Need Some Help with Rear Axle Seal "blow out"

[87cr250r]

It's fine, the speeds are low. The bearings are only a few inches in diameter and the speeds are in the hundreds of rpm. An example of where you shouldn't use red n tacky is the pilot bearing for a clutch or driveshaft splines.

Everybody likes what they're used to and if you like Lucas their green X-Tra Heavy Duty grease is really superior for wheel bearing applications and would also be suitable for many other challenging applications such as the pilot bearing and splines because it's more shear stable.

It is not compatible with most other automotive greases so you have to start clean.

Chassis greases are where things get really challenging because weather resistant rubbers don't like petroleum oil greases.

 

[Commander5993]

Finished the hubs this morning. Then got brake hoses, calipers, and pads all done. Then lubed all the grease zerks in the front end. Going to look for any other zerks under the truck later, I've done them all before... but can't remember how many there were.

Just have to bleed front brakes. finish pulling cover off front diff, new gasket, refill fluid. Drain and fill transfer case. And fix speedometer cable. Hopefully can get it done just in time before the banks collapse and/or WW3.

 

[87cr250r]

I just bought the tool to do the inner axle seals on the front. I had to disassemble the right side of the axle to get my engine in and out and figure the diff needs some seals too.

I did have a kingpin fail some time back and it damaged the lockout on the hub. If anybody has Spicer lockouts I am looking for parts.

 

[Commander5993]

Question... why would the front differential vent hose run up to the frame... then into a steel hard line...then on up toward rad... them back into another hose... then up to top of rad support??? this is stock is it??

I can understand wanting to keep water out if the diff if you were driving through that deep of water. but the rear diff vent would already be submerged long before.

here is the end of the vent hose, not even a real vent. just a plastic hose barb type thing

 

[Commander5993]

well ended up removing and cleaning both hoses. used air compressor to make sure both of them, and the hard line, were all clear. reinstalled all with new hose clamps and a new vent. original hose bolt clamp wouldn't reach anywhere that I could bolt it down. dont know where its supposed to be as it was just laying on fender well. And I don't have any 5/16" hose to make a longer one . so decided zip ties would be fine.

if nothing else, it will certainly keep it up out of the water



just waiting on my transmission filter & gasket, drain and change it, refill with new dex iii. And I think I've got everything done but putting the new belts on.... knock on 🪵

 

[Commander5993]

also decided to repaint hubs, free/locked line was getting hard to see. better than it was



thought about repainting the wheels, but the paint on them is still solid, no rust. and the road out here would just cover them back over with dirt anyway. so just going to leave them as is. If I repaint the truck this summer or ?, I'll repaint the wheels then.
painted the whole truck about 12 years ago. Its held up good, just a couple spots starting to rust. could just sand and spot them in and get by another year if i need to.

 

[WWRD99]

well ended up removing and cleaning both hoses. used air compressor to make sure both of them, and the hard line, were all clear. reinstalled all with new hose clamps and a new vent. original hose bolt clamp wouldn't reach anywhere that I could bolt it down. dont know where its supposed to be as it was just laying on fender well. And I don't have any 5/16" hose to make a longer one . so decided zip ties would be fine.

if nothing else, it will certainly keep it up out of the water
View attachment 893773


just waiting on my transmission filter & gasket, drain and change it, refill with new dex iii. And I think I've got everything done but putting the new belts on.... knock on 🪵

So that hose is supposed to be bolted to the upper radiator metal bracket support on the rad shroud...but can go anywhere no biggie...the rear axle should have one too.

 

[Commander5993]

So that hose is supposed to be bolted to the upper radiator metal bracket support on the rad shroud...but can go anywhere no biggie...the rear axle should have one too.

Thats where I thought it was supposed to go, but it won't reach. If I had some 5/16" hose, thats where I would have mounted it. But it'll be fine living where it is now.

And yeah, I already cleaned the rear vent hose and replaced that vent too.

