Front axle leak

[JSW]

Can anyone tell me the procedure for fixing a front axle seal leak? It's leaking right where it comes out of the housing. This is a Dana 60. Do I have to take apart the diff, or do the axles slide out after the 8 bolts on the knuckle/king pin area are removed and seperated? Do I need any special tools for this fix? Local gear shop wants to do both sides at once and they want 650$. How easy is it to replace the u-joints at the knuckle? Thanks

 

[Dfeland]

axle woes

The hub assembly has to be pulled off and the spindle unbolted and removed from the housing and then the ring gear carrier must be pulled and if its the long side take a long pipe or if you have the proper tool and beat the seal out and very carefully put a new seal in the short side is a little easier. Have fun. I have found in some cases that the tube was packed with mud and by simply cleaning the tube the leak stopped.

 

[JFitzgerald]

I just finished rebuilding the Dana 60 in my Jeep with new bearings and seals. Like the previous post mentioned, each side has to come apart, and the carrier has to come out. The seals are on each side of the diff, and have to come out towards the middle. I found that a short piece of pipe just smaller than the diameter of the seal works nice for tapping the new ones in. Clean out the axle tubes before putting the new seals in so you don't push dirt into the diff while putting the inner axles back in place. While you are in there, I would replace both seals since they are not easy to get to. If the axle shafts are worn or rusty where the seal rides, they can usually be cleaned up with emery cloth. Check the wheel bearings, wheel seals, spindle bearings, spindle seals, locking hubs, axle u-joints and carrier bearings while you have it torn down. This would be the time to fix anything not up to par. Believe me, you won't want to do this job frequently. It is not tough, but not easy either. It takes time, and can be handled by someone with reasonable mechanical experience. You might want to buy a 4WD hub wrench ($20-30) for the hub nuts. Or, you can get by with a hammer and punch. Good luck and let us know if you have more questions.

 

[GOODE11]

JSW



When we rebuilt my brother's 3/4 ton the only problem we had was getting the "kin pin" off the top of the knuckle. It was tight to say the least. You must have a good sized allen wrench to get it off or a special tool if they make them. What we ended up using w/ a little enginuity is a 3/8" drive spark plug socket, forgot the size but it was one of the two that comes in the cheap tool kits.



We used a cheap one b/c in order to get it loose we had to use a 4' pipe wrench w/ a 3' cheater pipe. Just stick the octagon end that usually butts up against the rachet into the king pin and pull like he**w/ a pipe wrench. If your truck has a few miles on it go ahead and buy the new plastic bushings that fit on the king pin. Only 15-20 bucks for both.



Don't mean to ramble but if I had the above info. before tear down it would of save a lot of choice words, head scratching, and the best part, a few cans of choice bevs. . !!



Like they said above not hard at all but time consuming.

 

[JSW]

I hope I'm hearing this right. The seals have to come out towards the center section, thus something has to be disassembled in the center section in order to pull the axles? If so what needs to come apart? How do you reinstall the seals from the inside and get them to seat properly; there is not much room to work inside the case. Thanks

 

[JFitzgerald]

Originally posted by JSW

I hope I'm hearing this right. The seals have to come out towards the center section, thus something has to be disassembled in the center section in order to pull the axles? If so what needs to come apart? How do you reinstall the seals from the inside and get them to seat properly; there is not much room to work inside the case. Thanks

Confusing, huh? I'll try to explain it better than my first attempt. The axle shafts can be pulled once the hubs and spindles are removed. This must be done before the differential assembly can be removed from the center section. The diff is held in place by two bearing caps over the carrier bearings. Mark the caps with a punch or something so they can be returned to their original positions. The carrier bearings are tapered roller bearings with the case providing sort of a press fit on them and unless they are badly worn, the diff will be hard to pull out to some degree. There is a special Dana tool for spreading the diff case, but I have never needed one. With careful prying, it should come out. Be careful when it comes, IT IS HEAVY and will hurt if it lands in your lap!



The seals aren't as hard to replace as it may sound. The short piece of pipe method that I mentioned above works well. You want the pipe short (just long enough to be able to hold it with a finger and thumb) to allow some room to swing a 3 lb. hammer in that small space you mentioned. Doing this in a Dana 60 is easier than a Dana 44 because of the larger space.



By the way, you don't need to take the "king pins" apart to do this job. Just the wheels, hubs, spindles and diff have to come off. Good luck and let us know if you have more questions.