leaking axle shaft

[FGreiss]

I have a '99 2500 170,000 plus miles. Dana 60. I had a friend of mine whom is normaly very good at fixing anything, replace a front axle on right and bearings and seals through out. After a short time the right tube has begun to leak . He warned me that it might because how hard it was to set seals . Recently he repaired a Ford 250 2000,s don't know what year, with a Dana 60 the differance in parts the Ford had an accordian seal that went on axle before you reinstall. So far his is ok. If their is anyone who csn help, it would be greatful.

 

[wcjp]

Probably a dirt thing. A piece of dirt worked it's way into the previous seal/axle shaft relationship. The seal became accustomed to the piece of dirt at that specific location. Changing the axle shaft is a 50/50 thing for causing a leak. Is your front passenger side a two piece axle shaft?

 

[AKorn]

If I understand correctly, it is the axle seal adjacent to the differential that is leaking. A few years ago, I had replaced my axle shafts on a smaller Dana axle on my Jeep, and that seal began to leak a little. It was a very minor leak. It actually fixed itself after a couple of weeks. So you might give it a little time and see if it stops on it's own. Just make sure to check the fluid level regularly, and top it off if needed. Otherwise, in order to replace the seal, I'm pretty sure you have to remove the differential - so I would just do that as a last resort. It's possible that the seal may have been torn when your axle shafts were installed - but if you had an experienced guy doing the installation, it's pretty unlikely.

 

[FGreiss]

Thanks for the info, Yes it has a two piece axle on passenger side. I do relize that it has to be torn down to replace or fix problem but want it right! I still am wanting feed back on accordian seal as well a clean fix. Thanks Fgreiss.

 

[FGreiss]

Thanks for the info need more input. The fix is still in the dark.

 

[AKorn]

I've never heard of an accordion type seal for a solid axle shaft. I would certainly be interested to see one. The only accordion seals I can think of are the ones used with constant velocity joints, which you typically only find on trucks with independent front suspension. And some of the off-road guys replace their axle breather tubes with an accordion style vent, so that the axle is not open to the atmosphere. On that note - you might want to verify that your breather tube is not clogged. If it is, that might cause a leak at the axle seal due to high air pressure in the differential. And maybe also check to make sure that the differential is not over-filled with fluid?

 

[FGreiss]

Thanks AKorn I did not think about the fluid level could be to high nor breather tube clogged. I will check them both. And let you know! Happy Trails