 

[Commander5993]

I'm guessing the TM is wrong about torque on front bearings too? as in after final tightening to 50lbs, loosen to fit locknut on pin? probably should have backed off half a turn I'm guessing. just got wheels on and took it for a short drive, probably 2 miles, half on gravel road. was testing brakes and to seat pads. didn't pull this time, so it was a caliper. but got home and both front hubs are hot.

unless it was from the hard braking. or because the pads still barely touch the rotors, but they did before too. you can hear it when turning hub by hand. I don't see anyway to change that though. these calipers are "wedge calipers" and there are no slide pins. I don't even know how the outside pad wears, as there is nothing to push it toward the rotor as it would wear down. when pressing brakes, I could barely see it move in and out when released. probably a sheet of paper movement though. but there is no way to change these to a "slide pin" caliper design, unless you also changed the caliper bracket to a different design as well. which I doubt is even available. not that I'm going to change them now after spending all the $ and work to get these on

 

[Mullaney]

I'm guessing the TM is wrong about torque on front bearings too? as in after final tightening to 50lbs, loosen to fit locknut on pin? probably should have backed off half a turn I'm guessing. just got wheels on and took it for a short drive, probably 2 miles, half on gravel road. was testing brakes and to seat pads. didn't pull this time, so it was a caliper. but got home and both front hubs are hot.

unless it was from the hard braking. or because the pads still barely touch the rotors, but they did before too. you can hear it when turning hub by hand. I don't see anyway to change that though. these calipers are "wedge calipers" and there are no slide pins. I don't even know how the outside pad wears, as there is nothing to push it toward the rotor as it would wear down. when pressing brakes, I could barely see it move in and out when released. probably a sheet of paper movement though. but there is no way to change these to a "slide pin" caliper design, unless you also changed the caliper bracket to a different design as well. which I doubt is even available. not that I'm going to change them now after spending all the $ and work to get these on

.
I dunno. I think it would be safe to say that snug it (the spindle nut), then off about a half a turn. I would expect the wheel jacked up and spin it by hand and it should spin freely and slow gently - not suddenly like something is dragging.

.

 

[Commander5993]

.
I dunno. I think it would be safe to say that snug it (the spindle nut), then off about a half a turn. I would expect the wheel jacked up and spin it by hand and it should spin freely and slow gently - not suddenly like something is dragging.

.

before I pit the calipers on, it would turn free. but it wasn't like you could just spin it and it continue to go much before it stopped
going to ha e to take it back apart and retorque then loosenhalf a turn

 

[Commander5993]

Just an update. I removed the locking hub guts again, removed outer axle nut and lock washer. Loosened inner axle nut all the way. Retorqued to 50lbs while turning wheel. Loosened and torqued to 50lbs again as per TM. Then loosened inner axle nut half a turn. reinstalled lock washer and retorqued outer axle nut to 160lbs. reassembled everything else. drove it for the same 2 mile trip, got home front hubs were barely warm right at the rim. On the previously test drive when I installed them according to the TM, both hubs was hot enough that you would pull your hand back pretty quick, and it took them a couple hours before they cooled off.

Since then, I also drained and refilled the transfer case with Dex III. And dropped pan on transmission, cleaned pan, replaced filter and gasket, and also new Dex III. I added some Motorkote additive to both. Expensive, but it's Good Stuff. I had bought a small bottle a several years ago, but it didn't last long. So I bought a gallon back a year or so ago, have used it in the truck and my Dads suv.


Here is something I noticed before I changed the transmission fluid. When the truck sat for several days, when I would put it in reverse I wouldn't feel the gear "engage" and the truck wouldn't want to move. I'd have to rev the engine good before it would finally start to move. Once I got it moving, it would be fine after that. I don't know if its still doing it after the fluid change, as I hadn't let it sit before driving it again the next day or something. It has sat for two days now, I might try it tomorrow to see what it does.

But would this point to any issue? Could the torque converter be leaking off??

Sure hope I don't have to have the transmission rebuilt.... I certainly don't have the money for that right now. Put too much into the truck in the last 3 months already... got to much other stuff to deal with.

