jatonka
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I took an M35A2 in last week to replace a leaking front axle inner seal for a friend. This is a more time consuming and more difficult job than the rear wheel seals in my opinion. We were figuring that since we don't have the military long finger internal seal puller, we would use our slide hammer puller to pull the retainer out and replace the bad seal. WRONG thoght process. The slide hammer bounced around and pulled itself apart but not the retainer ring. For those of us that haven't done this job in the past, the seal is inserted into the retainer ring from the inside of the retainer and then the retainer and seal are pressed into the axle housing with the military front inner seal inserter tool, which I do have.
Now here is the good part #1: I couldn't wait for the Posi-Lock internal puller to be delivered, and I couldn't afford it either, so I looked around the auto parts store and picked up an exhaust and tailpipe expander. Napa # 2071. Cost $39. welded a 1/2" fine thread nut on the end of it and rigged up a straight bar puller across the knuckle housing, with some 5/8" line bolts to the edges of the housing and started tightening up on the center bolt attached to the pipe expander. The pipe expander has a groove at the end toward the expanding cone that engages the retainer perfectly. I really had to put the torque to the 15" adjustable wrench and finally the seal retainer broke free and came out.
This is the Good Part #2: Someone in the military had the axle apart previously and had used some kind of sealer on the pressed in retainer. And worst of all, they installed the oil seal in the retainer backwards!!!! Now, the seal actually says "Outside" right on the face of it, What happened?.
All's well that ends well they say ,but what a crap job. I did a cross reference on the seal and the exact cross from military to civilian is a CR 16842. At a major Northeast Industrial bearing supplier called Kaman Industrial Supply. I also discovered the poor man's puller to be the Napa #2071 exhaust and tailpipe expander. With the pounds of torque I put on it, I am sure it will stand up to the job any time.
I know this job can be done by taking both sides apart and sending a long bar through the axle housing to beat the retainers out, and I wish I had the military puller that is called out in some of my manuals but I have never seen one for sale yet. For those members who have done this replacement themselves in the past, I'd like to hear your experiences on this topic.
Sorry for the long post, but it didn't take hardly any time at all compared to fixing the darned seal that somebody else did backwards to start with! JT out
Now here is the good part #1: I couldn't wait for the Posi-Lock internal puller to be delivered, and I couldn't afford it either, so I looked around the auto parts store and picked up an exhaust and tailpipe expander. Napa # 2071. Cost $39. welded a 1/2" fine thread nut on the end of it and rigged up a straight bar puller across the knuckle housing, with some 5/8" line bolts to the edges of the housing and started tightening up on the center bolt attached to the pipe expander. The pipe expander has a groove at the end toward the expanding cone that engages the retainer perfectly. I really had to put the torque to the 15" adjustable wrench and finally the seal retainer broke free and came out.
This is the Good Part #2: Someone in the military had the axle apart previously and had used some kind of sealer on the pressed in retainer. And worst of all, they installed the oil seal in the retainer backwards!!!! Now, the seal actually says "Outside" right on the face of it, What happened?.
All's well that ends well they say ,but what a crap job. I did a cross reference on the seal and the exact cross from military to civilian is a CR 16842. At a major Northeast Industrial bearing supplier called Kaman Industrial Supply. I also discovered the poor man's puller to be the Napa #2071 exhaust and tailpipe expander. With the pounds of torque I put on it, I am sure it will stand up to the job any time.
I know this job can be done by taking both sides apart and sending a long bar through the axle housing to beat the retainers out, and I wish I had the military puller that is called out in some of my manuals but I have never seen one for sale yet. For those members who have done this replacement themselves in the past, I'd like to hear your experiences on this topic.
Sorry for the long post, but it didn't take hardly any time at all compared to fixing the darned seal that somebody else did backwards to start with! JT out
