rear axle leak advice

[anthony3478]

I have a gear oild leak on one wheel, my problem I need to drive the truck about 40miles round trip on Monday, if I top it off with gear oil will the bearings, etc be ok I really dont want a seized hub because of washed out bearingss

 

[papabear]

If it's not leaking bad I would chance it. If it's pouring out..no.

 

[Angus1]

X's2 It depends how bad the leak is.

 

[dm22630]

You can replace your outer wheel seal without taking really anything heavy apart. Just unbolt the axle shaft, pull it out, remove the axle nut, lockring, and old wheel seal.....then install a new wheel seal & put everything back! Make sure you put a nice bead of RTV high-temp sealant around the axle shaft end before you bolt it back together.

PRESTO! Leak fixed!

The whole process should take 20 minutes max.

Here is a how-to from your friendly neighborhood Maddawg308 --> http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?24224-how-fixing-leaky-outside-axle-seal.html

BUT....I do suggest removing both rear tires & removing the entire hub/drum just to check everything out just to make sure nothing else is wrong & to repack your bearings.

 

[m16ty]

You may can get buy by just replacing the outer seal. To do that all you would have to do is pull the axle and take the nuts off.

 

[dm22630]

I am assuming it is leaking from behind the inside tire (closest to the center of the axle).

If it is just leaking around the axle seal...FOLLOW MADDAWG308'S HOW-TO ....that takes 20 minutes & RTV high-temp sealant only. You will not need to order anything from ODIron. Just go to autozone.

 

[m16ty]

I am assuming it is leaking from behind the inside tire (closest to the center of the axle).

If it is just leaking around the axle seal...FOLLOW MADDAWG308'S HOW-TO ....that takes 20 minutes & RTV high-temp sealant only. You will not need to order anything from ODIron. Just go to autozone.

Checked out Maddawg's thread. What I was calling the outer seal is the one behind the axle nuts (the one that keeps the gear oil out of the bearings). I would call what Maddawg fixed the axle flange gasket.

 

[anthony3478]

well it leaking more on the inside, I noticed it when bleeding air tanks, seems to be running from inside of inner wheel.

 

[dm22630]

Checked out Maddawg's thread. What I was calling the outer seal is the one behind the axle nuts (the one that keeps the gear oil out of the bearings). I would call what Maddawg fixed the axle flange gasket.

Yep....my first response covered both....the axle flange (thank you for the correct wording!) and also the outer oil seal.

well it leaking more on the inside, I noticed it when bleeding air tanks, seems to be running from inside of inner wheel.

If gear oil is running out of the inside of the wheel....then it is leaking out around the brake drum. This can & will cause braking failure on that side of that axle when gear oil soaks the brake shoes.

You need to order a whole kit (since BOTH your inner & outer seals have failed). And replace it all w/new stuff.

Here is what to do :

1. Park on a FLAT surface & set your parking brake.
2. Chock wheels.
3. Jack up the leaking side of the axle.
4. Remove both tires.
5. Remove axle shaft.
6. Remove axle nut, lock nut, outer wheel seal, & outer wheel bearing.
7. Remove hub/drum assembly (80+ lbs....DONT slide across your axle threads!).
8. Remove inner wheel seal & inner wheel bearing.
9. Clean everything (brake shoes, brake drum ** clean & lightly sand to scar surface **, remove all old wheel bearing grease & gear oil from inside hub).
10. Pack bearings.
11. Install inner wheel bearing & inner wheel seal.
12. Install hub/drum.
13. Install outer wheel bearing, outer wheel seal, lock nut, & axle nut.
14. Insert axle shaft & remember to use high-temp RTV sealant to seal completely.
15. Reinstall tires.
16. Remove Jack.
17. Fill gear oil in that axle.
18. DONE!

Did I forget anything?

Good Luck! Should take you 2-4 hours depending on your greasemonkey level.

 

[anthony3478]

thanks dm22630! I was afraid I was gonna have to remove the wheels to repair, just another thing to fix.

 

[ARYankee]

Now I have really stupid question but where is the fill plug. I was under mine yesterday and the only plug I saw was on the back side and half way down. I was wondering where it was at and what it looked like.

 

[123mack]

There's a small plug made of either cork or rubber which seals the keyway on the spindle. A lot of people who do this for the first time either overlook it or lose it and end up with a leak.

 

[cbvet]

ARYankee,
First make sure it is actually gear oil that's leaking, & not brake fluid. A leaking wheel cylinder can show up the same way. Sniff it!
Check your brake fluid, of course.
The plug you're seeing "halfway up" is the fill & level plug. Fill with GO 90 until oil reaches bottom of hole.

 

[ARYankee]

Thanks cbvet. I thought it was that one but I wanted to be sure. I thought it would be on top and not that low. I know for sure that it is gear oil because I did the sniff test and checked my brake fluid level and it was good. I appreciate the help.

 

[jrou111]

Must be an Alabama thing. I brought back another one of my trucks today from Huntsville and have axle leaks on the outside on one wheel, and an inner leak on another wheel.

 

[Jinx]

Just discovered an axle leak on the passenger side of the inner wheel on the mid-axle. It's a bit more than I care to tackle, so it's going to a local repair shop. Hopefully the guys will be able to fix it for me.

I tried to find repair instruction in the TM's but the only thing I could find was similar to Maddawg308's outer seal replacement. Nothing about the inner seal.

 

[Jinx]

The more I read on this site, it looks like the problem may be with the outer seal causing the inner seal to leak. So maybe all that needs to be repaired is the outer seal. I could probably do that myself.

OTOH, it looks like the brake drum may be contaminated due to the leaking gear oil.

 

[IMA944T]

TIME CONSUMING NOT HARD. Worst thing about whole job is removing & installing tires, same with hub. just because they are heavy and akward. But the worst part is cleaning up all the brake fluid or rear end grease. Thats the worst part.

 

[scrapman]

Steam cleaning is ideal in this situation & GL does have regular listings for them. I got 2 of the larger units out of Columbus a couple of months ago and it is a must have if you are going to do alot of this type of work. $1000 total by the time they got here, yet priceless in the super cleanup of the nastiest gear lube/motor oil messes. Also makes a great cup o' tea.

 

[ARYankee]

IMA944T is exactly right. I just did the middle dual behind passenger side this weekend. I got the seal kit but everything was in good shape. Its that piece of cork in the keyway that causes the leak. We cleaned everything up and replaced the seals just because I had them, regreased everything and ran a bead of high temp RTV in the keyway. Its not a bad job now that I have done it. I'm going to eventually do all of them that way I'll be set. The worst part is the tires and getting them loose.