Front Axle Seal
 

What kind of pain am i looking at getting into to swap one of these out? Noticed a small leak under my passenger's side spindle. then discovered the spindle itself is covered. I have never had the front end of a bigger truck apart, is this going to be a good reason to talk the wife into a better air tool setup?

I've been told that the seal is accessed from the inside. Total tear down to get to it. So I e decided to live with my small leak and watch the fluid level.

well that is not good news haha

This is where you might also think of going to a "Free Spin Kit" to disconnect the hubs from drive line.

Advantages - bigger/better wheel bearings that can be re-greased or replaced (rather than replacing the entire hub assembly); the differential isn't a "load" - always spinning with the wheels - so your MPGs can improve, turning can be easier, and front drive line components (including differential seals) last longer.

Disadvantage .... COST (Ouch!) I did mine - about $1600 for the kit - but I think it was worth it.

Face it - to get access to major front drive line components, there is a fair amount of time/effort for disassembly - so, while it is apart, consider upgrades to improve the dang thing!

$1600 for the free spin kit is gonna be a hard sell, still need to upgrade tranny and hope my stock VP holds up for as far as i can see. i'll have to think about this one for a little bit haha

... for once i dont like to say it, we are in the same boat i have a smal leak from both sides and need to tair it down and do the seals i cant afford 1600 dollars... ima going to tear mine down soon il let you know how it goes.. like a list of time and maybe so helpful pointers

Hardest part will be getting the wheel bearing/hub assembly off. When you are to that point turn your steering wheel as far as you can depending on which side you are working so that the back of the hub is towards the front of the truck.. There are 4 bolts if I remeber right that hold the hub to the axle housing. Back those out a bit then put a socket on them as to not ruin the heads of the bolts, and whack the sh*t out of them with a good size hammer. Approach it as they are siezed to them like super glue. :c:

this isnt a hard job. u do need some specific sockets tho. 14mm 12 point. for the four bolts that hold the wheel bearing. an a 1' 1/16 socket for the axel. raise truck. take off tires. remove brake caliper. an zip tie out of way. dont let it hang. remove diff cover an drain. remove c.a.d cover. remove stupid arm. undo the 4 14mm holding wheel bearing. u dont even have to undo ball joints. or the big 1 1/16th axle nut if u dont want to. whole axle with rotor an wheel bearing will slide out through knuckle. then remove carrier. make sure that everything goes back exactly where it came from. bearings on same sides. same with bearing caps. they have to go back same side same direction. so mark everything. then its just bang old seals out. put new ones in, coat outer edge with rtv. then reassemble. but some grease on the end of the axels an try not to tear the new seal putting them in. good luck. dont be scared. if u have some tools an u take ur time an look at it, u can get it done.

here s better tip for pushing off the hub assembly use a 10 inch 1/2 extension and put the extension where the back of the lug nuts are and the lower control amr put the truck up on jacks and use the powersteering to push em off it works like a charm done it several times.

i take that back. the hardest part by far is the right axle seal. its a bitch to get in. u will need a buddy or a special seal driver. there is a sweet video on youtube tho. type in 98 dodge ramm 2500 right axle seal. an this guy shows u some tricks.

You might not even need a new seal. Take the 4x4 actuator off and see if there is any wiggle up and down between the two shafts. If there is all you need is a intermediate shaft bushing (QU40107 CAD Axle Shaft Bushing) or you can upgrade to a bearing (Front Inner Axle Shaft D30,D44,D60 disconnect pilot bearing,INTRMEDT SHAFT(1_NEEDED).813&#34OD). When I replaced my seal the bushing was completly gone and I didn't know it was supposed to be there. It still leaked with a new seal. After much searching I found the bushing, installed it, and no more leaks. Replacing the passenger seal is not that hard. If you need me to I'll walk you through the steps. The drivers seal is the hard one.

The passenger side one is the tough one :argh:

Ok, so I have just been dealing with this and adding a little oil as needed. I have recently picked up a yota for a daily drive so now I can tear it apart and not have to rush through it in between work and sleep. I'm sure I will be posting questions over the next week or so. Thanks for all the info so far

Before you tear into it, you're going to want to find a 2-3ft length of 1/2" all thread (got mine from Tractor Supply) with 4 nuts and 3 fender washers. A 14" 2x4 and drill a 1/2" hole in the middle of it. Get your seal and find a socket that will fit in it to drive it in place. I would also suggest you go ahead and get the bushing or the bearing ahead of time too because the local parts stores are just going to look at you like a dumbass when you ask for one.

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Pull your wheel. Remove the 2 16mm 12point bolts holding the caliper adapter to the steering knuckle. Remove caliper and support it, don't let it dangle. Remove brake disk. Remove the 4 9/16 12 point bolts holding the hub to the steering knuckle. Pull hub with axle shaft connected. Remove bolts holding 4x4 actuator on (don't remember size, I think 10mm). Remove actuator. Reach in through actuator hole and pull out the 4x4 shift collar. Check in the actuator hole for reminants of the pilot bushing/bearing. Take your socket that fits the seal, put it on the old seal and mark how deep the socket goes into the hole so you will know how far to drive your new seal. Take your all thread and put a fender washer with a nut on either side of it. Slide washer side of all thread into axle from outside and hammer old seal out. Remove nuts and washer from all thread and reinsert it into axle. Slide new seal and socket through all thread in actuator hole then put a washer and nut on. Put 2x4 on all thread on outside of steeing knuckle then put 2 washers and a nut up snug to 2x4 and try to line it up in center as best you can. Put 2 more nuts on end of all thread so you can use a box end wrench to keep the all thread from turning. Now tighten the nut next to the 2x4 until seal is in place (it will get pretty difficult to turn the nut, also seal might look like its not driving straight but it will straighten up). Install new pilot bushing or bearing into hole on end of axle shaft connected to hub. Install shift collar on inner axle through actuator hole. Install hub and axle shaft. Check for play between axle shafts in actuator hole (there should be no play). Tighten hub to knuckle bolts to 125ftlbs. Install rotor. Install caliper and tighten caliper adapter bolts to 210ftlbs. Put rtv on 4x4 actuator and install (make sure shift fork slides into slot on shift collar). Snug up bolts on actuator, make sure you don't overtighten (I don't have torque specs for these). Make sure vaccum hose and electrical plug is connected to actuator. Install wheel and tighten nuts to 135ftlbs. Top off diff with oil and you're done. Took me 5.5hrs. After driving it for a bit, top off diff again.

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Drivers side seal you have to disassemble the diff.

Yea I did two of those, my friend has a spreader makes getting the carrier in&out real nice,I also cut thin cardboard strips out lay them in the axle tube that way you're sliding the axle on clean cardboard,not picking up dirt from the inner tube:pca1:

On the part where you hammer the old seal out I forgot to put that you need a 1 1/4-1 1/2" socket on there too. Sorry it was past my bed time. Without the socket the washer will just bend.