Front axle bent or defect!?

[ReevesRacing]

Got my truck back from the dealer last week (it's still under warranty) for a leaking left front axle seal. It took them two weeks to replace because they broke the hub/bearing assembly on the passenger side when removing it... . so I got a new one of those as well. They went ahead and put both the right and left axle seals in, since they had to completely tear the front end down anyway.



Guess what..... now BOTH SIDES are leaking like crazy!



It looks to me like the left side axle tube comes out at an angle. Are they supposed to? If you are in front of the truck, crouched down looking straight ahead at the differential, you can see the long tube on the passenger side comes out nice and straight with the pumpkin, but the left side comes out and goes up? Think mine maybe made wrong and caused premature wear on the seal on that side?



Soooo... . Back to the dealer on Tuesday of last week.



Visited the dealer today on my way home from Mt. Sterling. Not a good day! The service manager was busy, so I headed into the garage to talk to the mechanic. Asked him where my truck was, he said around back. "How come?" "Because it needs a complete front differential, the tube is bent. " I said "Remember, we talked about that the last time it was here... the other mechanic said that was normal" "There is a rivet loose and I found some pavement on the bottom of the pumpkin" "How long to get a new one?" "Don't know, ask the service manager" Went in to talk to service manager "How long for a new differential?" "Only a few days probably. You need to call your insurance to see if they will cover this, I don't know if warranty will, it looks like it's been hit" "I don't know what I would have hit" "They really look at the stuff we send back under warranty since we are not a 5-star dealer anymore" "Why aren't you a 5-star dealer anymore" "We've been on probation too long" "Why are you on probation" "Because we have low points" At this time, I'm not feeling too good, so I left.



I'll be honest, I do some off-roading, but nothing serious. It's not like I've jumped it or anything, just horsing around and doing donuts, nothing that should have bent an axle. Besides, how come when I took it in, only the drivers side was leaking, and now both sides are leaking? Help! What should I do? $1000 deductible hurts!

 

[Kirwin]

Leaking front axle seals

I have not changed these on an AAM axle yet but they are located in the same place as on the Dana 60s and the Dana 44s if my interpretation of the service manual is correct. I have changed one set in the Dana axle. You have to pull both axle shafts out and remove the carrier assembly to get to the passengers (if i remember correctly) side seal. This allows some oil to get on the other side of the seal and it will be just laying in the axle tube after seal replacement. For several trips after the seal has been replaced oil will slowly come out of the end of the axle tube just to the inside edge of the universal joint. It will appear that the seal is "leaking like crazy" when in fact the amount of oil that comes out is not that much. The wind and ujoint tend to spray the oil as it exits the axle tube so the mess is large!! I never had to add oil after I did the replacement but oil continued to ooze out for nearly a month and I cleaned the axle tube after I got the old seal out! I was beginning to think that I had been unsucessful in my repair effort when it slowly stopped leaking out. I kept close eye on the oil level in the front differential during this time and I could not tell that level was dropping. I can't help you about the bent tube part. Did they put it on an alignment machine to see if its was out? If it is within factory specs for alignemnt, I doubt that you have a bent axle. Hope this helps. Ken Irwin

 

[ReevesRacing]

They don't have an alignment machine, so no, they didn't check that.

But, if you look at the truck head on in a crouched position, you can see that the driver side short tube comes out and goes up a little. Doesn't look like the tube is bent, looks like tube comes out of pumpkin at a angle. Mechanic said a rivet is missing?



If it is coming out at an angle, whose to pay? I'm sure they are gonna say it's not defected from the factory, and I haven't had an accident or police report or anything to turn into insurance... .



Confused and depressed..... This could get very expensive!

 

[DPKetchum]

Call your insurance adjuster and ALL three,YOU,DEALER and insurance adjuster meet and inspect it. My guess would be INSURANCE. But the three of you all need to look at it togather. Same scenario happens daily in shops nation wide.

 

[ReevesRacing]

Thanks for the advice... . but yesterday I went and checked it out, talked to some salesmen, and ended up trading my truck for an 05. It's nice, mineral gray and the bighorn package(?) which included the fog lights and rubber moulding (not too crazy about).



I took today off work just so I can start getting all the stuff of my current truck and go pick up my new one!



I hope I did the right thing gettin rid of my 555 for a 610!



James Reeves - ReevesRacing

86 GLH-T - 10. 97 @ 128

88 Shelby Z - 13. 5 @ 102. 4mph

03 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 6spd HO

5" exhaust, no intake silencers

BD short shift, Geno's transmission filter

TST Powermax CR Level 6hp, 5tq

BRC DIESEL PERFORMANCE

CALIFORNIA, KY

 

[DPKetchum]

Who's paying to repar the old truck. I've been involed in this type thing before and dealer still wanted the ex owners insurance to inspect. They figured and discussed the deductable on the trade if proven it had hit something.

 

[ReevesRacing]

After inspecting it for myself yesterday, I don't think it really needs any repairs unless you are really anal. It had been sitting in the lot for a while, kind of backed up on a slight hill. Not a single drop of oil out of either axle seal. So I'm bettin it was just residual running out and making it look like it was leaking like crazy. I asked the mechanic and he said he sprayed it out with brake cleaner real good... but... .

The reason he thinks the truck needs a complete differential is because it has a rivet missing from the pumpkin where the axle tube goes in. Hell, for all I know it could have been missing for a long time or maybe since new! I think he was just really embarrased that he just put two new seals in it and they were both leaking so he said it needed a complete front end. ??

 

[DPKetchum]

The ones I've come across the axels after removal would or were very hard to get back into the carrier. Or very hard to remove. Or after removal(with a slide hammer)would NOT go back into the carrier. Even slightly bent tubes. Your probaby correct.