pure luck

[WhiteS]

I drove my 93 one ton from San Antonio to Del Rio, Texas. Hit the front gate to the ranch and noticed a grease axle odor. Sure enough, axle fluid on the left rear wheels and fender. I had my sister-in-law and two nephews with me so i made the 8 mile ride down a dirt road to the main house. When I arrived axle fluid was flowing freely from an apparent trashed seal. I made arrangements to meet a mechanic (I had no tools)the next morning and limped it down the 8 mile dirt road and 22 miles of asphalt back to town. The mech. raised left side and dual wobbled around freely. He removed the tires and end cap... . holy s---! The nut that holds the drum on the axle... one half turn and it is off. You see I have owned this truck for about 4-5 months and the guy who did the brakes used a chisel to remove/replace the nut... and the little pin that holds the nut in place was gone, non-existent!



This could have been catastrophic... When buying a used vehicle always, always use that fine tooth comb.



I should have known better

 

[tugboatphil]

It's kinda hard to check those rears in a parking lot... . but I know what you mean. :-laf



I got back from a road trip a couple summers ago. My seal had gone during that time. I didn't look underneath and went to town the next day. About 6 miles from town, I noticed a jerking and squealing from the back. Pulled over and saw the leak. Checked fluid and I couldn't even touch it. I had some in the toolbox, so I filled it and drove real slow to my step son's shop. The inner bearing and axle tube were cooked. Had to take the axle housing to a machine shop to clean it up.



Lesson learned - check underneath often.

 

[DVolk]

My first exsperience like that was when i was a teenager driveing my old 65 power waggon the front spindle fell off in my barrn yard just after i pulled in to the drive way of the farm , I could have been dead for shure if that happened at 60mph .



But on my 92 a month after i bought it , my rear end made a h,, of a noise



it ran the rear end dry , there was no sign at all of oil leaveing the rear end



so the only real answer and check is to pull the plug and check !!!!!!!!!!!!



I added oil and it ran fine , previous owner . mechanic screw up who knows the truck was supposeofly safety checked at the dodge store i bought it from .

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

Had a rear axle on a Willys Wagon break and part company with me once upon a time. Interesting, very interesting.



Also checked the wheels on the horse trailers prior to hauling from winter pasture this past spring. One of the retainers was in the condition you discribed and the wheel was very wobbly... . could have been very ugly if we had parted company and the other tire blew fully loaded.

 

[JLight]

Hey guys JLIGHT throwing my two cents for what it is worth. If for any reason you ruin a axle tube,(Dana 60,70) There is a machine that can replace a damaged stub due to bearing failure. They do them on big rigs on the side of the road! I know people will say no way but this no bull! I believe its called the axle doctor. It is slicker than drunkerds snot to watch! The machine i see work was from syracuse NY. He did my friends ten wheel dump truck.

 

[TWorline]

The Axle Doctors do outstanding work. If you ever see their truck pulled into a shop, stop and watch or at least ask them to see some pictures of axles they have fixed. They cut off an axle stub on the dump trailer that I drag around 2 years ago, since then I have hauled as much as 36 tons on that trailer ( oops thats not legal) with no problems!