i hit 90k and lost my parking brake. pulled the rear hubs off and both sides had gear oil on the parking brake pads. one side must have been leaking a bit longer. they were not that bad. i was able to clean them up with brake cleaner. i put the new seals in and toped off the rear. so far so good. i just hope i got bearing nut set right. kind of strange to see a brass key way in there.

 

I noticed a little dampness around there at the driver's side rear on the '07 when I rotated the tires the other day. Truck only has 37k miles. I thought maybe the rear was slightly overfilled when I put 4qt. in it last year and caused it. Maybe not.

 

check you're parking brake. that is how i found the mine was leaking. i thought a spring let go or something like that. i'm back on the road and now one side is leaking really bad. the one not leaking was a real pain to get back together . so when i did the other side i used some grease to help the seal slide on. big mistake!!! i'm told that the seal will not stay seated and will start to spin. well that what i think is going on. what a mess!!! 1400 mile on a qt. of gear oil. at $9 a qt. got a new seal from napa up here in mi just out side detroit. i also picked an extra qt of gear oil for the ride home. i wish i had a parts washer for this job. i'm sure the parking brake pads are shot now. i just the brake pads make the trip home in one piece!!!

 

08 dodge 2500 4x4 with 6.7. I had a similar issue just recently and have been exploring the posts in here on the grease seal issue I had. My seal upon removal had cracks all through it and appeared to be a bad batch of seals. Has anyone else out there had rear grease seals leaking onto their emergency brakes. The seals leaked so bad the bearings were washed clean of grease and needed repacking badly. Lucky I did not loose them under load.

 

there is a vent plug on the rear end, left top side right by cover.if it clogs up it blows the seals when the rear end builds pressure.alot of guys run load baggs and dont put the 90 degree elbow so it vents and the bagg sqaushes the vent line and it wont breathe.sometimes burns the rear end up on a long haul.just make sure your vent plug is free of dirt and debris to be on the safe side.u can clean it with varsol.

 

I did add air bags and thats a good thing to check on. Will get on it tommorow. Thanks again.

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jdog just getting back after checking out the vent line. It came off a block like you said to the left of the rear end cover. I blew the line and it was clear. Took a new hose and removed the fill plug and blew into it as well and it too was clear and vented. Thanks for the tip and glad it was not the cause. Blows me away on how this particular flooting axle is laid out. Sure wish the bearings were in fluid and not greased. I could have engineered a better design.

 

so was ur airbag squashing it.mine would only gett squashed with a load on it and the overloads would touch.6,000 pounds.or if i hooked up the gooseneck(8,000)pounds

 

jdog78 mine is situated such that they are clear of the airbag. The vent is free of the bag even under load. It surely could be an issue if you had the vent hose too close. Thanks again. Sid