her for a spin. Here is the deal: When I slide the axle back into the housing, it feels like maybe the bearing collar catches on the seal. The axle backing plate does not sit flush against the end of the axle housing, it's maybe 2-3mm away from mating against the axle housing. However, if I give the axle a firm push, it mates right up against the end of the housing. Is this normal or do I risk another leak if I bolt in the axle and go for a spin?

It seems that the bearing collar is touching the seal and I am not sure if that is supposed to happen or not. I can take pics if that will help you guys understand what I am describing. I am scared to go for a spin after putting on the new brake shoes, what a pain in the arse! Thanks for all the help guys, this place rocks

 

Thanks for the Right Stuff tip. That finally got me a good seal. I guess the ABS reluctor wheel collar is supposed to touch the seal because I have driven over 200 mi and no leaks, woohoo! Also put on new shoes and Brembo Rotors with Hawk street pads. Let me just say, I love this truck again! Thanks for the help.

 

Glad to hear thats over....

FIPG should work well too.

And yes - that "push to seat" thing is common.
I think I have a bent bearing retainer on one side becuase I have to pull it home using hte bolts on one side (bearing was replaced at 12K under warranty - found out later that the dealer does NOT have the tools to press off the retainer and they send it to the 4x4 shop down the road)

 

That's funny. The machine shop I called to get my bearings pressed also does the bearings for the dealership in town. I just got lucky and happened to call the right one on the first try.