 

[Mullaney]

Just an update. I removed the locking hub guts again, removed outer axle nut and lock washer. Loosened inner axle nut all the way. Retorqued to 50lbs while turning wheel. Loosened and torqued to 50lbs again as per TM. Then loosened inner axle nut half a turn. reinstalled lock washer and retorqued outer axle nut to 160lbs. reassembled everything else. drove it for the same 2 mile trip, got home front hubs were barely warm right at the rim. On the previously test drive when I installed them according to the TM, both hubs was hot enough that you would pull your hand back pretty quick, and it took them a couple hours before they cooled off.

Since then, I also drained and refilled the transfer case with Dex III. And dropped pan on transmission, cleaned pan, replaced filter and gasket, and also new Dex III. I added some Motorkote additive to both. Expensive, but it's Good Stuff. I had bought a small bottle a several years ago, but it didn't last long. So I bought a gallon back a year or so ago, have used it in the truck and my Dads suv.


Here is something I noticed before I changed the transmission fluid. When the truck sat for several days, when I would put it in reverse I wouldn't feel the gear "engage" and the truck wouldn't want to move. I'd have to rev the engine good before it would finally start to move. Once I got it moving, it would be fine after that. I don't know if its still doing it after the fluid change, as I hadn't let it sit before driving it again the next day or something. It has sat for two days now, I might try it tomorrow to see what it does.

But would this point to any issue? Could the torque converter be leaking off??

Sure hope I don't have to have the transmission rebuilt.... I certainly don't have the money for that right now. Put too much into the truck in the last 3 months already... got to much other stuff to deal with.

.
Yes!

You've definitely "done good" on the front hub setup.
Payoff / Payback and maybe even confirmation with the cool hubs is great to hear!

.

 

[WWRD99]

Just an update. I removed the locking hub guts again, removed outer axle nut and lock washer. Loosened inner axle nut all the way. Retorqued to 50lbs while turning wheel. Loosened and torqued to 50lbs again as per TM. Then loosened inner axle nut half a turn. reinstalled lock washer and retorqued outer axle nut to 160lbs. reassembled everything else. drove it for the same 2 mile trip, got home front hubs were barely warm right at the rim. On the previously test drive when I installed them according to the TM, both hubs was hot enough that you would pull your hand back pretty quick, and it took them a couple hours before they cooled off.

Since then, I also drained and refilled the transfer case with Dex III. And dropped pan on transmission, cleaned pan, replaced filter and gasket, and also new Dex III. I added some Motorkote additive to both. Expensive, but it's Good Stuff. I had bought a small bottle a several years ago, but it didn't last long. So I bought a gallon back a year or so ago, have used it in the truck and my Dads suv.


Here is something I noticed before I changed the transmission fluid. When the truck sat for several days, when I would put it in reverse I wouldn't feel the gear "engage" and the truck wouldn't want to move. I'd have to rev the engine good before it would finally start to move. Once I got it moving, it would be fine after that. I don't know if its still doing it after the fluid change, as I hadn't let it sit before driving it again the next day or something. It has sat for two days now, I might try it tomorrow to see what it does.

But would this point to any issue? Could the torque converter be leaking off??

Sure hope I don't have to have the transmission rebuilt.... I certainly don't have the money for that right now. Put too much into the truck in the last 3 months already... got to much other stuff to deal with.

