Leaky oil seals after changing ball joints?

[Kilroy]

Anyone have issues with oil seals leaking after changing their ball joints? My mechanic says that even being very careful, half the time the seals will leak after re-inserting axles. I've never seen this discussed here and couldn't find any reference doing a search. Wondering if it's worth the cost to do right away or gamble they won't leak.

 

[pwerwagn]

Ive done a bunch of ball joints/removed a lot of front axle shafts on everything from jeeps to dodges, and only had once on a 60 front in a 2nd gen start leaking about a week after.



The shafts are hard to start into the seal/side gear, as there is a ton of leverage working against your hands. The way ive found to do it is to stick a pry bar (or anything to take up space) in the tube and use it as a pivot point thats closer in line with the seal/side gear, and once it starts remove it and slide it in. I also usually throw a little grease on the shaft where you can see the seal rides.



Also... cleaning out the tubes before you put the shaft in helps. Otherwise you shove all that trash into the seal/diff. I have a half moon shaped thing on a long piece of all-thread I use to scrape all the crap out.

 

[Bob4x4]

The American axle seals have a hard plastic guide to help protect the seal upon axle insertion making it much less likely to create a leak when compared to a Dana

 

[TBartlett1]

Dirt & grit settles on the bottom of the axle tube and if not removed will be pushed into the front differential damaging the seals and possibly causing damage to the carrier bearings.

There are two things you can do;

Attach a large fender washer to the end of an old rake handle and carefully insert it into the tube being careful not to push dirt into the seal opening then scrape the dirt out that has settled on the bottom.

The other thing is to keep the end of the axle off the bottom of the tube when inserting it.

I keep the axle on the top of the tube as I insert it and have never had a problem.

I also apply grease to the machined surface that the seal rides on to prevent corrosion that could also cause a seal leak.

If you mechanic has a 50/50 record of leaky seals then he most likely does not perform the following steps carefully!

 

[bighammer]

I don't think I've ever had a seal leak. It did drip on my '94 after a warranty repair. (bearing?) The mechanic explained that with the truck level, a little oil gets in the axle tube and will drip for a while. Seemed like it took weeks beofre it quit, but it did and the oil level was still good.

Since then, I've always made sure to either change the oil at the same time, or jack the side I'm working on way high. I made an attachment for my Shop-Vac that sucks up the loose junk before installing the axle shaft. It included a skinny hose and narrow wand that I never used so I blocked the end and cut a slot on the side at the end. Works great.

 

[GW208]

Anyone have issues with oil seals leaking after changing their ball joints?

Yes on my 01 earlier this year after having it aligned with new ball joints and new just about everything else on the front end. Drove it home and the right seal was leaking, 100 miles later the left seal had a steady drip. The shop said it was because the axle's gets moved in or out during the alignment and the seals are not riding on the same place on the axle.

 

[seafish]

I will be installing a Dynatrac free spin kit and Carli bjs over the the next two days on my 2005...I am also due for a diff fluid change, I am wondering if I should go ahead and also replace the front axle shaft seals at the same time since I will have the pumpkin open for the fluid change??

I am confident that I can get the axle shafts in and out without ruining the original seals, but I also do not know the intended/actual lifespan of the original front axle seals??

Almost 100k on the truck, does it make sense to do now??

If so, got part #'s??

 

[Prairie Dog]

I'm just a shade tree mechanic and I had no problem with seals leaking after pulling the axles.

 

[seafish]

I'm just a shade tree mechanic and I had no problem with seals leaking after pulling the axles.

PD, thanks....how many miles on the truck when you pulled them and hoiw many now??

 

[Prairie Dog]

PD, thanks....how many miles on the truck when you pulled them and hoiw many now??

There was around 72K when I pulled them to replace the u-joints and I know have 88K.

 

[seafish]

Thanks...anyone else on the longevity of the oem front axle shaft seals??

 

[EDankievitch]

I've done a few ball joint and free spin hub kits have yet to have a seal leak. Like stated above make sure the axel tube is clean and don't force things and use some grease. All should be good.

 

[seafish]

FYI--Lunchtime!!!!....The front end is apart and cleaned up, ready for reassembly with all new parts after lunch...you guys were all right, NO reason to replace the seals at this point in time. Thanks.

PS--the power steering with socket extension sure is a fine trick for removing the oem unit bearing hubs....took all of 5 minutes for both sides.