Leaking rear axle seal again!

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Well, I have had my truck for exaclty one year and 18k miles. Bought it new. My left rear axle seal went at 2k miles. Brakes started feeling bad this week. Pulled the drums. Now at 18k miles, left rear axle seal is leaking again! Of course no dealer can touch it until the middle of next week. Will need the truck for two days! It is leaking too bad to drive. I guess I will be fixing it myself. Where do you get good seals. Napa? I don't want to try the DC seal again. this truck is a love-hate relationship. Love the Cummins. Hate the ... ... ... . Sorry just venting!

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99'2500 SLT QC LB 4x4
white/agate, 5spd, trailer, camper, 3. 55LSD, 241HD, cab lights, 3500 tailgate lights, mopar mud flaps, luverne SS nerfs, diamond plate rails, Weatherguard box, Banks 4inch, Isspro Boost/EGT gauges(pre), 265 BFG KO's, ... more to come

 

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Traded,I've had mine replaced in warranty. I wrote down the seal # in case there's a next time,out of warranty. Mine is a 97 Dana 80 - the seal # is CR47507(Chicago Rawhide)if this is any help. Napa has always sent me wrong seals - they always screw up the pt. #'s somehow. I've had good luck with Carquest. A bearing store could probably help you too!I think the low oil level that Dodge calls for is the problem. I over filled mine and they haven't leaked again.

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97 3/4Ton, 2WD, 5SP, #11 Plate, 14 Housing, AF942M Air filter, Gutted Cat, 4"From Turbo, Shortened Frame, Custom Bed, HEY FORDBOY POWERSTROKE THIS!

 

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Here are a few suggestions:
Check the hub for runout, and the seal surface on the spindle for roughness. Set the bearing endplay per the service manual, p. 3-94,95: torque 120-140 ft lb, back off 1/8 turn. Chicago Rawhide seal #28746 costs about $8 at Pep Boys for my 97 2500 D80. Put some moly grease on the seal surface and the wear surface on the spindle. Red RTV on seal cage and hub. Raybestos 451PG shoes (red plates; $60) work fine; avoid the cheaper 451PR (gold; $40).

 

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I had the seals go out on my 95 truck right before the warranty expired. Took it to a 5 star dealer and I can tell you they didn't make the repair according to the service manual I later purchased from Chrysler (decided I needed to buy this once the warranty expired so I could start doing my own repairs). They replaced the seals with NAPA seals, mechanic said they were better than factory. I first noticed a problem when the brakes became "grabby". Was told by Les Swab Tires and Midas that I needed new brakes. When dealership pulled the drums they all said the brakes were shot because of all the axle oil. I was under the assumption that since the seals failed (a warranted item) that the brakes would be covered also. Dealer said no way think again. I would have been OK with this if the brakes were at the end of their service life and needing to be replaced anyway, however there was still 50% life still left at the time according to the measurements from Midas brake inspection. Dealer wanted to charge me something like $225 for brake shoes only and no warranty on workmanship or material. I said for that price I could to a brake shop and get a complete job which included turning the drums, new hardware and a lifetime warranty all of which dealer was not going to do. I talked to the service manager for awhile about how I felt the brakes should be covered, he would not back down stating Chrysler does NOT warranty brakes period!!! I was pissed and said to fix only what was covered and put it all back together. The seals were replaced and they cleaned the brakes/drums with brake cleaner. Now for the best part, after they finished and I was at the service desk picking up my copy of the work order slip the service manager came out and told me that the brakes on these new RAMS have a lot of metallic material in them and most likely not much oil was absorbed and that the brakes would probably be fine after being cleaned, but if they still acted to come back and we'll get you fixed up. I could not believe this after he was pushing so hard that the brake shoes were shot. Who can you trust anymore? Needless to say I have since put another 30,000 miles on them and they are working just fine, have them inspected every time the tires get rotated.

Sorry for the long post but the whole axle seal thing was a very irritating experience for me and I need to vent.

 

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If you are continually breaking seals, you may have a bigger problem than that. If you have a bad bearing, the axle will float around and bend the seal causing it to leak. I have never done a bearing/seal job on a full-floating axle, but it is pretty easy on the 9-1/4 Chrysler semi-floating axle. From what I can see in my repair manual (Dana 60-70 up to '93) it shouldn't be that dificult.

 

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The rear seal leaks has been discussed at some length by the First Geners. Someone there pointed out that part of the problem may be that the seals can be damaged when putting the hub/drum assembly back. As you know the hub/drum assembly is fairly heavy and if you are not careful in keeping the whole assembly centered while sliding it on to the axle the seal can be damaged. Just replaced mine about a month ago.

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92-LE,Cummins,Tach,4x4,5spd,3. 54,Borgeson steering shaft,

[This message has been edited by Al Kungel (edited 08-06-2000). ]

 

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good point al , that may explain why the '00 have drums that can be removed without pulling the hub assembly .

 

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This is part of the reason Chrysler will be dropping the DANA. I had axle seal problems on my 99 and so have a lot of prople. I think there is a TSB on it on the Fritz page.

Don

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"The Shadow" 2001 Dodge Ram SLT 2500 QC 5spd 3. 55lsd, Short Bed,Black Sport, Camel/Tan Interior, Trailer tow package, Camper package, Infinity sound, VanAakan CPC, DD Boost Module and Elbow, Pacbrake. Towing a 27ft Dutchman 5th wheel w/slide.

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