Glad you got the hubs figured out!
On the trans though...so to be clear, it won't move until you rev it up some after sitting for a few days...does it do that going into drive as well or just reverse? It also takes a few days for this to happen? Sounds like the converter is draining down over a few days and takes a bit to get pressure back up. Typically point to front pump seals kinda sorta not sealing 100%....that being said and if it does it in drive and reverse I wouldn't worry about it much. The additive you put in might help that too. On diag mode you can hook up a gage to the line pressure of the trans and see what it is doing when you first start it cold sitting for a few days...well worth the price for a gage knowing how much is there...very basic shift kits from transgo and tons of others can fix basic shift with the 400. You didn't mention how bad the fluid or magnet was in the trans pan which leads me to think it wasn't that bad...if it was packed full of dark chunky madness it would be another story. The other part to look at is the trans cooler and lines...can't hurt to flush them out. Have a question about the filter you took out vs the one you put in...you can get the wrong one or the wrong one could be in there before...deep pan and shallow pan plus the extension and o rings...gotta make sure you got the correct ones. The last thing is the dipstick...when I take the pan down I check to make sure the stick level is flush with the case so I know the correct stick is in there. The last thing I play with is the vacuum valve on the IP...making sure it has the correct vacuum at idle,,,the next part is adjusting the vacuum modulator to match pressure for proper shifting...that's where the line pressure gage comes in too. Probably way more than you wanted to know but all this can be done by you with very little money invested. There's trans gauge sets at harbor for 40$.

 

[Commander5993]

Glad you got the hubs figured out!
On the trans though...so to be clear, it won't move until you rev it up some after sitting for a few days...does it do that going into drive as well or just reverse? It also takes a few days for this to happen? Sounds like the converter is draining down over a few days and takes a bit to get pressure back up. Typically point to front pump seals kinda sorta not sealing 100%....that being said and if it does it in drive and reverse I wouldn't worry about it much. The additive you put in might help that too. On diag mode you can hook up a gage to the line pressure of the trans and see what it is doing when you first start it cold sitting for a few days...well worth the price for a gage knowing how much is there...very basic shift kits from transgo and tons of others can fix basic shift with the 400. You didn't mention how bad the fluid or magnet was in the trans pan which leads me to think it wasn't that bad...if it was packed full of dark chunky madness it would be another story. The other part to look at is the trans cooler and lines...can't hurt to flush them out. Have a question about the filter you took out vs the one you put in...you can get the wrong one or the wrong one could be in there before...deep pan and shallow pan plus the extension and o rings...gotta make sure you got the correct ones. The last thing is the dipstick...when I take the pan down I check to make sure the stick level is flush with the case so I know the correct stick is in there. The last thing I play with is the vacuum valve on the IP...making sure it has the correct vacuum at idle,,,the next part is adjusting the vacuum modulator to match pressure for proper shifting...that's where the line pressure gage comes in too. Probably way more than you wanted to know but all this can be done by you with very little money invested. There's trans gauge sets at harbor for 40$.

Good question. Where I park I always have to back out before I can put it into drive. Next time I'll park the other way around and see if it does the same thing in drive. Either way, I thought it could be torque converter leaking down. I did have the cooler lines off about.... 2 years ago...? When I replaced the stock radiator for the last time (4th one), and installed a total aluminum radiator. I remember because I had to get some adapters due to thread pitch difference.

Fluid wasn't bad, color wasn't much darker than new fluid. I found my last filter order and it was in 2017, so that when I changed it last. So it hasn't been too long, at least with the miles I drive on it. Magnet had super fine stuff on it, but not that much and there were no chunks or anything, sludge or metal.

Yes... the filter I just installed was the same as previous... but I didn't know there were two different possible filters. This one does seem to fit the intake extension correctly. Amazon Link: ACDelco Gold TF231

Dipstick "flush with case"... do you mean with the pan off the dipstick should be flush with bottom of the hole where it comes through? When I had the pan off, I saw the dipstick. It appeared to protrude down about 3/4" or so.

might look into gauges, could rule out pressure issues.

 

[Commander5993]

just came across this thread while looking for some info about alternators. Its been a year since my last update to this. I figured out I had a leak from trans pan. I had just replaced the filter and gasket with AC Delco. But for some reason the gasket leaked, and I had properly torqued the pan bolts too. So it was leaking my fluid down fairly quickly.

Ended up pulling the pan, replaced filter and etc again because I lost (accidently threw away) the rubber seal on the filter. Didn't have another, so bought new filter. This time instead of the gasket, I used Permatex Right Stuff gasket maker which I've used multiple times in the past. Haven't had any leaks or issues since.