Deuce front axle inner oil seal replacement

[Rattlehead]

I have gear lube in the knuckles. Pulled a lower kingpin bolt and it came out, need to replace the inner axle seals.

Am I looking at this seal correctly? It appears that the seal is trapped behind a machined surface in the axle, or is that part of the seal? The manual says there is a thrust washer, then the seal. But the thrust washer looks to be still on my axle shaft, however it does not want to come off easily, if it is the thrust washer. Just want to be sure before I start wailing on things.

Also, any suggestions on where to get this seal for a reasonable price?

 

[m-35tom]

washer stays on the axle shaft. seal is in a retainer that presses into the housing. you need to pull both spindle assys, pull both axle shafts and use a long piece of pipe to drive the seal retainer out from the other side. of course at this point you want to replace right and left seals. it is really not that hard and should only take 3 - 4 hrs for everything if you have all the right tools. there are large slide hammer tools with a flip end that will also work if you really only want to do one side. seal should be easy to get at any auto parts store.

 

[acetomatoco]

Sounds like maybe a overfill or a vent problem if there is gear lube in both knuckles.. Or a knucklehead put it in there by mistake... I would drain the knuckles and put the light film of GAA on and reassemble. It is unreasonable for both inner axle oil seals to fail at the same time.. You may be the victim of bumbleheads.. Make sure the vent is clear, use GL1 oil, and do not overfill... that means leave it a inch below the fill hole to allow for heat expansion and froth and foam and operation in not level terrain...have fun...

 

[Banshee365]

Check the axle seal in the tech article section. That will show you another way to pull the retainers.

-Kelly

 

[devilman96]

I have the seals, under 9$ ...

http://odiron.com/store/index.php?cPath=4_48

 

[jwaller]

you dont need to pull the other side apart. simple slide hammer will do the trick. I did mine about 2 weeks ago.

BTW does anybody have a pic of this thrust washer? mine didnt have one. just the axle in there.

 

[devilman96]

That big silver piece is the center of the axle in the pic above is the thrust washer.

 

[jwaller]

That big silver piece is the center of the axle in the pic above is the thrust washer.

by big sliver piece do you mean the seal retainer?

 

[devilman96]

yep!

 

[m35a2cowner]

I did one of mine a couple of months ago. I did not have a slide hammer but was able to borrow one from my local NAPA store.

 

[ucfjeeper]

I have the seals, under 9$ ...

http://odiron.com/store/index.php?cPath=4_48

man, wish i knew about you when i ordered seals....


and I used reed bar and a BFH from the opposite side when I replaced mine

 

[m35a2cowner]

Axle seal

I forgot I had these pictures (some downloaded from this website). The thin grease appeared to contain gear lube. It was so thin that it ended up on the brake shoes. While I had the backing plate loose I changed the wheel cylinder, brake shoes, and turned the drums. Not a lot of $$ to do this and it gives you peace of mind. Brakes work better than ever before. I adjusted them with both the lower and upper adjusters. Be careful, I really did my back in (4 days off of work) lifting the brake drums. I hope they help make things a bit clearer.

 

[m35a2cowner]

Pictures

I don't know if the moderator is monitoring this but I just looked at the pictures I posted. I noticed that they had my username on them. I don't mind, but two of them are from this website on a thread about axle seal replacement. I don't want to appear to be taking credit for someone else's fine and informative post on the topic of axle replacement. I apologize for any confusion.